Why Chiropractique?

Looking at the new blog site statistics Blogger has recently added to the blog, I noticed there are a lot more people reading my blog than initially thought.  The blog is getting around 300 visits per month!  Since there are many people reading, I thought I would explain why the blog is called Chiropractique.

When I first named the blog Chiropractique, I was very upset with the profession I had chosen to enter.  All the negativity associated with being a chiropractor was taking a toll and I thought about what I could do to educate the public on the specifics of this negativity.  In the world of chiropractic there are several techniques.  There are more pseudo-science based techniques than science-based and this fact pushed me to name the blog Chiropractique.  Meaning, science-based chiropractic as a technique in itself.

My biggest qualm still to this day is how science-minded chiropractor students quit thinking when they graduate and buy into a pseudo-science methodology.  Their fears of not being able to pay school loans back, make a good living or keep the business running, force them to go looking for a way that eases their fear of failure.  Technique system owners know this and they pray on these young chiropractor's vulnerabilities.  We are sold things based on our belief systems and the overall state of our psyche at the time of purchase.  The technique pushers know this and they feed on it.

It is my hope that those on the fence will choose a better route.  Meaning, instead of thinking you have to push crap-medicine on people, put together fitness, nutritional and massage therapy programs aimed at actually improving health.  It can be done and it can be very profitable if done right.

Those who buy into pseudo-science techniques are rebellious and attention seekers.  Anything they can do to go against the norm makes them feel satisfied with their life.  Selling these services takes a believer because there is no other reason to sell them beyond personal benefit to the seller.  The seller sells it to their patient claiming good results are sure to come when in fact, there is no legitimate research supporting these claims.  Mechanically-based chiropractic care has research supporting it in numerous journals which are peer-reviewed and this method is the foundation for chiropractic colleges around the world.

Science-based chiropractic is becoming the norm in the profession.  Insurance reimbursement demands objective markers for continued funding of patient care and the system is based on science-based research.  Objectivity is lacking in pseudo-scientific techniques and eventually (I hope) they will be put out of business.  Although, being that we live in a free-market, I don't see them losing their foothold anytime soon.

What are we science-minded, objective practitioners to do?  Erase all the clinical knowledge we have obtained and replace it with one technique that has lots of anecdotal data?  I hope the answer is no.  Chiropractique or science-based chiropractic is a legitimate technique.