5 Things You’re Not Supposed To Know About Chiropractors

Chiropractic is not “Alternative Medicine”. Chiropractic is in no way conjoined to “Medicine” aka “Allopathy”. There is no such nomenclature “Chiropractic Medicine”…just good ole Chiropractic. Chiropractic belongs under the global heading “Holistic Health Care Providers”.

I couldn’t agree more. When I think of chiropractic, I think “alternative to medicine”, not “variant of”. That’s why I like the term.

I think that article is very good for chiropractic and clearly shows that the educational process is working, and chiropractic students are leaving more prepared than their medical counterparts

Good post! Love the fact that we pummeled the AMA twice in court 🙂

RESPONSE from Frank

Yeah, it was a Karate Kid moment, seeing the “big bully” getting their face pushed into the mud. It’s old news now, but it’s also something our profession should never forget.

Thanks for the post. I do think that chiropractic medicine is an appropriate term for what many of us do. It is a valid identifier despite the intra-professional reaction to the resistance we dealt with in the past from other physicians. When there is “energy medicine”, “natural medicine”, and “oriental medicine”… “chiropractic medicine” is a perfect descriptor for the knowledge and skill set applied by a chiropractic physician to aid patients in their quest for health and optimum function.

RESPONSE from Frank

By adopting the title of *name-your-profession* medicine, we make ourselves appear to be an appendage of medicine, rather than the ALTERNATIVE to it. I hope that makes sense to you. It’s nothing against medicine. It’s just the simple truth.

Hey I just wanted to thank you for posting this info. Chiropractic medicine has been taking a bit of a beating lately, and it’s good to some positivity around the field being put out there. Also really enjoyed Nick’s response.

Here is something Ive just been dying to ask: How is it that chiropractors are forever going on and on about the few additional hours of classroom time they claim to have over MD/DO students, but NEVER address the fact that MD/DO students do their classroom hours during the 1st and 2nd years of school, then go on to significantly more hour on clinical rotations during their 3rd and 4th years? How is that that little fact always get left out? Couple that with the fact that MD/DO’s go on to do between 3-5 years of formal postgraduate training, and then wonder why they are held up as better trained/educated than most any chiropractor out their. Chiropractic training hardly compares to MD/DO education by that measure, and you would do well to accept that fact.

RESPONSE from Frank

One could also ask why medicine spent decades and tens of millions trying to undermine and destroy our profession? We may sound defensive, but we are still telling the TRUTH.

This table demonstrates the class hours required to earn a DC vs. MD degree.

The first thing that jumped out at me was that we take almost twice as many hours in diagnosis and neurology as they do. I understand that they move into hospital rounds while we are heading out to the field, and (in theory at least) this means they should continue to learn…but, IF that is true, why is it that repeated testing over a 10-year period demonstrates that MDs and Orthopedic Residents are incompetent at assessing and managing neuro-musculo-skeletal (NMS) complains?

One would expect that, during their 5 years of medical training, followed by endless hours of hospital rotations and residency programs, that all these doctors *might have* picked up a little more musculoskeletal knowledge along the way, but this series of articles from the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery suggests otherwise.

You might feel challenged “that chiropractors are forever going on and on about the(ir) few additional hours of classroom time“, but there is no arguing with these facts:

—Chiropractors specialize in spine related diagnosis and management

—Chiropractors are MUCH better trained in NMS diagnosis and management, and

—Chiropractors get much better results at a lower cost

This is a huge problem because “conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system are the primary reason patients seek medical care from physicians, accounting for nearly 100 million office visits per year. [1] Furthermore, musculoskeletal conditions are the most common cause of long-term pain and physical disability. [2] [3]

One only needs to review the recent reports (as reported on our Blog) to see that medicine would serve humanity better if they stuck to their specialties and left all the NMS complaints to us.

REFERENCES:

1. Musculoskeletal conditions in the United States. Rosemont, IL, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 1999

2. Burden of major musculoskeletal conditions
Bull World Health Organ 2003; 81 (9): 646-656

3. Musculoskeletal Curricula in Medical Education
Physician and Sportsmedicine 2004 (Nov); 32 (11)

Fantastic post and follow up conversation!
I would like to add that although medical doctors have a longer “formal” hospital based training, most chiropractors graduate and work under another chiropractor for 2-3 years before going into solo practice. Just because the training isn’t formally recognized doesn’t make it less valid or educational.

All the beset,
Peter

This may be old news, but it is still timely. The insurance industry is pushing hard to restrain/contain our profession, and we all need to add our voices and push back. I urge everybody to join a National Chiro organization (your choice) to get some power and lobbying behind us.

Yes we more than “crunch” backs and necks!!! Thanks for an outstanding post.

Great article I will be sharing with others.