Many chiropractors feel that if a public healthcare option becomes reality, that chiropractors must be included.  They want equality.  They want acceptance.  Let me remind those who feel this way, we were included in Medicare, and most would agree, that has been a total disaster.  Malcolm Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine once said, “Failure is a success if we learn from it.”  Why would the chiropractic profession want to be included in a system that has never worked for us?  Even the American Medical Association, an umbrella group for 180 medical societies, opposes a public insurance plan and does not want to be included. (New York Times, June 10, 2009.) Do we think chiropractors will fare better than medical doctors in this new plan? Physicians will be forced to comply and will not be able to opt out of it. If chiropractors get “equality” and are included in this, someone who doesn’t value chiropractic will determine what chiropractic is worth and the amount chiropractors will be compensated. We see thousands of chiropractors a year that are included on private insurance plans and they’re barely surviving.  Is that the direction we want the entire profession to go? 

The trend in chiropractic has been getting further and further away from the fundamental truths of chiropractic in the quest for acceptance in the mainstream medical field.  Inclusion is not our answer.  To be accepted isn’t always positive, especially when it takes one away from fundamental truths.  Remember, only dead fish swim with the stream.

Will chiropractic survive under a new healthcare plan?  Absolutely. Chiropractic will survive as long as chiropractors continue doing chiropractic. How do I know this?  Chiropractic was already established as a science, art and philosophy long before insurance compensated chiropractors.  Chiropractic benefits began in the mid-60’s with only a handful of states participating.  It wasn’t until the late 70’s, early 80’s when insurance companies began covering chiropractic services. (Source: Chiropractic in the United States: Training Practice, and Research.  Chapter VI: Insurance Coverage of Chiropractic Services.  Gail A. Jensen, PhD; Robert D. Mootz, DC; Paul G. Shekelle, MD, PhD; Daniel C. Cherkin, PhD.)  Chiropractic has been around since 1895 and was alive and well long before the 70’s & 80’s when insurance companies began compensating chiropractors.  As my dad, Dr. Thomas Owen says, “We did just fine before you came, and we’ll do just fine after you leave.”

Let’s not make the mistake of thinking that the only way chiropractic will survive is being included in a government sponsored healthcare plan.  As long as chiropractors remain close to the fundamental truths of chiropractic, they will not only survive, they will thrive.

For a podcast version of this topic, please visit ChiroStraightTalk.com.

Was chiropractic based around the pain model for the first hundred years?  Is a subluxation a true health condition or not? Is a subluxation a progressive condition or not? If left alone will a subluxation have radiating issues or not? I end with this question; if a subluxation is identified on a patient at the 2nd thoracic vertebrae will the only issue that patient experiences over time be pain or not? Do you know, as I do, the answer is no! Left alone that patient will have much more serious health issues beyond just pain.

It used to be our only concern was if a prospective patient would say, “Ahh, I don’t believe in chiropractic”. It is a completely different concern when the chiropractors themselves don’t believe in the power of chiropractic! We could not care less what you believe in. Tell us what you know! My answer to the uncertain patient has always been. “Well, some people might not believe in the law of gravidity but I wonder what would happen if they jumped off my roof to prove their unbelief?

You see once a law or principle has proven it cannot be challenged. The law behind chiropractic and the chiropractic adjustment has long since been proven. I will assure you that if we can solidify this weakness within the profession in this day and age of information that it would not take long for chiropractic to rise to the top of the healthcare field. There is a rule in business that states that if you don’t have certainty of your product then you won’t be able to sell it. How resoundingly true that is in what we are seeing in chiropractic practices abroad.

I firmly know that if the essence of chiropractic philosophy were to increase in the hearts and minds of practicing chiropractors then we would see a revival within our profession like never before. Those of you out there who “KNOW” the power of chiropractic and the chiropractic adjustment should take the chiropractor down the street out for lunch. If we who know do not spread the word then we may not have chance with the next generation of chiropractors.

I’m passionate about chiropractic and these are my thoughts and the thoughts of many chiropractors with who I associate. Make the effort today to make chiropractic what it should be and we will all be better off.

Do you ever have that feeling of uncertainty with patient recommendations?  If you don’t “KNOW” that you have a strong chiropractic philosophy then what will you do within the next 90 days to change that aspect? Please share any thoughts you have on the subject?

I remember a story about Dr. B J Palmer that gets to the essence of what I am saying here. It was told that local leadership had asked Dr. Palmer if he believed there was a God. To which Dr. Palmer replied “No!”  His answer spread like wildfire throughout Davenport. The gossip amongst the people was that Dr. Palmer was an atheist. Dr. Palmer then went onto his local radio show to dispel the rumor by saying that he had never gotten the chance to explain his answer. He stated the person asked, “Do I BELIEVE there is a God, to which I answered no. The fact is I KNOW there is a God”. There is a marked difference between the two.

The essence of his answer is vital today in the profession that we all love so much. My partners and I travel from coast to coast working with D.C’s with various backgrounds in chiropractic be that technique or schools. However, there is one very concerning trait that we are seeing more often. The fact is many doctors are losing their identity of who they really are as chiropractors.

There was a recent graduate from university, who at his graduation stated to his fellow graduates, while still holding their newly acquired diplomas in their hands, “well, what exactly are we? I think we are glorified physical therapists.

The true science of “above, down, inside, out” is being lost. The power of knowing what occurs in a chiropractic adjustment is becoming an unknown. If we aren’t careful we could lose our identity as a whole within the next generation. Think about that for a second. The name chiropractic itself is being removed from the very title of the schools that are representing it.

I think we will continue to expand on this issue on our next visit. This is too important of a topic. 

My question to you is “Did you graduate with a strong foundation of chiropractic philosophy?”