(No subject)

[Guest guest]

OR DCs,

From another list serve…a view of outliers and what

they do to the rest of us.

A. Simpson, DC

Founder-Stop Plate Tectonics Society

" On Cultists, Freaks

and Apathy” Larry Wyatt, DC. Published in the ACA News

In recent years, we have

enjoyed the benefits of research documenting the use of manipulation and

mobilization as safe and effective forms of care for many neuromusculoskeletal

(NMS) complaints. DCs are being integrated into multi-disciplinary and

hospital settings. And Department of Defense, VA and Medicare projects are

demonstrating acceptance of DCs as caregivers for NMS conditions. Despite this

progress, the Florida Board of Governors (BOG) for Higher Education voted 10-3

against a proposal to establish a public chiropractic college at Florida State

University (FSU). The program would have brought much-needed research,

scholarly activity and higher education standards to the chiropractic

profession.

Attorney Mcs,

who led the chiropractic profession to victory in the Wilk vs. AMA case,

suggests that 5 percent of chiropractors are cultists, 5 percent are freaks and

the other 90 percent keep their collective mouths shut. While the numbers are

debatable, the essence of his statement implies that it's not that hard to

believe the BOG voted the way it did. If we have more than our share of

cultists and freaks, is there really a " misperception " about us?

Certainly, there was a great

deal of misinformation circulated about the chiropractic profession during the

FSU debate-no doubt turf protection was a motive, too. There is also, however,

truth in some of what the naysayers said. In fact, our " live and let

live " attitude in this profession allows unacceptable behaviors to

continue virtually unabated. With this apathy, we give tacit approval to the

freaks and cultists.

In the aftermath of the FSU

vote, we now hear outcries of " Bigotry! "

Some

have even equated

chiropractic's struggle at FSU with Dr. Luther King and the struggles of

African-Americans. The dissimilarities between the two are mind-boggling. When

was the last time you heard about a chiropractor forced to drink from a

separate water fountain or sit in the back of a bus?

Where is the profession-wide

uproar over surrogate adjusting, subluxation as the cause for disease,

" save our subluxation " campaigns, unfounded claims from organizations

and schools, ethical abuses, debunked muscle testing techniques, unending

spinal manipulation as " wellness " care and the use of untested

devices and therapies? While many MDs think that manipulation is a

worthwhile service, many are afraid to send a patient to a chiropractor for

fear of what kind of chiropractor the patient will see. (emphasis added)

After 109 years, many among

us cling to ideas that only we, as a profession, accept; yet the public rejects

them. The public tells us that it wants us to take care of spines, much like a

podiatrist taking care of feet. In return, we tell the public that it just

doesn't understand us. Is this smart marketing? Are we the only profession that

thinks that " specialist " is a dirty word? The public wants and needs

specialists because of their expertise. How can being a " specialist "

for treating the second most common morbidity in this country be a bad thing?

We also need to learn how to

take a joke. A chiropractor is a permanent major character on a prime-time

sitcom ( " Two and a Half Men " ), and we still can't watch and laugh

with the rest of the world. Instead, we write letters demanding apologies

and suggesting boycotts. Was there an outcry from medicine about the television

show " Becker " and all of that character's idiosyncrasies? Should we

all start wearing T-shirts that say, " Yes, it IS all about

chiropractic " ?

And when will we accept that

some of what we do as chiropractors does not work? We claim that anything

that is said, done or written that does not support chiropractic care is

inherently biased and " anti-chiropractic. "

When will we accept that not

every positive study on conservative health care proves that " chiropractic

works " ? Do we really still believe that " education pollutes the

mind " ? Is " mounting evidence, " which is essentially double talk

for anecdotal reports, enough for us? Can we continue to claim success

for conditions that are self-resolving in 90 percent of cases?

No.

No! NO!

Do we want to be known as

the " anti " profession-anti-vaccination, anti-medicine, anti-surgery

and anti-research? Why can't we make reasonable, non-vitriolic comparisons

between chiropractic care and other therapies?

We

are our own worst

enemy.

The folks in Florida who worked for

years to establish the proposed chiropractic college should be commended for

their efforts against what seemed to be insurmountable odds. However, it can be

legitimately argued that much of the odds against us were of our own doing.

Ladies and gentlemen-for the public welfare and the future education of

chiropractic students-when will we " stop the insanity " ?

The time is now. Save

our subluxation? No . save our future by stepping up, standing up and not

shutting up! "