"Oh I BELIEVE in chiropractic"
"Yeah, I need to get REALIGNED sometime
soon"
"My hips become UNLEVELED about once a
month"
These are statements that as a chiropractor I hear
everyday, and I'm sure my colleagues do as well. Now I'm not one to argue
these points every time I hear them, but at some point we all need to release
some steam. So hear goes.
First of all, chiropractic is not a religion
therefore it requires no belief. I don't think I have ever heard someone
say, "oh I believe in orthopedic surgery", they just take it to be
the truth. So what is the difference? What has caused this faith
based relationship with a non-allopathic treatment for musculoskeletal injuries?
Well, it is our own fault, the chiropractor's fault. We are our own
worst enemy. Our dogmatic and sometimes blind chiropractic ideals that we
bind ourselves to tend cripple us in the publics' eye. When part of our
profession disregards current research, or continues to pitch an adjustment as
the cure for cancer we will continue to be viewed as a cultist movement rather
than the predominant and viable choice for musculoskeletal injuries. Now
I know some people out there are saying, "well the psychosocial aspect of
the treatment is known to be just as important or more important than the
treatment itself", you are exactly right. That is not a belief issue;
instead that is a perception issue. OUR reality does not exist in belief
it lives in perception.
Second, believe it or not we are not realigning
your spine, nor are we moving bones back into place or un-pinching a nerve. I
know this may be blasphemous to some chiropractors, but the truth is that we
are actually inducing movement into the joint or joint complex that may be
inhibited by osseous, muscular, tendonous, ligamentous structures or any
combination of the aforementioned. Through the induction of movement in
this inhibited joint, a neurological resetting and muscular relaxation occurs
due to the fast twitch muscle reflex being activated. Certain pain
inhibiting chemicals are also released in accordance with this adjustment.
Other effects of the chiropractic adjustment have been researched, such
as the increased or decreased parasympathetic/sympathetic function and improved
immune response, but most of these have not been studied in depth enough to
result in viable data.
My last point goes hand in hand with the previous
statement of "moving bones", I constantly hear patients stating that their
MD, PT or other practitioner told them that their "hips are unlevel"
and that they should possibly get adjusted. First of all, I truly do
appreciate the referral, but this is like me sending someone to his or her
primary care doctor for an ibuprofen deficiency because they have plantar fasciitis.
The NSAIDS may mask some of the pain, and may in fact give enough relief
to aid in healing, but that isn't really their problem.
I'll let you in on a secret, EVERYONE'S HIPS ARE
UNLEVEL!!! Humans are not symmetrical, so in essence we are never level
and we don't really need to be. Of course a huge difference in leg length,
scoliosis or some other deformity can cause unleveling or rotation, but it
really boils down to how you move. If your "hips" measure
differently but you can move through all planes of motion and you are pain free
then WHO CARES! Yes sometimes orthotics, heel lifts or other aids are
needed to help true anatomical variances, but those are not things that will ever
be remedied by a chiropractic adjustment alone.
All of this being said, I am and always will be a
chiropractor first, but we need to start being smart and stop being lazy.
We are not moving C7 back into place, or leveling a patients hips, and if
you think you are...well, you're wrong. Start educating yourself but more
importantly your patients and the public. Chiropractors do have a profound
impact, but that impact needs to be completely understood in order to be
PERCEIVED appropriately.
"There is no truth. There is only
perception."
- Gustave Flaubert
Until next time...
Stay light, stay fast.
Dr. Beau Beard, DC, MS
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteComment removed huh? Guess it was telling the truth about chiropractors...they make permanent patients. News flash....it you were actually helping you wouldn't tell people to come back for 5 years?!?
DeleteThis needs to be said repeatedly until it is a shared view at the level of the professional organizations. Also on the first dsy of school.
ReplyDeleteDear Chiropractors...if you wanted to practice PHYSICAL THERAPY...you should have gone to PT school! Otherwise, stop the lawsuits and shaming yourselves...it's embarrassing!
Delete"oh I believe in orthopedic surgery, they just take it to be the truth. So what is the difference?" -Orthopedic Surgeons are MD's, Chiropractors are not.
ReplyDeleteyour absolutely right, Chiropractors aren't MD's because we don't practice medicine because we don't want to. We are however licensed and educated doctors. We have have the same amount of Science, Radiology, Pathology, Physical diagnoses and all other classes as MD's. We just choose not to pump science experiments into peoples bodies for no reason and for the benefit of time. So thank you for stating the obvious.
DeleteWOW...Chiropractors saying they are better than LIFE-SAVING Medical Doctors (MD)???? I've heard it all now! :/
DeleteOMG..... what an epiphany! Finally a chiropractor that not only admits but also states that getting adjusted isn't the one and all for everything that is wrong with our bodies. I am a massage therapist and, while yes I agree that we should get adjusted and massaged (medically, not just some stupid spa version massage), I try to instill in my patients that it is within their power to educate themselves on what is main culprit of what is bringing them out of alignment or causing them discomfort/pain. We as health, manual practitioners need to help our clients claim their power in their individualistic health care as well as helping them reach their goals in health or bodies.
ReplyDeleteHere's the epiphany...a 3 year college degree doesn't equal 12 total years of training that Medical Doctors (MD) endure so stop confusing the public, those of us REAL medical "practitioners" are getting bored with reading your ill-informed and uneducated posts...and yes we all talk about the next "new kid in town".
DeleteI should probably go get my money back for those other 5 years, huh? Thank you so much for taking time to talk about "the new kid in town", when you do make sure to mention our hours are 8-6, the phone number is 205-419-1595 and we would love treat any trouble cases. Thanks! Take care!
Delete"new kid in town"
I am a Doctored, Licensed Physical Therapist here in Birmingham, AL and was quite entertained reading your honest self-assessment of your own profession. The sad part is claiming you can effectively perform post-op rehabilitation as an ill-informed chiropractor and confusing the public. Here's a fact, there is a growing number of chiropractic victims...oops I mean patients...that have been KILLED by strokes secondary to cervical thrusts and I personally was hurt due to an ill educated chiropractor. Good luck with your "practice" of alienating MDs and PTs here in Birmingham, we have your address and saw you coming! Ex-CIA at The REAL Farm ;)
ReplyDeleteWell hello anonymous, personally I like the anonymity, it screams bravery. So let's break down your cute little comment here. First of all congratulations on being "Doctored". Second, unless you are reading a different article, I don't see anything in here about post-op rehabilitation. Now that you mention it though, I do firmly believe that the pairing of my Docorate and a Masters in Sports Rehabilitation qualifies me just fine, so if you are having trouble with any patients just send them my way.
DeleteI am sorry to hear that you had a poor chiropractic experience, on behalf of our profession I sincerely apologize.
Thank you so much for the well wishes, I'm sure our practice will thrive. We love Birmingham and I am proud to now call it my home. Also, I'm so glad you have our address, here is our office number as well, 205-419-1595. I implore you to call so we can have a discussion, hopefully an intellectual one, about whatever you would like to discuss. Hope to hear from you soon.
I am a third generation Chiropractor and have seen thousands of lives transformed by Chiropractic first hand. It saddens me to see the ignorance displayed in these comments. It is naive to portray a specific profession as being perfect. I was an ICU nurse before I became a Chiropractor and have seen multiple patients injured, sometimes fatally, from mistakes made by MD’s and nurses so they are not without flaw. All professions have people who are “not good practitioners” but that doesn’t mean we should throw the whole profession out the window because of the few bad eggs. I also saw a patient last week who suffered an ankle fracture from inappropriate physical therapy preformed IN the physical therapists office. I am not saying that all MD’s or PT’s are bad but not all of them are good either and the same rings true for Chiropractic as well as EVERY profession. There is a time and a place for every aspect of medicine and if people cannot realize that then they are ignorant and close minded.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it is extremely extremely rare for someone to experience a stroke after a Chiropractic adjustment so please do not spread false information and “confuse the public” as you have stated.
It should never be the intension of a health care professional to alienate another profession as it is our common goal to improve the health of the patient and that can be accomplished through collaborative care. Oh and by the way I have been in school for 11 years not 3.
As an avid triathlete who completes in off-road events and ultra-trail running, I’ve experienced a much higher rate of success in terms of relief from pain, improved joint alignment- function, and overall athletic performance from Chiropractic care than any other medical care I’ve tried. In the past I spent months going to PT and popping pain meds to get me through the week with only a limited amount of success. That’s my skinny on the subject.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments Dr. Beau...
ReplyDeleteI have been at this profession, which includes a fair amount of science along with a substantial measure of art, for 37 years. No two cases seem to resolve exactly the same way with the same method of treatment, even though the presenting symptomatology and signs are nearly identical. I agree with your remarks above; I have "preached," if you will, for years, that the patient does not need to "believe" in chiropractic. If their particular case falls into the spectrum of the subluxation complex, then whether they believe or not they can usually be helped.
Belief is not necessary. There is no religion of chiropractic. We could discuss the art element, but that should be the subject of another post. I must also confess that I am confident that the spirit is part of life and has relevance to health, but belief in chiropractic is not a necessary component to correcting a low back instability, for instance. We could discuss the science and art side of the solution to a condition, but the belief element is not a necessary component to restoration of the body to good health.
Keep up the great work, Dr. Dan