Chinese Robots as Chiropractors?
Healthcare / Public Health

Chinese Robots as Chiropractors?

Could a Robot Do a Real Chiropractic Adjustment?

With all the highly sophisticated robot activity on display these days, it makes one wonder whether a robot could give a real massage. We have all seen small foot or back massage cushions, and expensive recliner chairs with multiple massage functions. But could a robot deliver a massage that closely mimics human touch? It turns out, several companies are way ahead in exploring human-like touch research - which leads to the obvious question for our profession: Could a robot give a real chiropractic adjustment?

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Like education itself, accreditation continues to evolve. Proposed requirements from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), which recognizes accrediting agencies, are accelerating that change and creating uncertainty. After careful consideration, CCE concluded that these requirements would impose substantial burdens while providing limited to no additional benefit to chiropractic programs, students or the public; and has voted to begin the necessary steps for withdrawing from the USDE recognition process.

Craig S. Little, EdD

Fascia is a collagen‑ and elastin‑rich tissue that combines tensile strength with elasticity and possesses its own contractile behavior. When muscle activity begins, mechanoreceptors such as muscle spindles relay rapid feedback to the central nervous system, and this requires fascia with healthy viscosity so that spindle cells, Pacini, and Ruffini receptors can deform and glide normally.

Jeffrey Tucker, DC, DACRB
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Supscapularis Syndrome: The Upper-Extremity Analog to Piriformis Syndrome

Subscapularis syndrome is introduced here as a clinically relevant and underrecognized source of upper-extremity pseudo-radiculopathy. Similar to piriformis syndrome, it reflects a functional disorder in which deep stabilizing muscle dysfunction – rather than primary nerve-root compression – drives symptoms that mimic radiculopathy.

Ken Kaufman, DC
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Your Practice / Business  |  DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE

Branding is crucial for attracting new patients as a chiropractor because it establishes a strong and memorable identity that builds trust and resonates with potential patients. According to a study by Nielsen, 59% of consumers prefer to buy products and services from familiar brands they trust.

Carolyn KreuzKamp, BS, MBA
Chronic / Acute Conditions
Flexor Hallucis Longus Entrapment: Diagnosis, Correction

While excessive pronation is almost always blamed for the development of functional hallux limitus, a frequently overlooked cause of this condition occurs when the flexor hallucis longus tendon gets trapped in the retrotalar pulley located behind the medial malleolus. This condition is particularly common in classical ballet dancers, gymnasts, figure skaters, and soccer players.

Thomas Michaud, DC
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As you know, chiropractic physicians are trained to evaluate and manage patients with cervicogenic headaches. Yet we may become overconfident with our diagnosis and misdiagnose the condition if we are not inquisitive during our initial patient interview. This putative case report should be most interesting to our chiropractic specialists, especially those who have earned a DABCI.

James Lehman, DC, DIANM
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Your Practice / Business

Clinical errors are a significant challenge, and nearly every person will experience a diagnostic error in their lifetime. As health care providers, we take an oath to “first do no harm” to our patients. And since it is never our intention to do harm to our patients, it is time the health care industry in general faced the facts of how our actions or inactions are putting our patients in harm’s way.

Scott Munsterman, DC, FICC, CPCO
Healthcare / Public Health  |  DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
Chronology: An Important Factor Dispelling a Causal Relationship With Cervical Manipulation

For an unsuspecting consumer, medical doctor or attorney, the sequence may appear obvious: “I had my neck adjusted and then had a stroke.” A physician encountering the case after the fact may see the same temporal relationship. And in a legal proceeding, the fact that treatment preceded the stroke can become a particularly powerful narrative. But a chronological reconstruction can tell a very different story.

John T. Salvucci, Esq.