In contrast to bad media coverage of chiropractic (See "PBS Airs Flawed Program on Chiropractic"), in the June 2002 issue of Biography magazine, "Back on Track: Dr. John Triano and the Power of Chiropractic Medicine" offers kudos to chiropractic. The article was written based on the advice of John Triano,DC,PhD, director of the chiropractic division of the Texas Back Institute (TBI), and a well-regarded researcher and clinician.
Biography is a national magazine with a circulation of over 700,000. The publication focuses primarily on profiles about famous persons, but also covers other topics, such as a health section in which Dr. Triano's advice appears. The article is written by Alyssa Shaffer and features Dr. Triano's advice on good posture, back exercises, proper lifting techniques. It includes general information about chiropractic, including, for a change, links to viable information about chiropractic: the website of Dynamic Chiropractic (www.chiroweb.com), and the websites and phone numbers of the ACA, ICA and the TBI.
Dr. Triano, one of the foremost chiropractors in the nation, highlights the basic anatomy of the back and other reasons besides bad posture for the development of low back pain. The article puts chiropractic in a positive light. "Research has shown that in cases of acute pain, a chiropractor is often more effective than drugs and surgery," notes Shaffer.
Ralph Rashbaum,MD, medical director of the TBI, explained to Ms. Shaffer that "chiropractic today is a part of an integrated health-care approach to the treatment of soft tissue injury."
The article relates the story of one of Dr. Triano's patients, Amy Pope, a 38-year-old from Dallas, Texas, who had experienced radiating arm pain for more than a month. Her doctor had diagnosed tendonitis and prescribed pain relievers, but the pain remained. While Amy was skeptical about what chiropractic could do for her, she put herself in Dr. Triano's care. An MRI revealed she had a herniated cervical disk. She underwent manipulation and ultrasound, and her pain disappeared.
"Dr. Triano became my knight in shining armor," she told Biography.
Dr. Triano told Biography he came to be a chiropractor because a chiropractor helped him overcome his chronic whiplash, the result of three separate car accidents as a youth. "It seemed like my car had a bull's-eye target on the back," he explained. The chiropractor his mother brought him to healed and inspired him. "He pulled me back together where traditional medical care couldn't."
Dr. Triano graduated from Logan College of Chiropractic in St. Louis in 1973, and has a PhD in spine biomechanics from the University of Michigan. He was the first chiropractor to join the staff of the prestigious Texas Back Institute.
In addition to research and providing chiropractic media exposure, Dr. Triano is a member of the American Society of Biomechanics. He has also been active in guideline development for the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, the Mercy Guidelines, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the North American Spine Society. Dr. Triano was named the "1998 Physician of the Year" by the American Board of Chiropractic Rehabilitation, and has been a back-pain-injury consultant for the U.S. Department of Labor, the Agency of Health Care Policy and Research, and the RAND Corp. panels on LBP.
Dr. Triano treats nearly 900 patients each year at the TBI, ranging from children to seniors. His wife, Marion McGregor-Triano, is a chiropractic clinician, and a researcher of note.
To read the Biography article on line, go to www.biographymagazine.com.
Editor's note: As part of the article on chiropractic and Dr. Triano, Biography surveyed readers on back pain. The questions and results of the reader poll will be posted on the Biography website at www.biography.com/magazine/index.html.
Ryan Lockwood
associate editor
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