Labels and categories seem to be the first thing we use to describe a person. A chiropractor describing another chiropractor might use one of these terms:
As the other health care professions look into the chiropractic profession, do they understand our terms? Are they able to differentiate who they are talking to? Can they understand what it is we say we do? Can they be confident that the care their referred patients receive at one DC's office will be similar to the care provided at another's office?
When Walt Disney created the Seven Dwarves, he used simple, descriptive names that everyone understood:
Such is not the case with the chiropractic profession. The public tends to label the entire profession based upon the one or two DCs they have been adjusted by. When two patients talk about their chiropractic experiences, they may have completely different understandings of why chiropractic has been effective for them. Like the old story of the blind men describing the elephant by the body part they were touching, there is justifiable concern that chiropractic is not a homogeneous profession.
The medical profession labels us either by the horror stories they have heard, or by the DCs they know and respect, i.e., DCs they will refer patients to. But most MDs (and other health care providers) appear to be somewhat uncertain. Is the DC they are referring to representative of the average doctor of chiropractic? Or is it the DC who was just featured on "20/20" shuttling in children on the clinic's bus from a low-income neighborhood to defraud the Medicare system?
Can they trust you once you've established a working relationship? Or is there a fear that you are secretly doing something adverse to patient health? How can chiropractic promote its services nationwide when the clinicians can't agree what those services include? It would be like ordering a Big Mac and not being certain if your were going to get a taco, a deli sandwich or a bucket of chicken.
Sadly enough, it is this uncertainty that is holding chiropractic back among the other "alternative" health care professions. Studies over the last few years show that medical providers are more comfortable referring patients for meditation, acupuncture and hypnosis than for chiropractic.1,2
While most of us are rejoicing at the amazing amount of consumer focus "alternative" forms of care are experiencing, chiropractic is in danger of being surpassed by other "therapies" and professions. While still the biggest fish in the alternative care pond, recent studies are showing many of the other alternative care fish are growing much faster.
If there is any good news to the most recent trends, it is that most medical doctors are still unwilling to learn or practice manipulation. They have little hesitation in learning and practicing meditation, hypnosis, acupuncture, herbal medicine and vitamin therapy. But they just don't want to do chiropractic.
So, while our niche may not be growing as fast as we would like, it is currently safe from invasion by the MDs. This is only comforting until you realize that the physical therapists and osteopaths are aggressively invading our territory using every legislative trick in the book.
This is yet another casualty of our inability to work together. The result is that we can't fend off those that would supplant our right to chiropractic manipulation.
Because we don't send a clear message to the consumer public and referring providers, they are hesitant to give chiropractic the opportunity to prove itself. Without a unified voice, we become crowd noise.
Again I ask the question:
How Long?
How much longer are we going to compete with each other while the other health care professions and the health care environment rob and erode our reputation and rightful place in the health care of the world?
The question remains unanswered...
References
When sports chiropractors first appeared at the Olympic Games in the 1980s, it was alongside individual athletes who had experienced the benefits of chiropractic care in their training and recovery processes at home. Fast forward to Paris 2024, where chiropractic care was available in the polyclinic for all athletes, and the attitude has now evolved to recognize that “every athlete deserves access to sports chiropractic."
It is estimated that 61% of patients with CTS avoid taking surgical options due to postoperative complications and costly surgical procedures. Chiropractic care offers a comprehensive and effective treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome, addressing the condition from multiple angles. Recent studies also have unveiled a game-changing adjunct to chiropractic treatments for CTS: nerve flossing.
Some doctors thrive in a personality-based clinic and have a loyal following no matter what services or equipment they offer, but for most chiropractic offices who are trying to grow and expand, new equipment purchases help us stay relevant and continue to service our client base in the best, most up-to-date manner possible. So, regarding equipment purchasing: should you lease, get a bank loan, or pay cash?
