Chiropractic (General)

Reelin' in the Years

Steve Kelly, managing editor

A Chiropractic Memoir Editor/Publisher's note: For the last nine years, Steve Kelly has been Dynamic Chiropractic's managing editor. He has been following the chiropractic profession's progress through difficult and exciting times. To give this column space a second perspective, I have asked him to begin writing a quarterly report. Like myself, Steve is not a doctor of chiropractic, but he is very dedicated in to the chiropractic profession and its progress. - Don Petersen

I began as an assistant editor of DC at the end of 1990. In the old days, pre-ChiroWeb.com, I kept a handy stack of each issue that I had worked on near my desk to consult when a DC would call and say, for example: "I recall reading an article a few months back (translation: some time in the last two or three years) about some chiropractor who won a court case in some state or other, and I meant to save it, but I can't find it and I need a copy of it because I'm going to court tomorrow and my lawyer says it might help."

I'd track down the pertinent case, in between proofing copy, editing a columnist, writing a piece for DC or answering another doctor's question, fax the story to the DC, and put the issue back in the stack, ready for the next inquiry.

Over the years, the stack has grown to some 255 issues. On occasion, when a computer glitch blocks our access to ChiroWeb, I still wade through the stack in search of a morsel of information. It occurred to me to go back through the issues and select some chiropractic highlights. It became a kind of sentimental journey. Here then, is some of the news that made headlines in DC since I began, along with a few comments:

1991

Dedication of the new NBCE headquarters: My first trip as a DC editor was to attend the dedication ceremonies in Greeley, Colorado. It's a beautiful facility, and Horace Elliott, the executive director, was a kind host. I titled that story "A Proud Testament to Chiropractic." Now, nine years later, the controversy with the NBCE Board is not chiropractic's proudest moment.
Princess Di visits the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic: Diana was certainly chiropractic's most high-profile advocate and patient. Her support advanced the cause of chiropractic in the UK.
Illinois DCs defeat PMA in Florida court: In my early days with DC, the majority of calls I fielded concerned this practice management company. The typical callers would express consternation at paying a percentage of their income to the company. "Did you sign a contract to pay a percentage?" I'd ask, already knowing the reply: "Yes ... but how do I get out of it?"
School in Caribbean offers DCs a short-order MD degree: We got suspicious when the school kept changing its name; when the director was wanted on felony charges in the U.S.; when one of the school's officials turned out to be a janitor; when the instructors didn't speak English; and when one DC student noticed one of the doctors carried a gun on hospitals rounds. I used to get calls from DCs like this: "I just sent $25,000 to a school in the Caribbean. Is this a good school, or what?"
Univ. of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic opens. The colleges keep turning out more chiropractors, but one thing hasn't changed: the need for the colleges to spend a great deal more time preparing students for the business realities of opening and operating a practice.
The RAND study published. Affiliation with the California think tank put chiropractic research on the map.
Three Michigan associations merge; Washington state's three state associations unify: What chiropractic couldn't accomplish at the national level began to come to fruition at the state level.
Shawn Burns,DC, crowned Miss Ocean Pacific: Chiropractic is beautiful.

1992

AHCPR sponsors low back panel: Chiropractic was included in federal guidelines for the first time.
Wilk et al. vs. AMA et al. settled: Chiropractic stood up to the bullies and won. The AMA's Committee on Quackery had spelled out their prime mission: "First - the containment of chiropractic, and ultimately the elimination of chiropractic."
Mercy guidelines produced: Once upon a time, in a galaxy near to home, a brave group of chiropractic stalwarts ventured forth on a necessary but perilous mission that none before dared undertake. These were the guideline pioneers, a hardy, intelligent lot, praised by the forward thinking and wrongly chastised by the backseat-driving, I-cou'd-a-done-it-better crowd.
"20/20" report on chiropractic: A PR nightmare, but a wakeup call to the increasing scrutiny of the profession.
ChiroLoan program introduced: Finally, some help for the student loan-debt problem.
Team chiropractor for Philadelphia 76ers: Sir Charles is royally adjusted. P.S.: Perhaps a good adjustment would straighten out Dennis Rodman. Chiropractic can work miracles, but that's a stretch.
Bill commissioning DCs in military passes House: It only took 50 years! Expect the military to commission a DC about the time the first orbiting hotel resort is completed.
ACA wins Emmy: What's next, "Chiropractic - The Movie"?
U.S. Dept. of Ed. Denies SCASA accreditation renewal: The "straights" are pushed into a corner.

1993

Canadian Guidelines produced: Mercy migrates north.
Korean Chiropractic Assoc. formed: (Korean for chiropractic.)
The WHO endorses chiropractic: No, not the former British rockers.
Universitâ du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres opens: I'll have the Chiropratique a la Francaise, s'il vous plait.
Manga Report published: Cost effectiveness of chiropractic care gets international attention.

1994

1st Latin American Congress of Chiropractic: Living la vida chiro.
Solla anit-trust suit filed: Long Island DCs are fed up with the HMOs excluding chiropractic.
NCMIC donates $1 million to FCER: Serious commitments and serious dollars. Sometimes when you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
Consumer Reports tackles chiropractic: Please, stick to merchandise reviews.
World Cup soccer and chiropractic team up: Man, those headers really wreak havoc on C1, C2.
Orthopractors: Canadian Murray Katz (director of Orthopractic Manipulation International, Inc.) musters pediatricians north of the border to denounce pediatric chiropractic.
Britain passes Chiropractors Act: Good show, mates.
Largest federal grant ever for chiropractic: HHS grant goes to LACC.
Military Demonstration Project: DCs "officially" adjusting the troops. "This is just a test," as they like to say in national defense circles.
AHCPR's Acute Low Back Problems in Adults released: The guidelines make the national evening news. Manipulation was cited as "helpful for patients with acute low back problems without radiculopathy when used within the first month of symptoms." Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but the panel so upset the back surgeons that the agency is no longer in the guideline business.

1995

Chiropractic in the Rose Parade: Tiger Woods was on the chiropractic float that day in Pasadena, waving to the crowd. Somehow, I don't think he'd be up for that gig now.
Britain releases back pain guidelines: The Mercy guidelines were the "shot heard around the world."
CCE accredits Sherman and Bridgeport: Straightening out (or was it "unstraightening") chiropractic education.
University-based chiropractic program for Japan (RMIT): Think of the possibilities for chiropractic growth in Asia - staggering!
Chiropractic Centennial Celebration: Happy birthday chiropractic. You don't look a day over 100.

1996

Australians draft guidelines: Bonzer, mates.
Medical school offers rotations to chiropractic residents: The last bastions are falling.
DCs treating athletes at Atlanta Olympics: Chiropractic and athletes: a symbiotic relationship.
ACA - ICA create Alliance for Chiropractic Progress: "Right on," as we used to say, oh, about 30 years ago.

1997

Chiropractic documentary airs nationwide: Two thumbs up.
British low back pain guidelines released: Austin Powers again thwarts Dr. Evil. Mini Me gets adjusted and grows one inch.
Palmer and Brazilian University seek chiropractic curriculum: The bossa nova is all the rage in Davenport.
Clinton signs legislation to abolish mandatory x-ray requirement for DCs under Medicare: Thanks, Bill; you too, Hillary.
Britain establishes General Chiropractic Council: Bloody good show.
Harvard is site for chiropractic pilot study: Does this mean we'll be dining at the Hasty Pudding Club?
CMCC and York University form partnership: Some Canadian medics see this union as "legitimizing" chiropractic. What century are they living in?

1998

Asian Chiropractic Federation formed: Your patient wants a chiropractic referral while in Hong Kong on business - no problem.
UK's first university-based chiropractic program: That would be the Welsh Institute of Chiropractic at the University of Glamorgan. How are things in Glamorgan?
Solla case dismissed: "... whether we defeat the enemy in one battle, or by degrees, the consequences will be the same." - Thomas Paine, 1778
FTC questions chiropractor's claims: The FTC, next in popularity to the IRS and FDA, does not stand for "favorable treatment of chiropractors." The FTC has an entire division devoted to advertising practices. Speaking of trivia, can you name the FTC chairman? It's Robert Pitofsky.
DC wins Ohio primary: We followed the congressional campaigns of three DCs. Some DCs were offended when we suggested they could use support
Japanese DCs develop educational standards: East meets West.
Lorraine Golden, Chiropractor of the Year: Chiropractic's Mother Theresa.

1999

New Eisenberg study: astounding increases in alternative care use: When will this trend translate into astounding increases for chiropractic? Why hasn't it?
Chiropractic legal in Belgium: How can chiropractic be "illegal"?
CMCC awarded $1 million grant for headache study: Is that U.S. dollars or Canadian? Either way, it's encouraging to see non-low back research.
Presidential candidate Orrin Hatch: chiropractic advocate: He seemed a worthy fellow, but his campaign laid an egg and never hatched.
Costa Rica legalizes chiropractic: Life College laid the foundation to establish chiropractic here. DCs Shawn Dill and Andrew Roberts, members of QuiroprÉctica Mundial, were instrumental in the law's passage.
DCs as primary physicians with Blue Cross/Blue Shield: A nice change. Usually when we report on a health insurance company, it's about a court settlement.
Chiropractic effective for infantile colic, study says: The DC editorial staff has read the study, as have many DCs, but who else knows about it? That's why ChiroWeb.com features information for patient and consumers called ChiroFind ([url=http://www.chiroweb.com/find/]http://www.chiroweb.com/find/[/url]).

2000

Chiropractic "only proven effective treatment" for chronic whiplash: See ChiroFind.
Veterans' Millennium Health Care Act becomes law: A revamping is going on at the VA. The Department of Veterans' Affairs is mandated to establish a policy on chiropractic's role. The chiropractic profession presented its case, but the profession could not present a unified, single vision.
NBCE Board: Violating a professional trust? Stay tuned.

I hope my stroll (more like a sprint, given our deadline) down memory lane brings back a few chiropractic memories of your own. There were many other interesting news items left off the list. That's one of the many amazing aspects about the chiropractic profession: so much going on and so little time to report on it. Just as I write this final paragraph, I'm handed a "media advisory" from the ACA about breaking news on the Department of Defense's chiropractic demonstration project, and a release on a settlement between the Federal Trade Commission and the director of the Wisconsin Chiropractic Association on allegations of price fixing. Like I said, stay tuned.

April 2000