The conventional paradigm for treating neck and back problems is medical treatment (usually drugs), and/or surgery. A recent study found a sharp decrease in medical treatment, but an alarming increase in surgery:
Hospital Admissions (per 100,000 adults) for Medically Treated and Surgically Treated Neck and Back Problems
| Medical Treatment | 1982 | 1987 | 1992 |
| Ontario | 242.8 | 180.2 | 117.1 |
| U.S. | 586.3 | 383.6 | 143.7 |
| Ontario | 72.1 | 72.4 | 82.3 |
| U.S. | 160.5 | 194.1 | 217.2 |
The researchers suggest that "higher admission rates for surgery in the U.S. may reflect a larger supply of surgical specialists and imaging units."
------------------ SOURCE: Lavis JN, Anderson GM, Taylor VM, Deyo RA, Bombardier C, Axcell T, Kreuter W. Trends in hospital use for mechanical neck and back problems in Ontario and the United States: discretionary care in different health care systems. Can Med Assoc J 1998;158:29-36.
When I graduated from chiropractic college in 1981 and started practice, I heard it all, and very little was positive. “You are a quack; you do not know what a subluxation is; you couldn’t get into a real health care program, so you chose the one that is slightly above a mail-order degree; you have no proof that chiropractic works; Are you really licensed?”, and so much more.
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A central challenge in creating our identity is that chiropractic is a method of care, not a technique or procedure. This is an important concept for us to promote. Our patients are treated with lifestyle modification, exercise, nutritional supplements, diet and a whole-body approach to accelerate the natural healing process. We are not simply CMT providers.
The results of a global survey released late last year (2023) unveiled some startling findings among medical and nursing students. The “Clinician of the Future: 2023 Education Edition” surveyed 2,212 students, of which 446 were in the United States, from 91 countries.
