Since 1980, the New England Chiropractic Council has been an organization whose primary purpose is to support and promote the chiropractic profession in the New England states. Last year the council changed its name to the North East Chiropractic Council (NECC) to include the major chiropractic societies of New York and New Jersey.
The NECC now has approximately 7,000 actively practicing chiropractic physicians, and acts as a strategic planning arm for the state associations.
As state borders become less meaningful for the health care profession in the '90s, communications and information sharing between the states is rising at a dizzying pace. Whether it is research reports on auto reform in Massachusetts, universal health care proposals in Vermont, or a small group of DCs in Rhode Island trying to speak for the entire profession, government agencies, insurers, administrators and others meet for discussions and to formulate and make policy based on information gathered on the experience of others. So must we.
Chiropractic inclusion in health care reform is clearly going to be based on the sharing of valuable information with those who make decisions, not just at the board tables of corporate American, but at the dinner table of every household. Chiropractic has long suffered from the dissemination of misinformation. The NECC's main purpose is to share information from each state society to help those societies inform their members and the public.
Quarterly Meetings
Each quarter the member organizations send representatives of their boards and committees to a meeting to discuss issues of regional interest. The sites of our last three meetings have been Providence, RI, Casco Bay, ME, and New York City.
Among this year's activities
At the most recent meeting of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC), there was a discussion of the necessary qualifications for health care providers who are performing chiropractic-type spinal adjusting. The ACC's position was that all those providers must have a total number of hours of education/clinical experience that meets or exceeds that of DCs.
This information is extremely valuable to the New England states, many of which are formulating legislation to limit spinal adjusting procedures to only those practitioners with equal training to ours.
The NECC is actively working to enhance to the chiropractic profession in our region. We are coordinating national and state activities to provide a forum where ideas and information can be exchanged. We seek to advance our profession in an efficient and effective way. Your comments and insights are always appreciated.
Barry Freedman, MS,DC
President, NECC
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?
