Physical therapists in Pennsylvania, lead by the American Physical Therapy Association, have won a unanimous decision in prohibiting chiropractors in the state from advertising or representing themselves as providing physical therapy services.
The three-judge panel of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania based its decision on the state's Physical Therapy Practice Act, which prohibits a person representing that they practice physical therapy unless they are licensed under the act.
The decision overturns a Feb. 1997 decision by a hearing examiner who found that chiropractors did not violate Section IV of the state's Physical Therapy Practice Act by advertising that they perform physical therapy.
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.
