While cervical disc pathology can unquestionably produce radiculopathy, many patients presenting with arm pain, paresthesia or perceived weakness do not exhibit the clinical behavior of true nerve-root compromise. In these cases, failure to differentiate the primary pain generator may lead to unnecessary spinal injections, nerve ablation procedures or surgical consultation despite limited likelihood of benefit.
What Can YOU Do?
There is one point that I would like to make to every chiropractor in the world. Being a member of a recent strategic planning meeting of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has made me more aware than ever of the necessity of all DCs to have a national voice. I'd like to urge all DCs in the world to belong to some national organization!
Of course, neither the ACA nor the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) do everything we like. But those of you who are not ICA or ACA members had better wake up and begin to realize all the benefits we've achieved are the result of national representation through the years.
This decade is going to be the most crucial in our history. Don't ask, "What can the ACA/ICA do for me?" Ask, "What can I do for the ICA/ACA?" For, having that national voice is indispensable to our very professional life! And this is true in every country.