We Get Letters & E-Mail

Is Chiropractic Guilty of an Inferiority Complex?

Dear Editor:

I read the article in Dynamic Chiropractic about the "Attack on Chiropractic" ["Attack on Chiropractic, Alternative Health Care Continues; More Pieces in an All-Too-Familiar Conspiracy Puzzle Fall Into Place."]. After practicing for five years, I am still surprised when I see DCs who feel as if the medical profession is always against them.

I once dated a girl who grew up poor. She has a good job and has done well for herself, despite her meager beginnings. However, until this day, she still thinks people who "have money" look down on those who don't. It is a classic inferiority complex that she is experiencing. Is chiropractic doing the same thing?

I live and practice chiropractic in South Carolina. Our state requires, as I assume most do, that chiropractors use the terms "chiropractor, chiropractic physician, doctor of chiropractic, or DC" in their advertisements. This is to make sure people know the person they are going to is, in fact, a chiropractor and not a medical physician. Just yesterday, my friend (who just happens to be an attorney) called to tell me about an ad he has heard on the radio repeatedly for the past week. It is about spinal decompression and its benefit. At the end of the ad, it speaks of Dr. XYZ and his qualifications. Finally, the ending is something to the effect of, "Come in today to see Dr. XYZ, DC, for your no-cost consultation." The "DC" part is very low and fast, apparently to conceal the fact that he is a chiropractor. This reminds me of sleazy car salesman ads everyone hates; kind of the old "bait and switch" trick. These kinds of chiropractic ads and people like this doctor hurt our profession more every day than the "evil" AMA could ever hope to. Why can't chiropractors be who they are and be proud of it? If physical therapists were advertising manipulations and making themselves "sound" like chiropractors, I am sure the ACA would be crying foul.

The next issue discussed in your article is that members of Congress are in the medical field or being supported by the medical associations. I bet we wouldn't be complaining if there were chiropractors in Congress being supported by Foot Levelers, would we?

The South Carolina Medical Association has a fund whose purpose is to help MDs run for and win political offices. Why are we as a profession not trying hard to get our allies in office? Do medical doctors want to get "their" people in office to ensure their futures in practice? Yes! Don't we all? There is no complex conspiracy theory here. I believe that is being smart and resourceful. They aren't as divided and self destructive as the chiropractic profession is.

I believe the AMA is, at least in part, coming from a good place. Let's be honest. We do not get the same education and training they do. I bet very few chiropractic students could pass any of the medical boards. We like to tell ourselves that we get the same education, but this is just not the case. I would be willing to bet that less than 10 percent of chiropractic students would even qualify for admission to a U.S. medical school.

I am tired of chiropractors crying about what the AMA is doing. They should be discussing what we are doing. What is the ACA doing and why isn't the AMA afraid of us or worried about what we are doing? These are the questions we should be asking ourselves.

John A. Webb, DC
Hartsville, South Carolina

"Let's Make Sure All the Facts Are In"

Dear Editor:

I have just read with great interest your article, "Anatomy of a Sunset: How Much Can Licensing Board Members Get Away With Before...?" [July 4, 2006 issue; available online at www.chiroweb.com/archives/24/14/11.html]. If, in fact, the bullet points you itemize are based on true fact - as opposed to insinuated fact based on hearsay, sloppy investigation, prosecutorial implications and/or selective data review - this is quite alarming. I am not in any way inferring, implying or stating that you and your editorial staff are in any way a part of anything other than honest and accurate reporting, but I must question the "facts" regarding Dr. Hamby as they are being presented.

My first question is, what has motivated the communication of these facts to your publication? As I am sure you are already aware, there has been a years-long dialogue between the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners (BCE) and California chiropractic licensees regarding MUA, which to date is not fully resolved. This drama has been magnified by pressure applied on the part of the insurance industry, against the BCE, and pressure applied to DCs by this industry as well. To the extent that for the past year, a criminal action is pending against several DCs, which has yet to get past the preliminary hearing stage (usually a one-day proceeding in most criminal cases, now drawn out to five or more days; and almost one year following the filing of charges) is very telling as to the strength, or lack thereof, of the prosecution's case. Court transcripts of this preliminary hearing will demonstrate that the prosecution has gone so far as to co-opt the executive director of the BCE. This raises the question of whether we have an executive director at the BCE who should be investigated for professional misconduct, or just terminated for incompetence. Why is this not being reported as a point of interest to our profession?

I agree with you that if in fact there are legitimate reasons to investigate Dr. Hamby, such investigation should proceed unimpaired according to the rule of law, while affording Dr. Hamby all due process. But if in fact the release of this information to your publication - at this time - serves a more dubious and perhaps nefarious agenda, then I must ask you to re-evaluate the timing of your article and its full circulation. Is it possible thatin this case, this article will only serve toinflame an already heated debate in which free lives, and yes, the very free future of our profession, are at stake? If actions of BCE board members, or for that matter, member BCE consultants, are of newsworthy interest to the profession, perhaps a full report on the more recent actions, travails, allegations and accusations made against the BCE current consultant should be aired as well. I for one would like to know why a BCE consultant thinks it is appropriate to provide utilization review in chiropractic cases and then refer the DC involved in the UR case to the BCE for investigation. And, the BCE consultant then gets paid to investigate the DC against whom the complaint was filed. If these accusations are valid, why has your publication not reported this as well?

I for one am also concerned that the burden of proof to which a deputy district attorney must be held in regards to "accusations made ... in response to another case" may not meet the level necessary for that same agency to file a true bill of allegations against a person. If I am right in my assumption that such "accusations" do not meet a high enough level of proof for such accusations to see the light of day of an actual charge - if that is the case, we must all wonder about the validity of these unsubstantiated allegations against not only one of our own (DC), but also against a board member. But when you take into consideration that the BCE may not have rolled over and served the bidding of the DA in a criminal case, perhaps what we are really seeing is the result of the backlash when the BCE is not co-opted by another state agency, albeit one of the state's law enforcement agencies.

To question the point at which a BCE member should consider tending a resignation prior to a true and formal allegation being filed, and in the absence of due process, may be considered exercising an obligation to "protect the board" by some, and to others it may be considered admitting guilt in the absence of wrongdoing for the cause of martyrdom.

The enemies of chiropractic are legion. And yes, they do not need any more ammunition. Especially the type of ammunition created at their request in their factory of insinuation and influence. The days of rallying around the "DC" legend in order to protect ourselves to avoid undue reflection upon ourselves are long gone. They have been replaced with a variety of players filled with cunning and stealth whose grand agenda will stoop as low as is necessary, even if it means getting us to turn in on ourselves and forcing us to eventually eat our own.

Those among us in leadership must today be prepared to ward off attacks from all directions. We must wear a bulletproof vest and helmet while simultaneously appearing to the public and the profession that we are doing everything in our power to protect not only ourselves, but DCs and the public as well.

Let's make sure all the facts are in, the rest of the story is told, and the subtext is brought to light before we participate in putting the executioner's weapon in our own hands.

Rick Skala, DC
Cornelius, North Carolina

The Big Dilemma

Dear Editor:

Something that I feel is becoming a big dilemma for the profession is spinal decompression devices and other physical therapy-type equipment being used by chiropractors. In the past six months, two of my patients have been manipulated by local physical therapists and in the past year, I have lost three patients to a local MD who is also manipulating patients. The medical community has realized drugs are not the answer and they also see how many patients are seeking chiropractic. They have no problem getting reimbursed by insurance companies for manipulating or using physical therapy equipment - but we do!

My fear is that if we continue with this "equipment" mentality, we will be overrun by the medical profession. To be told by a patient that his or her MD was able to manipulate and prescribe medication for a single co-pay is infuriating. The whole natural concept of chiropractic will be swept under the rug if we let this continue. I am a 2001 graduate of Life University, and I remember listening to Dr. Sid Williams talk about the dangers of mixing chiropractic and physical therapy. At the time, I thought he was just old-fashioned, and that physical therapy helped patients get better faster and that's what mattered; but now I realize there'is a danger. We must educate patients on what the chiropractic "adjustment" does and how important that manual thrust is. The thrust is powerful!

Mastering proper techniques, the precise angle and the necessary pressure to apply is what makes us different from all other professions. This skill is only acquired by performing thousands and thousands of adjustments. To have an MD or a DO take a weekend seminar on manipulation technique and then turn them loose on the public is extremely dangerous, not only physically but also mentally. My own mother has been manipulated by her MD and she was "proud that he did what her son does." Patients just want to get better; they are not into politics. If an MD can "crack" the patient's neck and put them on therapy and medication, all for one co-pay, the patient is overjoyed. How can we possibly compete with that?

We must show patients that our skill cannot be matched by a machine or therapist. I am not suggesting we eliminate therapy; that would be foolish and a disservice to patients. What we must remember to do is chiropractic (done by hand). Always touch patients and educate them on the healing power of touch. Explain that therapy is only complementary to the adjustment and also how many annual adjustments we perform compared to their MD or DO. A machine will never replace the human touch! Please think twice about spending tens of thousands of dollars on equipment that will be in every physical therapy clinic throughout America over the next 10 years. Don't let the medical profession use technology to overrun chiropractic. Too many great chiropractors have suffered to preserve this wonderful profession.

Darold Leto, DC
Savannah, Georgia

Kudos to Dr. Hammer

Dear Editor:

As an avid and faithful reader of Dynamic Chiropractic since its first publication, (I have been in practice since 1952), I always look forward to Dr. Warren Hammer's articles. Dr. Hammer is at the forefront of chiropractic techniques and protocols, and provides a different, new approach and dimension to the modern-day practice of chiropractic. Accolades to Dr. Hammer for his chiropractic intelligence, research, and implementation of various chiropractic techniques; and also for becoming an authority and a hallmark in the chiropractic profession.

Charles N. Cooper, DC
Baltimore, Maryland