As we celebrate our 25th anniversary as the definitive news and information source for the chiropractic profession, we look back at the important events as reported in DC since 1983, while also looking forward to the future. Throughout 2008, we will feature a review of the top headlines in chiropractic for a given year, along with an article on the future of chiropractic authored by an influential member of the profession.
January 1993: University of Quebec Introduces Chiropractic Program
Quebec Minister of Higher Education and Science Lucienne Robillard announced a five-year chiropractic program at the University of Quebec which will be taught in French. Students who complete the five-year program will receive a PhD in chiropractic, similar to doctoral programs in medicine.
The university will seek official recognition of the Council on Chiropractic Education for the new chiropractic program. The Conference of Rectors and Principals of Quebec Universities will ensure courses taught under the new program will meet or exceed all standards set by the CCE in the U.S. and Canada. Tuition for chiropractic students will be the same as for other university students - $1,200 per year.
The chiropractic doctoral program will automatically gain access to the university's research fund. In addition, Quebec chiropractors have set up their own research foundation and launched a public fundraising program. After only one month, the new foundation had already raised $50,000.
Click here to read the complete, original version of this article.
February 1993: AAA Settles Lawsuit Regarding Claims Payments to DCs
The American Automobile Association (AAA) of Northern California has agreed to a settlement of $262,500 in People v. California State Auto Insurance Bureau. The suit and administrative law actions were brought in January 1991, by complaints from hundreds of chiropractors and consumers accusing the company of unreasonable delays of payment for medical claims.
As part of the settlement reached by the Department of Insurance, AAA will establish an ombudsman to field complaints of unfair claims handling. Additionally, AAA has promised to provide written guidelines to its medical claims adjusters to insure timely processing of claims. This marks a significant victory for the chiropractic profession, specifically for the California Chiropractic Association (CCA) and its determination to prevent unfair claims handling by insurance companies.
In another case, Adams, et al. v. CSAA, et al., Gary Gwilliam, the former state president of the California Trial Lawyers Association, announced that a class-action lawsuit against AAA will enter its third court hearing for punitive damages. It's anticipated this case will be brought in front of a San Francisco jury.
Click here to read the complete, original version of this article.
September 1993: Washington Post Puts Chiropractic "Into the Mainstream"
The "Health" section of the Aug. 23, 1993 issue of the Washington Post contained the most comprehensive, well-balanced article yet to appear on chiropractic. The headline reads, "Chiropractors Come Into the Mainstream." The subheading cautions: "But Questions Remain About Treating Problems Other Than Back Pain."
Reporter Sarah Glazer began with an account of a woman who discovered relief from neck pain, and chronic ear and sinus infection through chiropractic adjustments. The article not only covers the issues surrounding spinal manipulation but also is reasonably clear about the diversity that is a part of the chiropractic profession.
While the article includes both positive and negative opinions of chiropractic, it presents a good assessment of how far the profession has come to now enter the mainstream.
Click here to read the complete, original version of this article.
October 1993: Canadian Report Extols Benefits of Chiropractic
The Ministry of Health of Ontario has just released its commissioned report. The principal authors are two independent health economists: Professor Pran Manga, MA, PhD, director of the Health Administration program at the University of Ottawa, and Douglas Angus, adjunct professor of Health Economics at the University of Ottawa.
The executive summary lists 10 recommendations:
The significance of the findings and recommendations are clear. This was not a study by chiropractors, but an independent, government-funded study conducted by respected health economists. The conclusions of these investigators were inescapable, given the current literature on LBP.
Click here to read the complete, original version of this article.
November 1993: Congress Approves $1.75 Million for Chiropractic Projects
On Oct. 21st, President Clinton signed into law the 1994 appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services (Pub. Law 103-112). The bill allocates: $750,000 for multidisciplinary research studies at chiropractic colleges and $1 million to increase chiropractic's ability to assist in medically underserved rural areas.
Demonstration Projects. In October 1992, the first federal program dedicated solely to chiropractic research demonstration projects was authorized. This ACA-drafted initiative established the chiropractic research program that would provide funding to chiropractic colleges for "demonstration projects in which chiropractors and physicians collaborate to identify and provide effective treatment for spinal and lower back conditions."
Training Projects. In September of this year, the Senate authorized $1 million to be used for interdisciplinary training projects...of how the delivery of chiropractic health care can be improved in rural areas, and how the retention and recruitment of chiropractic health care practitioners can be increased in rural areas.
Senators Kennedy (D-Mass) and Harkin (D-Iowa) played key roles in the authorization of the chiropractic research and training funding. Other legislators who played an integral part in the bill's passage were Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), ranking Republican member of the Senate Labor Committee; and Congressmen Neal Smith (D-Iowa) and Jim Lightfoot (R-Iowa), senior members of the House Appropriation's Committee.
"This landmark victory has come at a critically urgent time for the profession," stated ACA Board Chairman Kerwin Winkler, DC. "The passage of this bill will go a long way toward producing the evidence we already know to be true; that chiropractic is a legitimate and effective form of health care that could save this country million upon million of dollars."
Click here to read the complete, original version of this article.
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?
