The results of the ICA elections will be seen as a potentially pivotal point in the history of our profession for years to come. This year's elections were unique on several levels:
What Will This Mean to the Future of the ICA?
Over the last several years, the ICA has tended to act like just another chiropractic fringe organization. Declining strength and membership have left the ICA in a position in which the previous administration felt forced to compromise its autonomy to band with more extreme organizations sporting only a few hundred members.
The current reform leadership has the power and opportunity to renew the ICA into an organization more appealing to the full spectrum of conservative chiropractors. While the ICA will want to maintain its traditional values, the organization must move to a more centrist position within the profession if it is going to grow and prosper.
But How Will This Help Mend Our Profession?
As has been reported previously,1 the chiropractic profession in the United States is no longer two opposing philosophies. Today, our profession consists of DCs who believe in a broad scope of practice while maintaining the concept of the vertebral subluxation complex (approximately 88%). According to the most recent study,2 less than 20 percent see themselves as "narrow scope" (straight) and only about one-third see themselves as "broad scope" (mixer). The largest contingent in chiropractic considers themselves "middle scope."
To survive in today's health-care marketplace, the chiropractic profession must move forward united. We need as many DCs as we can get moving the profession as a united force.
If the chiropractic profession is going to move forward at a reasonable speed, all the "wheels" need to be going in the same direction. If the ICA is going one way, and the ACA is going another, we, as a profession, will just be "spinning our wheels."
Mistrust is the issue.
As Dr. Mertz clearly stated following his election, there need to be meetings where relationships can be strengthened and trust can be established. To eliminate distrust, you have to have the right people on both sides of the aisle.
Do we have that now? Only time will tell.
A lack of effort on the part of the new leadership will spell doom for the ICA, which is slowly sinking into irrelevance. It will crush the hopes of those members who took a chance by electing reform candidates.
With only about 3 percent of the profession as general members, critics can easily say the ICA no longer matters. This is why the new ICA leadership will be under the gun to demonstrate to its members and the profession that this is not just the old ICA with new faces.
Based on his comments, Dr. Mertz seems to have a clear understanding that rebuilding the ICA will mean moving away from the extremes. Once the ICA truly initiates this process, the opportunity for unity will increase.
His comment, "United action can happen," brings hope.
References
DMP Jr.
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?
