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It seems that wherever I go, when someone finds out that I'm a
chiropractor, a joke about back popping or bone cracking comes about. These
repeated scenarios have inspired me to tell you a little bit about the word,
profession, and purpose of chiropractic. Let's get right to it...
Chiro-practic
The word, broken down to its roots, literally means to do by hand. It was
derived from two Greek words: chiro (hand) and praxis (to do). When the term
was derived to give a name to the new healing art, it was implied that
chiropractic meant "healing by hand." Most people assume that chiro means
"back." So how did we get from "healing by hand" in the early 1900's to "back
doctor" a century later? Well, there's two ways to look at it. One is from the
perspective of the chiropractor. For that tale, I would encourage you to read
the following for an in depth answer:
http://www.atlas4wellness.com/upper%20cervical.htm. The other is from
the perspective of the people/public/patients. Let's take a look at that point
of view...
My grandparents' generation largely rejected the notion that a person could be
"healed by hand," thus denouncing chiropractic. My grandmother once told me
that my grandpa thought chiropractic was complete quackery, largely based on
what his medical doctor told him. MDs and DCs have a long, storied history of
their own and perhaps we can visit that some other day, suffice to say that one
of the most respected people in any given society is the medical doctor. So,
getting back to the notion that one could be "healed by hand" is quite contrary
to modern medicine, which is all about either putting something in your body or
taking something out of your body. Despite the fact that doctors of
chiropractic were having great success with conditions typically reserved for
medical doctors, I can't really say it was surprising that the majority of
people were rejecting it. It was, after all, a new concept to our increasingly
modern society.
So, then we move forward to my parents' generation, when chiropractic was
gaining some acceptance, but not as the philosophy, art, and science of "healing
by hand." Rather, it was viewed as what has become the modern definition of
chiropractic. This part of the history requires a bit of a back story. Doctors
of chiropractic were growing in number and the message of what chiropractic was
all about was becoming more and more diluted. There were less doctors who
wanted to change the way that medical doctors and the public looked at
chiropractic and more doctors who just wanted to gain some sort of acceptance.
Acceptance, in this case, meant just finding a niche. It's easier to just find
a way to fit in than to stand up, be yourself, and let people accept you for
what you are. Well, holding the keys to chiropractic's acceptance was the
medical community. And our profession, despite the urgent calls against it by
some of the more passionate doctors who really believed in chiropractic's
potential, took what they gave us...musculoskeletal issues, the most common of
which is low back pain. It's our own fault. We made ourselves into a niche
instead of a new paradigm...which might have been thriving by now had we all
been on the same page.
What chiropractic was (and at its core, still is) is a different approach to
healing. Rather than put something foreign into the body or surgically removing
something from the body, chiropractic is about allowing the body to heal
itself. Believe it or not, doctors of each healing art being discussed take the
same amount of classes to earn their doctoral degrees. Yet, the one that
emphasizes medicine instead of your body's own ability to heal is so vastly more
respected. I find that to be tragically amusing more and more each year. Even
though both kinds of doctors learn about the human body from the same
textbooks...even though we learn how complex and downright miraculous life
is...and how all the things that happen in the body occur because of the nervous
system, which by the way is more than just the nerves but also the brain,
brainstem, and spinal cord...SOMEHOW the paradigm that says "none of that
matters, take this" has all of the credibility and acceptance in the world and
the paradigm that says "the body is pretty smart, so let's make sure it's
working properly" has almost no credibility nor acceptance.
A fever, in the medical model, is a condition that needs treatment. A fever, in
the chiropractic model, is the body raising its temperature for a reason
(usually to kill an infection).
A sinus infection, in the medical model, is a condition that requires
anti-biotics. A sinus infection, in the chiropractic model, means your immune
system is weak and not working properly.
I'll state this very clearly: CHIROPRACTIC HAS ALMOST NOTHING TO DO WITH LOW
BACK PAIN. Yet, that's our niche. It's tough to escape those three words:
low back pain.
Chiropractic is the philosophy, science, and art of adjusting that part of the
vertebral column that misaligns to the point that it interferes with the
function of the nervous system. It isn't about bones! It's about what those
bones developed in your body to protect: the brainstem and spinal cord! When
the nervous system isn't functioning properly, you may experience all kinds of
symptoms. Fevers because your immune system is weaker to the point that you're
more prone to infections, diabetes because your endocrine or immune systems are
weak, or musculoskeletal pain - which is really nothing more than the body
sending out an alarm signal that "something ain't right!"
So, those of you that are patients under chiropractic care...remember that you
didn't truly know that you needed chiropractic care until you learned about what
chiropractic was all about, at which point you should've realized that maybe you
needed it for a long time. Remember that everyone deserves to know what their
options are. Don't fail to tell your friends and family about the true purpose
of chiropractic. Don't diminish what chiropractic is and has done for you by
justifying not sharing your story by thinking "I'll tell people who need it," as
if it was something far less than what it is.
And for those of you that aren't patients under chiropractic care, remember that
chiropractic is much more than you likely ever thought it was and can
potentially do for you things that you never thought it could. It's not magic.
It's just DIFFERENT.
Coming next week...
We'll get back to a discussion of the many conditions that have been helped
through Upper Cervical chiropractic, as we'll tackle Parkinson's Disease.
Thinking good things for you all,
Dr. Chad
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