The Spizz

Chiropractic Ethics

Chiropractic Ethics

By Courtney Bond, Sherman Student

 No society can survive for long without a standard for knowing what is right and what is wrong, good and evil. A code of ethics provides that standard and without a code no group, no profession, no individual will survive for long. The American Heritage dictionary defines ethics as “a set of principles of right conduct,” and as “the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession.” Therefore ethics are a vital part of any profession and the development and maintenance of one should be a major concern. But, does the chiropractic profession have a code of ethics that we can all follow? 

 I believe that the chiropractic profession does have an ethical code, or two or three, however, it is as fractured as the profession itself. One only needs to look at the vastly different ethical codes of the FSCO, the ICA, and the ACA for the proof of that. Is it ethical for a chiropractor to use a ProAdjustor to adjust? For some chiropractors it is, while for others it is decidedly not. Is it ethical for a chiropractor to diagnose illnesses like a medical doctor? Again, for some chiropractors it is and for others it is definitely not. For chiropractic to flourish and prosper as a profession we must, as a group, create one strong, cohesive ethical standard for the entire profession to follow. According to  L. Ron Hubbard, “Ethics actually consists of rationality toward the highest level of survival for the individual, the future race, the group, [and] mankind […]. Ethics are reason. Man’s greatest weapon is his reason.” In order for chiropractic to survive in our current society and culture as a separate and distinct profession, we must use every weapon that is available to us. 
 

So, why can’t we just use biomedical ethics? It is because they are quite simply not good enough. They set a standard for a completely different philosophy, art, and science. Chiropractic and medicine are not the same profession. Chiropractic is based on the idea that the body heals itself from above, down, inside, out; while medicine only looks and how to fix or replace broken down parts. However for those, like Dr. Winterstein, who do see chiropractic as merely a branch of medicine, then biomedical ethics would work just fine for them. On the other hand, according to Lipton in his Biology of Belief, even the biomedical ethics will be shifting toward a slightly more vitalistic concept soon. But until that time, developing our own ethical code is essential. 
 

It is easy to say that we should create one code of ethics for chiropractic. But what would that code be based on? According to Aristotle it should be based on happiness. Any actions that produce happiness as a result are the right actions. I agree with Aristotle to a point, happiness is a wonderfully lofty goal to strive for. But I don’t think that it is enough. It does not help us answer the questions of whether or not adjusting with an instrument is ethical or if it is okay to diagnose or even if we should be subluxation based or symptom based. Each approach can produce the result of a person who is happier without symptoms, but not necessarily healthier. Instead I think that we should base our ethics on Hubbard’s idea of the “highest level of survival”. That would allow us to have a more stable base from which to answer those questions. Adjust with an instrument or without? Well, which approach would be best for the person receiving the adjustment? Which would allow them to survive the best, being happy and healthy? As for diagnosing illnesses, does having a chiropractor, who is less trained in medicine than a medical doctor, doing the job of a medical doctor allow an individual to reach their maximum potential of survival? I don’t think so. Subluxation based or symptom based? Is simply getting rid of symptoms best for a person’s survival? It most definitely is not.

As a healthcare profession that deals intimately with every individual that enters our offices, chiropractors absolutely have a responsibility to the public to give them the best care that we can. With the way that our profession is fractured, how on earth can we possibly provide the public with that care? I think that developing that cohesive ethic based on optimum survival would be one step on the way to healing that fracture and living up to our obligations as a profession. It would ensure that we are meeting our obligations to the public, because all of our actions would be based on what is the greatest good for the person that we are seeing. Be it using a particular instrument or technique or staying within the scope of our profession and training.

Does chiropractic need an ethical code? Absolutely, every profession does. Does chiropractic already have a code? Yes, but not one strong, all encompassing code. In order for us to create a code we must define what chiropractic is. If Winterstein and his ilk have their way, we will just be a branch of medicine and there is no reason to develop our own code. So, for the rest of us, we should honor the founders of our profession and define chiropractic as subluxation based. Otherwise we are just a branch of medicine and we might as well let them absorb us the same way Osteopathy was absorbed. Once we define our profession once and for all developing our code of ethics will be a breeze.

Literature Cited

Hubbard, L. Ron. 2007. Introduction to Scientology Ethics. Bridge Publications, Inc. Los Angeles: 513 pp.

Hello, Pain Control Center?

HELLO, PAIN CONTROL CENTER?

By Tedd Koren, D.C.

“Hello, Pain Control Center.”
“Yes, I’m calling for my father.”
“Would he like to make an appointment?”
“Yes, my father had an accident and feels that you might be able to help him.”
“What kind of accident?”
“He says that he was bent down in a stooped position and felt something sort of ‘give’ in his spine.”
“Can you put him on the phone?  Is he there?”
“Well, he is here but he can’t hear.  You see, after the accident his hearing faded away.”
“Does he have any neck or back pain as a result of his accident?”
“No, he’s fine except for his hearing.”
“I don’t think we can accept him as a patient, we specialize in neuromusculoskeletal or spinal problems.”
“But father insisted that I call you, he’s convinced he needs a chiropractor.”
“I’m sorry, but we do have a list of referring physicians in the area, some of whom specialize in disorders of the ear who…”
“Father wants to speak to the doctor; or rather he wants me to speak to the doctor for him.  May I talk to him, please?”
“He’s just coming out from a treatment room with a patient now, hold please.” (Long pause – on hold.  Muzak playing)
“Hello, Dr. Mayo speaking.”
“Hello doctor, I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m calling for my father.  He feels that you can help him.  He was in an accident and…”
“You don’t have to explain any further, my nurse told me the situation and I’m sorry, but if he doesn’t have any back or neck or related complaints, I really don’t think I can help.  Did this accident happen recently?”
“Well, actually it happened some time ago, but this morning he woke up with only one thought in his head – to see a chiropractor.”
“How long ago was the accident?”
“It was a long time ago.”
“How long is a long time?”
“Seventeen years.”
“Seventeen years?!  Look miss, I’m sure your father is a fine person, but we’re chiropractors, not miracle workers.  Your father’s problem…well, it’s just not within our scope of practice.”
“But he is so sure you can help…”
“I appreciate the compliment.  Let me give you the names of some excellent ear, nose, and throat doctors.  I know them personally.  Now why don’t you just give me your father’s name and address and I’ll write a referral slip that you can pick up at the office, no charge.”

“Thank you, its Mr. Harvey Lillard, 320 West 11th Street, Davenport, Iowa."

(George Rullo, DC gave me the idea for this article.)

    

The State of Chiropractic

Adam Tedder is an 8th quarter student at Sherman College, and correspondent for The Spizz.  We published part of his article in this edition of the paper.  If you want to read the rest, here it is!

As I read posts online on philosophy and science in Chiropractic, I am just getting more and more frustrated with the profession as a whole. The problem in Chiropractic is not philosophy or the science or the art, the problem is the fact that most of our profession doesn’t understand what Chiropractic really is. Our schools aren’t teaching it and our doctors aren’t practicing it. DD Palmer and BJ Palmer spent many years developing this profession and throughout those years many “chiropractors” disregarded everything they were working toward. BJ Palmer did more scientific research than any person in our profession today. It’s just sad that many of the people in our profession for one don’t know about it, and two, if they do know about it, they don’t accept it. BJ wrote 39 volumes of literature on the development of Chiropractic, known as the Green Books, and most people don’t even know about them or accept them as useful. If you truly take the time to study BJ’s research you would realize he was light years ahead of his time and in many ways light years ahead of where we are in Chiropractic today. He spent 15 years doing strenuous research; making Chiropractic more specific and more scientific. Unfortunately, every time he introduced a new tool that actually improved the work we do, much of the profession turned their backs on him and started new schools and new techniques. This eventually led to the catastrophe we are in now. (If you are interested in Green Books, I would recommend Volume 18 (Subluxation Specific) and 25 (Clinical Controlled Research.))

As for terminology, that too was given to us by our forefathers and was again thrown out by much of the profession. In order to have a philosophy you must first define your terms. However, in Chiropractic, we have a million different philosophies, so we have a million different terms. The terms that are truly Chiropractic include VERTEBRAL SUBLUXATION, INNATE INTELLIGENCE, ADJUSTMENT, ABOVE-DOWN-INSIDE-OUT, and so on. If you don’t agree with this terminology then why are you in Chiropractic?? We have “Chiropractic” schools that don’t even allow these words to be said on their campus. What a load of crap that is. So pretty much they want to call their schools Chiropractic schools, but god forbid they actually teach Straight Chiropractic or use Chiropractic terms!! Instead lets teach and steal every other modality known to man from other professions and throw them under the Chiropractic umbrella.

Chiropractic IS the removal of INTEFERENCE via the ADJUSTMENT of the SUBLUXATION, so that the body can heal from ABOVE-DOWN-INSIDE-OUT, period! Chiropractic is NOT physical therapy, physiotherapy, MUA, nutrition, vitamins, surgery, or any other random “trick” you want to add to your bag of goodies. It’s not a matter whether these modalities help your patients or not, they just are not Chiropractic. Chiropractors for so long have wanted to get accepted by our medical counterparts. Why? What is so special about the medical profession? They are the leading cause of death in our country (the US) and the medical model of our “health care” system has lead us to be one of the sickest nations in the world. Did you know America is the 2nd worst industrialized nation in the world to have a baby?? That’s crazy! And there are Chiropractors out there that want to mimic these guys. I went on a chiropractor’s website the other day and the title was “Chiropractic Medicine.” That’s an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one. Chiropractic is not medicine! I am not saying that all medicine is bad. There is a time and place for everything. However, so many Chiropractors want to be included in this failing system. Why does our profession work so hard to be accepted by these organizations? Chiropractic was developed into a profession that was to be separate and distinct from all others. Yet we feel it is necessary to bastardize every other profession by throwing it under the umbrella of Chiropractic and calling it ours. It’s interesting that Chiropractors get so angry when we hear of physical therapist, M.D.’s, and osteopaths manipulating patient’s spines. I’m sure they love it when they hear of chiropractors doing cold laser therapy, PT modalities, ultrasound, massage, and all the other stuff that chiropractors throw into their “bag of tricks.”

Chiropractic in and of itself can change lives. Chiropractic is not about the treatment of disease or the cure for low back pain. It is a profession that looks to remove interference in the nervous system to restore brain to body communication so that the body can actually heal the way it was designed. When you begin trying to treat symptoms, you are too late. The disease process has already begun. The medical profession has already displayed the flaws in symptom chasing. Our job is not to treat, our job is to enable. Our job is not to manipulate joints, but to make specific adjustments of the spine, when needed, to facilitate the Innate Intelligence in the body to do its job. We cry for unity in our profession, but unfortunately that will never happen. Well, unless we step back and re-evaluate where we want to go. We can keep watering down the profession to be more “accepted” and eventually be absorbed by the medical profession just like osteopathy and physical therapy. Or, we can look back to the core values in Chiropractic, embrace them, and move forward as a unified profession. Most of the change needs to begin in our schools and get the schools back in line to teach true Chiropractic. Until that happens we will keep graduating hundreds of doctors doing hundreds of different things. People say that the diversity in Chiropractic is a blessing; I personally think it is our curse. Diversity has held us back more than anything by causing separation between us and further confusing the public on what Chiropractic really is. Am I saying we all have to use the same technique? No. What I am saying is that we all must get on the same page and begin practicing Straight Chiropractic. Until then, the masses will never know the true potential of how Chiropractic can change their lives.

I am sorry this isn’t the happy-go-lucky, hooray for Chiropractic message everyone is used to. I just feel I have the right to speak my opinion even if it steps on people’s toes. I love Chiropractic and I hope that one day we are the leading health care profession, but NOT at the expense of our values and core philosophies. My goal is to get people thinking of why they are in Chiropractic and what true Chiropractic really is. It is time for Chiropractic to be Chiropractic again and not a smorgasbord of modalities treating everything under the sun. If you remove subluxations in a specific manner, the body will function properly and your patients will heal and be well. There are thousands of Straight Specific Chiropractors doing just that all over the world. So I am going to close by asking, why are you in Chiropractic? What are your core principles? Do you want to be a Chiropractor or just another doctor treating symptoms and chasing new things to add to your bag? I hope you choose to be a principled Chiropractor, and for once we can agree on something and begin to change the world as one!

“Chiropractic is Specific or it is Nothing.” ~BJP~

THE BIG IDEA OF CHIROPRACTIC

A slip on the snowy sidewalk in winter is a small thing. It happens to millions. A fall from a ladder in the summer is a small thing. It also happens to millions. The slip or fall produces a subluxation. The subluxation is a small thing. The subluxation produces pressure on a nerve. That pressure is a small thing. That decreased flowing produces a dis-eased body and brain. That is a big thing to that man. Multiply that sick man by a thousand, and you control the physical mental welfare of a city. Multiply that man by one hundred thirty million, and you forecast and can prophesy the physical and mental status of a nation. So the slip or fall, the subluxation, pressure, flow of mental images and dis-ease are big enough to control the thoughts and actions of a nation. Now comes a man. And one man is a small thing. This man gives an adjustment. The adjustment is a small thing. The adjustment replaces the subluxation. That is a small thing. The adjusted subluxation releases pressure upon nerves. That is a small thing. The released pressure restores health to a man. This is a big thing to that man. Multiply that well man by a thousand, and you step up the physical and mental welfare of a city. Multiply that well man by a million, and you increase the efficiency of a state. Multiply that well man by a hundred thirty million, and you have produced a healthy, wealthy, and better race for posterity. So, the adjustment of the subluxation to release pressure upon nerves, to restore mental impulse flow, to restore health, is big enough to rebuild the thoughts and actions of the world. The idea that knows the cause, that can correct the cause of dis-ease, is one of the biggest ideas known. Without it, nations fall; with it, nations rise. This idea is the biggest I know of.

Dr. B.J. Palmer, Developer of Chiropractic "

Chiropractic Possesses 3 great, simple fundamentals:

1. An age-old, yet modern NEW principle and practice, attaining a NEW result. An acknowledgement, understanding of, and knowledge of and INTERNAL Innate Intelligence.

2. An acknowledgement, understanding of, and knowledge of INTERFERENCE between Innate and function, between brain and body, which unbalances all normal routines between Innate and function, between brain and body, creating dis-ease between them.

3. An acknowledgement, understanding of, and KNOWING how, what, where, when and why of correcting that interference; and, permitting a restoration of flow that balances all normal routines between Innate and function, between brain and body, re-creating ease between Innate and function, between brain and body." (pg. 7 Chpt. 2, The Great Divide) ~BJP~

Interview with Dr. Ron Castellucci

 

The Spizz interviewed Dr. Ron Castellucci for the Spring 2009 edition of the paper.  We printed a portion of Dr. Ron's article.  To learn more about his views on life and chiropractic, read on.

Spizz: How did you get into chiropractic? 
Dr. C: As far back as I could remember, I wanted to be an architect. In architecture, the precise engineering of a structure is married with beauty and elegance. The two elements of creativity and structure still get me excited today. I love to design and build projects, albeit these are yard and home projects, but I get a charge out of the process. Perhaps this is why I am fascinated with the design and structure of the body and spine.
My first adjustment was at the age of 10 in Ozone Park, New York. My grandmother took me and I remember it was a fun experience. When I was 19, I again went to a chiropractor who also encouraged me to consider chiropractic as a career. At the time, I was interested in continuing in the restaurant business and attending Cornell University’s school of management. A few years later, my uncle, an Air Force Sergeant, was visiting and was interested in becoming a chiropractor. We paid a visit to New York Chiropractic College and after the tour I decided on chiropractic school. My uncle, by the way, is still in the Air Force.
 I considered a number of schools, including Life, but decided on Logan because of the location in St. Louis, Missouri. I got an excellent education though I learned no philosophy. I may have attended Sherman, but at the time, I didn’t know Sherman existed.

Spizz: How long have you been in practice?
Dr. C: I graduated in April of 1988, just about 21 years. I graduated on a Friday and went to work the very next Monday, which was very exciting at the time. While I have no regrets, I strongly recommend a nice vacation after graduation. Our Chiropractic students work very hard and they deserve a break and the reward of a few weeks vacation.
 
Spizz: How/Why/When did you come to teach at Sherman College?
Dr. C: In 1995, Thom Gelardi was visiting New England DC’s in an effort to raise money for Sherman College.  I had office hours on the night of his presentation and was unable to attend yet I wanted to meet Thom, so I contacted Dr. Peter Kevorkian who gave me Thom’s hotel information (cell phones were not common at the time). I called Thom and he agreed to have dinner with me. I recall being so impressed with Dr. Gelardi’s conviction, his commitment to Sherman College and the philosophy, that I knew I wanted to be involved with Sherman in some capacity. In 1998, I sold my practice and started teaching at Sherman that same year.  

Spizz: Why/How did you start practicing full spine chiropractic?
Dr. C: I practice full spine because I was taught full spine. I also was taught to adjust other joints of the body, which I don’t do, because I feel it is not chiropractic. I do, however, believe that you should adjust the subluxation wherever you find it. A small minority, within our profession, want to limit the scope of chiropractic to only one area of the spine, and in some cases to one bone.  Clarence Gonstead once said of the subluxation; find it, accept it where it is, adjust it and leave it alone. In my opinion, subluxations exist throughout the spine and if you do not address them, you are doing the patient a great disservice. Find it, accept it, fix it, leave it alone is wise advice. Thanks Clarence! 

Spizz: Is there any one technique that you practice?
Dr. C: What I do with a patient is mostly diversified technique, however, as with many practitioners, my technique is a unique blend of other techniques including Thompson, Gonstead, Activator and upper cervical Toggle Recoil. So I guess my technique, like my touch and everything else about me, is uniquely me.

Spizz: Why do you still practice full spine? 
Dr. C: I still practice full spine because I get great results. Results, to me, are when patients hold their adjustment. Great results depend upon a few simple skills: specificity, gentleness, good analysis and discernment to know when to adjust and when not to adjust.  I work at perfecting these skills every day. You should too.
There are too many practitioners who are very non-specific in their adjusting technique and call it diversified. There are others still who address only one area of the spine and ignore the rest under the false presumption that subluxations only exist in that one area. I think this is foolish thinking and is counter productive to the success of our profession. A chiropractor should be excellent at adjusting subluxations, regardless of where they exist.
Regarding results, I am reminded of a conversation with a practitioner who has limited himself to only one area of the spine. He was telling me of the great results he had seen using his technique, how his technique was far superior to any other and that the only way to practice true chiropractic was to be limited to this one area of the spine. Essentially, I was told that a full spine chiropractor was not really a chiropractor. I live in the south but I’m a New Yorker at heart, so my first thought was you arrogant so and so (good thing I didn’t verbalize what I was thinking). I proceeded to tell him that his patients were fortunate to have had such great results and then reminded him that Hugh Logan also limited himself to one area of the spine, namely the sacral apex and the results his patients experienced were similar to the ones of this doctor I was speaking with. The conversation abruptly ended with a dismissive wave of the hand and an arrogant ‘you don’t do what I do so you can’t possibly understand’. BJ was right, it’s all about innate!

Spizz: What are your criteria for analyzing and adjusting the spine?
Dr. C: I find subluxation using the art motion, muscle and static palpation. I also use x-ray when I feel it is clinically indicated and yes identifying a subluxation is, in my opinion, good clinical rational for taking an x-ray (Isn’t it a shame that one of our national organizations want to limit our use of this valuable diagnostic tool). I use leg checks only as a general indicator of imbalance in the spine and/or pelvis and never for specific listings. While I never learned thermography at Logan, I have found that it is a very useful analytical tool and I highly recommend using it for analysis as well as for patient education. I’m very confident with my analysis, and somewhat set in my ways, so I have not incorporated thermography into my practice…yet.
Another important form of analysis that I use is pattern analysis. When a patient presents with subluxation, there are certain patterns of analytical findings (i.e. palpatory, leg check, thermographic, not symptoms) that they present with. On subsequent visits, when the patient presents with findings similar to those previously found indicating a subluxation, we call that being in pattern and thus are justified in making an adjustment. Most, if not all, chiropractors, who analyze and adjust subluxations, do pattern analysis, though they may not call it pattern analysis.   

Spizz: Do you have a remarkable story about a "chiropractic miracle" in your office?  What is it?
Dr. C: ‘Chiropractic miracles’ are a common occurrence in chiropractic offices. Perhaps they are not really miracles but just the body doing what the body is supposed to do when there is no interference to the expression of innate. We are simply observers of the greatness of God’s design. I will, however, share one story that happened to a patient not long ago. Jackson’s mom and dad learned about chiropractic and brought the whole family into the office for care. Jackson, as it turned out, had difficulty breathing. The condition was not asthma and not diagnosed, but he was put on daily medication which barely helped and which cost $300 per month. Jackson’s activities were very limited and while he loved to play baseball, he had a difficult time and was not able to play. Within a few months of starting care his breathing cleared up and today is the second baseman for his baseball team. My objective was simply to adjust his subluxations, yet his breathing problem went away. His life and his families’ life changed dramatically. You could call this a miracle but this simply is what happens when God’s design is given an opportunity to live without interference. Chiropractic is a wonderful profession because we get to witness miracles everyday. Maybe I’ll include after my credentials, Ron Castellucci, DC, Observer of Miracles. I like the way that sounds. 

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SABCA Update

 

SABCA members enjoy weekend conference at Palmer Florida Chiropractic college.  From left to right; Wayne, Kiofa, Cheneir, Marsha, Danielle,Shavahn, Jessica, and Eric.

 

Thanks to Danielle Motley for providing us with this update. 

Is Upper Cervical Care a Dying Art?

By guest blogger Dr. James Le Grice

Is upper cervical care a dying art?

No. Most emphatically, no.

For eighty years upper cervical care has been getting sick people well. And eighty years from now, long after spinal manipulative therapy and generic chiropractic have dissolved or been assimilated into manual medicine, upper cervical care will still be getting sick people well.

Upper cervical is in the midst of a renaissance. Increased publicity and a growing body of research are illuminating what upper cervical doctors have long known – this work is safe and uniquely effective. Schools are adding and emphasizing upper cervical techniques. And as the lucrative days of insurance-fleecing draw to a close, the profession is yearning for something more essential than the hodge-podge of therapeutics it has become. Upper cervical care is essential chiropractic.

Like anything truly worth doing, the upper cervical work is very difficult to master. Truth be told, I am barely competent. But the work is so profound, even a novice like me sees extraordinary clinical breakthroughs. A diabetic patient needing 90% less insulin, another with decades-old herpes no longer afflicted. Others with vertigo, recurrent shingles, menstrual irregularity, allergies, pseudo-torticollis... gone. IF there has been brain-stem pressure and IF it is removed, the patient heals. It is as simple and as vast as that. No modalities are necessary.

Application of care must remain within specific parameters, regardless of symptoms or diagnoses. Remember, the absence of symptoms is not the same as the presence of health. Disease may exist for years before the appearance of symptoms. And the healing process often involves some exacerbation of discomfort or pain. But given time, so long as the intelligent nerve impulse is unfettered and free to fully express itself, the patient does heal. I learned some time ago to never again underestimate the potential of a properly applied adjustment.

There is nothing else in healthcare so elegant or so special as specific chiropractic.

To be a specific chiropractor, accept only those cases who have, in fact, been subluxated. Take quality films and run consistent graphs. Adjust one place only, and only when a static sick pattern reappears. And see patients only so frequently as to know that they are holding their adjustment. Do these things competently and you WILL change lives. If graph readings are not clear your adjustments have been unsuccessful and your patients will not get well. But before you dismiss the method, have the courage to re-examine your application of it. If case does not get well fault is not chiropractic's, but chiropractor's. Humble yourself a little and begin your vocational apprenticeship in earnest. Within the faculty at Sherman College are some exceptional upper cervical practitioners, a couple I believe to be among the best in the world. Make use of them. If you are prepared to learn, they are prepared to teach.

It appears to me that becoming a true chiropractor will take, and make, a lifetime. Plenty of people have DC licenses, scant few are chiropracTORS.

I fervently wish that budding chiropractors would study the green books for themselves before devoting their time and money to technique seminars or coaching programs. Why should we revere or even regard the work of BJ Palmer? No one before or since Palmer has worked in such exacting conditions on so many seriously ill patients and achieved such remarkable results. That's why. At many points in his writings, Dr. Palmer implores us to diligently apply the methods he developed, explaining that the results he achieved are achievable by all. So, if you want a real seminar, read Fight to Climb or Volume XXV. If you want a real coach, look no further than the man whose toil and research validated the profession we now claim to own.

You see, twisting necks and punching backbones is not unique to chiropractic, no matter how lovingly you do it, no matter how charismatic your seminar guru may have been. Spinal manipulation dressed in vitalistic philosophy is still nothing more than spinal manipulation. Posture, range of motion, palpation, symptomatology ... none of these can be used as objective measures of nerve system function. And in case you weren't already aware; there are plenty of excellent non-chiropractic practitioners in all sorts of fields who are correcting poor posture, palliating symptoms and mobilizing stiff joints.

Interference to nerve impulse transmission is what defines subluxation, and it is the reason chiropractic matters.

I ask you, seriously, how do you KNOW a patient needs to be adjusted? And how do you KNOW if that adjustment has been successful? If you have the gumption to tell your patients that you are correcting nerve interference, then step up and use methods that objectify your claim. The upper cervical spine is the most architecturally complex region in the axial skeleton. Effective upper cervical adjusting requires a unique clinical approach; master it and you will possess a skill that resides amongst the highest of human achievements.

Best wishes to you,
James Le Grice, DC

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