Ever since Transforming Adjustments launched, I had overwhelming responses from the readers; generally good but some negative. One of the feedback I got a few days ago was that I lose credibility by openly introducing myself as a chiropractor when discussing about health. What an appalling comment to make! But, I understand some people's negligence towards chiropractic as many are heavily misinformed about what chiropractors really do and the benefits they can provide.  If you google about chiropractic and chiropractors, it's easy to stumble upon articles that falsely claim about how chiropractors did that, done that and that chiropractors are not "real" doctors. The extent as to how pervasive these false claims are, can be understood when you read the claims made by the Australian Media accusing a chiropractor for fracturing a baby's neck.  For others, in fact millions annually are left scratching their heads in confusion, wondering why there are so many divided opinions on chiropractic, when they themselves are seeing great results under chiropractic care. Here are the cold hard truths of the profession, its struggles and the indisputable results of chiropractic care.

 

The Monopoly of Pharmaceutical Companies and Medicine.

Chiropractic is the largest and the most influential alternative health care next to medicine. The American Chiropractic Association states that "doctors of chiropractic treats more than 30 million people annually just in the U.S, making chiropractic the third largest group of doctorate-level, portal-of-entry primary-care providers in the nation, next to medical doctors and dentists." 

Medicine, more specifically the pharmaceutical industry is a big business; their global market is worth over $300 billion a year and expected to exponentially grow up to $400 billion within a few years. They are the big boys, the monopoly of health care. Just like in any business, complete monopoly and dominance of the market is key to their longevity and financial success. However, chiropractic poses a great threat to their dominance for two reasons: 1) Chiropractic is the largest and the most influential alternative health care in the world, and, 2) Chiropractors are against the use of drugs, promotes wellness and preventative care. This disparity in the fundamental philosophies between medicine and chiropractic is bound to clash and sprout conflicts. 

A good example is the events which led the American Medical Association to put an effort to destroy the chiropractic profession by depriving its practitioners of association with medical doctors and by calling them "unscientific cultists" or worse. The Federal district judge, Susan Getzendanner, further described the conspiracy as "systemic, long-term wrongdoing and the long-term intent to destroy a licensed profession," and ruled for chiropractors and against the medical association. Conspiracy within health care? Sounds crazy but it's real. Today, it's no secret that pharmaceutical companies run "business with disease" founded upon "armies of lobbyists, infiltration,  economic incentives, bribes, manipulation and deception." I highly recommend you to read "Telling the Truths: What Drug Companies Don't Want You To Know" published by Dr. Thomas Bodenheimer M.D., who succinctly exposes the common practice of wrongdoings by pharmaceutical companies. What it all comes down to is -- money, the dirty politics and manipulative deeds of people who value personal gains over public health. 

 

The Undeniable Success of Chiropractic

Despite the fact that millions of people are benefiting from regular chiropractic care, there are still many who blindly disregard what chiropractors can offer. They make claims based on rumours and false information scattered over the Internet. A good example is strokes; the association between strokes and chiropractic adjustments were strongly reinforced, claiming that chiropractic neck adjustments are unsafe. This is not true. J David Cassidy et al., have published in the Journal of European Spine, concluding that:

"VBA (Vertebrobasilar artery) stroke is a very rare event in the population. The increased risks of VBA stroke associated with chiropractic visit is likely due to patients with headache and neck pain from VBA dissection seeking care before their stroke. We found no evidence of excess risk of VBA stroke associated chiropractic care compared to primary care."

Chiropractic is not mainstream medicine, the profession does not have the exposure and the funds to freely conduct large scale studies like the pharmaceutical companies leisurely do. Due to this limitations, it is true that the chiropractic profession still lacks a lot of scientific research when compared to the medical profession. But one thing chiropractors surpass in both quality and quantity are millions, if not billions, of anecdotal evidences, large number of highly satisfied patients and the success stories of many chiropractors worldwide. 

Above is, Dr. Clarence Gonstead, an internationally renowned chiropractor and his technique "Gonstead" is a standard of excellence in the chiropractic profession and for all those who seek out chiropractic. He owned a clinic in Mt. Horeb Wisconsin, which at its zenith boasted an airstrip and hotel for patients who literally traveled the world just to receive his care. It is widely known that Dr. Gonstead would never go to bed on the same day that he woke up, due to all the patients he had to attend to and adjust. His legacy alone is an unwavering testament of the positive influences that chiropractic care delivers to the masses. 

Its Results and Growth Cannot Lie

The medical profession tried to boycott and eliminate chiropractic and the internet is flooded with false claims made against the profession. Despite of it all, chiropractic as a profession is vastly growing. MarketWatch published "10 Professions with the Best Job Security" on March 20, 2015, ranking chiropractors first ahead of surgeons, dentists and aerospace engineers. The growth of the profession itself, is a testament to the growing awareness of the public and the growing needs of quality chiropractic care and services worldwide. 

Many are realising and criticising our current health care and its paradigm which is based upon a "sickness" model. We just look for a quick fix, masking the symptoms with drugs and surgery. With growing awareness and appreciation of chiropractic care, numerous studies are being published with bold statements that praise the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic care, oftentimes by the medical profession themselves, who once boycotted against chiropractic. 

"Chiropractic management of low back pain is superior to allopathic medical management in terms of greater safety, greater effectiveness, and reduced cost." - Manga et al., 1993. 

"Chiropractic adjustments has the effect of not one, but two blood-pressure medications given in combination, with no side effects."  - Dr George Bakris M.D, Director of University of Chicago, Hypertension Center

Chiropractic is not a theory, it's something that you don't need to believe in. The results are there, it's proven and it works. Here you can see the astonishing results of regular chiropractic care seen in x-rays in one of my patients that I personally saw in my office. Yes, the chiropractic profession lacks scientific evidence compared to medicine and pharmaceuticals, we lack support and the funds to carry out global wide research, but what we do have is thousands and thousands of patients that benefit from chiropractic care. They refer their families, friends and loved ones for chiropractic care; not because of some research articles funded by a big pharmaceutical company, but because the results are there. It's that simple.