[originally published in KCN, May 2002/ cartoon provided by TomLamarCartoon.com]
Chiropractors are back doctors. Right?
Well, while it is true that we place our hands on backs every day, calling us back doctors really misses the mark. As a matter of fact, calling chiropractors “back doctors” makes about as much sense as calling medical doctors “stomach doctors.”
[originally published in KCN, September 2001 / cartoon provided by TomLamarCartoon.com]
Diversified, Gonstead, Cox Flexion Distraction, Activator, Thompson, Sacro Occipital Technique, NIMMO Receptor Tonus, Applied Kinesiology, Logan Basic, Cranial, Pierce-Stillwagon, Pettibon, Directional Non-Force, Toftness, Chiropractic Spinal Biophysics, Toggle Recoil, Neuro Emotional Technique — the list goes on, and on, and on, easily surpassing the 100 mark. To the average chiropractic patient, or non-patient for that matter, these names probably seem like some sort of cryptic chiropractic jargon. But to the chiropractor, these names parallel a walk down the tool aisle at Sears — these names represent chiropractic adjustive techniques.
[originally published in KCN, August 2001 / cartoon provided by TomLamarCartoon.com]
Do you believe in chiropractic?Oftentimes I’ll encounter a new patient who will cut me short of my explanation on chiropractic by interjecting, “Don’t worry Doc. No need to explain. I believe in chiropractic.”
Believe in chiropractic? The idea of having to believe in chiropractic just doesn’t sit right with me. Nobody ever talks about believing in medicine. Chiropractic is not a belief system that you have to subscribe to or take stock in for it to work, nor is it akin to the rank and file of the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, or Leprechaun. No, chiropractic works just fine on its own, ruby slippers or not. I don’t believe in chiropractic, I know in it.
[originally published in KCN, May 2001]
Ten percent dead? What? Now before you stop reading, hear me out. It’s interesting if you stop to think about it: dead or alive. Pretty much an all or none proposition. Right? Well, maybe not. What about instead of being completely alive, you were partially dead? What would that feel like? What might some of your symptoms be? While we all can understand the concept of being alive, and all have a firm grasp on the concept of being dead, the notion of being somewhere in between might be a new one for us.
[originally published in KCN, April 2001]
Ever wonder who my biggest competitor is? No, it’s not the chiropractor across town or the ones in our neighboring cities. And it’s not even the medical doctor next door or the physical therapist across the way. No, my biggest competitor is you! Well, not you personally, but the chiropractic “baggage,” if you will, that you have managed to stuff in your cranium. We all have a lifetime of attitudes, perceptions, and opinions about our health and how we must take care of ourselves, and unless we have resided on some tropical island for most of our lives, we probably have a pretty attractive set of chiropractic “luggage” stored between our ears as well. The question you need to ask yourself, is who helped you pack your bags?
[originally published in KCN, August 2000]
“Well Mrs. Jones, I believe I may have found the source of your back pain. From your examination and history, I was able to identify several areas in your spine suffering from the Vertebral Subluxation Complex. This is a condition in which some of the movable bones in your spine (vertebrae) lose their normal motion and position and become fixated or ‘stuck.’ The loss of motion and position of these bones can pinch or irritate the delicate nerve roots that exit between them, causing pain, muscle spasms, inflammation, and faulty nerve transmissions to the rest of your body. In addition, this loss of motion eventually deprives the joints and surrounding tissues of vital nourishment. Consequently, the degenerative effects of arthritis begin to set in.
“The good news is that I can help. (more…)
[originally published in KCN, July 2000]
“You know, once you start, you have to go for the rest of your life.”
That’s the buzz on the “playground of life” — and one of the many aspects of chiropractic that has been misrepresented by the uninformed. But then again, this is the “playground” we’re talking about — a setting in which we are all too easily attracted to hearse and rumors to formulate our opinions.
“Is it really true?” you wonder. The questions multiply. “If you do go, will you get addicted? Is chiropractic a lifetime sentence?”
(more…)
[originally published in 
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