[originally published in KCN, Arpil 2000]
Wow, chiropractic sure helped you out last year! It helped you overcome and manage that crippling back pain you’d been battling for years. It did wonders for your spouse’s chronic headaches, not to mention how it set things straight when your daughter took a tumble off the jungle gym. Oh, and let’s not forget, how it soothed your newborn’s cringing bout of colic. With such a great track record for ‘99, do you think it can offer any relief for that pain that’s persistently been getting worse since the year ended? You know, the one that has April 15th written all over it.
While there’s something to be said about how chiropractic can help relieve the negative effects that this stressful time of the year can have on our bodies, the kind of relief that I am suggesting is more along the lines of “tax relief.”
“What!?” you say. “I can deduct chiropractic care on my taxes??” The answer, I’m excited to say, is “Yes.” — BUT (there’s always one of those) whether or not it will actually count as a bona fide deduction for your situation depends on some important factors. Read the rest of this post »
I wonder what Joe Camel’s spinal X-rays look like. Not very pretty in my estimation. In fact, I’m even starting to question whether he really is a camel after researching the impact cigarettes can have on the spine. Perhaps under his cool camel persona lies a spinal deformed horse with a bad nose job. If so, kudos to the ladies and gentlemen in Joe’s marketing department for fooling us all for so long.
So what’s up with smoking and spinal health anyway? Is there a link? Will the courts order tobacco companies to provide lifetime chiropractic care for their puffing patrons? Probably not. After all, the bad habit hasn’t been “conclusively” linked to poor spinal health. Hmmm. Nevertheless, the physiology of the spine and pharmacology of the potent chemicals in cigarettes suggests that a connection is very plausible. 
Today it is becoming more and more accepted by the health care community and public at large that chiropractors are great back doctors. I would agree. The scientific literature certainly supports our primary method of treatment for back pain, and more insurance companies are covering our services for it. Considering our history of long uphill battles to gain “acceptance” as a viable health care profession, it is understandable that we might be drawn to settle into this “comfortable chair” of being labeled as back pain specialists. But to do so would really be undermining the true potential that the art, science, and philosophy of chiropractic has to offer. 
Ironically, the biggest driver of costs associated with work injury claims often is not the actual health care rendered to the injured worker, but rather the amount of time-loss wages paid to the worker themselves. And, for us employers, this usually translates to the ever-dreaded premium hike. So what’s a cash-strapped employer to do when one of his workers is stricken with a debilitating work injury?
The Christmas season has come and gone once again. Memories have been made. Good times have been shared. And families have come together. But alas, it’s time to pack away the decorations and lights. Put away the Christmas CD’s, and eat that last Christmas cookie. And as you hum the tunes of popular carols, and “Silent Night” comes to the forefront, it might be surprising for you to realize that on average the parents of nearly 25% of our newborn population aren’t experiencing such a “silent night.” Not during Christmas; not during anytime of the year for that matter. Their babies are suffering from a frustrating condition of persistent crying many parents are well aware of — a condition known as colic. 
When I was in elementary school, I remember a poster that hung on the back wall of the school cafeteria. It read “You Are What You Eat.” A simple, but wise, phrase, and one that I’ve come to appreciate with the passing years. However, despite my chiropractic education, and the nutritional courses within it, the idea of sitting down to a nice, piping hot plate of back pain has never crossed my mind. Well, according to the research in Dr. Neal Barnard’s book 
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