The Chiropractic industry is celebrating 125 years and has earned “essential” recognition and public relations breakthroughs. During the pandemic of 2020, the Department of Homeland Security officially labeled chiropractors as Essential Service Providers, a distinction that has been a long time coming.
Our profession’s patients, practice members, and friends have known this for over 100 years as personal referrals have been driving our industry growth. Federal courts have made judgments in our profession’s favor and more people than ever are lining up to utilize chiropractic care, not just for back pain or neck pain, but as a holistic solution for living a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.
As the prehistoric stigmas from chiropractic’s early years completely die off, millions of individuals appreciate the essential nature of chiropractic care as their primary mode of health care. Many companies have embraced chiropractic care by including chiropractic services for reimbursement. Companies like Google, Standard Process, and others even provide on-site chiropractic services for their employees. Professional, Olympic, college, and youth sports teams have chiropractors as key members of their healthcare teams.
It is very common to see chiropractic offices filled with generations of individuals and families. Some people “limp in and leap out” while many others come for weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly Lifestyle Care adjustments to help them stay well and function at a high level.
The Rocky Road to Essential
Getting to the point of Essential has been an interesting journey. Politically, the Chiropractic industry chose not to become a part of the mainstream medical allopathic umbrella which resulted in vicious, unfounded attacks against the profession. The chiropractic industry had to overcome…
- Political battles to achieve licensure in the early to mid-1900s
- Arrests for “practicing without a license”
- Smear campaigns by the AMA and pharmaceutical industry
- Reimbursement inequalities in the 90s to the present day
- Political infighting between its holistic and allopathic branches
And we did!
Chiropractic Wins in Federal Court – Obliterating the Lies
In 1987, United States District Judge Susan Getzendanner found the American Medical Association (AMA) and its constituents guilty and in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, on the grounds that they intended to obliterate the chiropractic profession. The AMA took insidious action to contain and eliminate the chiropractic profession with accusations of being unethical and unscientific, and to position the medical agenda at the forefront of healthcare.
During this famous Chester C. A. Wilk et al. v. AMA et al. case, records revealed that medical doctors were encouraged by the AMA to exploit chiropractors and accuse them of wrongdoings. The plan outlined the “containment of the chiropractic profession” that “will result in the decline of chiropractic,” detailed with action steps from denying them from being in hospitals to opposing insurance coverage for their care to even comparing them to dogs.
This epic 11-year battle and chiropractic victory opened the door to new opportunities for holistic healing and drug-free health care led by the chiropractic industry. Now, it is common for chiropractors and medical colleagues to openly refer to each other with chiropractors often taking the lead on the care.
Science is Catching Up to What Patients and Doctors Already Know
Gravity existed long before the apple fell on Isaac Newton’s head! This same concept is true for the healing principles of the human body and its relationship to chiropractic care.
There have been exciting breakthroughs in neuroscience, quantum mechanics, biology, and the immune system that have given the chiropractic profession a boost within the scientific community. The principle of neuroplasticity, the connection between the nerve system and immune system, the understanding of arthritic changes as they relate to poor posture, and many other findings have helped give confidence to the public and change their reasons for consulting doctors of chiropractic.
Essential Innervation, Essential Chiropractic
It is now well documented scientifically that healthy nerve supply is essential for a healthy life. This is true for babies, toddlers, kids, teens, college students, pregnant moms, working people, fitness buffs, parents, senior citizens, and everyone else with a spine and nervous system, regardless of their age.
Opportunities Abound in Chiropractic
Opportunities abound with 68,000 chiropractors compared to 1.1 million medical doctors in the United States alone. Chiropractors are graduating at a rate less than the world needs to replenish those chiropractors that have retired or passed away.
Outside of the US, the need is even more dramatic. With only 12 chiropractic schools in the entirety of Europe, many countries do not have a school at all. As an example, the European Union has 700 million people and less than 5,000 chiropractors. The demand is growing and it needs to be filled.
The Largest and Safest Drugless, Non-Surgical Health and Healing Profession
The effectiveness of chiropractic care is exciting and it is also less expensive than allopathic, surgical based protocols. It is also much safer as exemplified by malpractice costs that chiropractors versus other practitioners have to pay to insurance carriers! Like all other medical professionals, chiropractors are required to have comprehensive insurance coverage that prevents them from absorbing liability.
The average cost of medical malpractice insurance is $7,500 annually; for medical personnel, between $4,000 and 12,000 a year. Surgeons pay between $30,000 and $50,000 a year.9 With high levels of risk comes higher premiums on policies.
Chiropractors, on the other hand, pay a median premium of about $40 per month, or $500 per year, for a business owner’s policy that protects chiropractors against patient injuries, property damage, and damage to their business property. Non-business owners pay as little as $370 per year.8 With low levels of risk comes lower premiums on policies, and is based on the overall amount of claims against the profession. This is especially important for the public to understand, that chiropractic care is not only effective but significantly safer.
What Everybody Ought To Know About Chiropractic
Chiropractic is modern, chic, and copacetic. It’s a non-invasive, drugless, and non-surgical, very hip way to take control over your own health. You will come to understand and know the power of the chiropractic adjustment and care. When should you start getting checked by a chiropractor?
When babies come through the birth canal, there are about 40 pounds of pressure being exuded onto that baby’s neck during delivery. It takes 60 pounds of pressure to completely decapitate a newborn. In nearly 100% of SIDS cases, the infant dies of a torqued atlas. The atlas is the highest bone in the vertebral column and the one that supports the head. When the atlas is out of alignment, it can compress the brain stem which is where the autonomic function is housed.
Not only are chiropractic adjustments essential for babies to grow properly through the lifecycle stages, but it’s also one of the most powerful epigenetic lifestyle activities that has the power to eliminate roadblocks to the well-being of the body. This is our goal with the generational care and lifestyle care that we provide for the entire family.
Don’t wait for a crisis to force you to act and come in for a chiropractic check-up. Make an appointment for yourself and your family. Keep yourself aligned and balanced as a lifestyle. You will appreciate the care and find it, dare we say, “essential”.
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