Chiropractic Association Research Articles

Health information and promotion in chiropractic clinics

Objective: To explore the current health education behaviors of chiropractors, ascertain their willingness to provide patient counseling, and compare this with topics of interest to chiropractic patients. Methods: This study involved a postal survey of 400 randomly selected members of the Chiropractic Association of Australia (35% response rate) and a semistructured interview of 316 patients attending one of 20 purposively selected chiropractic practices. Data were collated, and the current health information practices of chiropractic respondents and their willingness to undertake counseling on various topics was identified and compared with the information interests of participating patients. Particular emphasis was placed on injury prevention both with respect to patient counseling and chiropractic practice risk. Results: Respondents expressed varying degrees of willingness to provide health information on diverse topics, but no clear health education chiropractic practice pattern emerged. Although expressing willingness to undertake counseling, respondents were more likely to provide health information brochures than develop a tailored health promotion contract. Health education topics ranged from exercise (91%) to osteoporosis prevention (23%). Seventy-eight percent of chiropractors were prepared to offer counseling on injury prevention, yet 45% of respondents themselves reported having some work-related injury. Maintenance care failed to emerge as a global term for describing a common core of topics or chiropractic health education practices. Conclusion: This study demonstrated an interest by chiropractors in providing and by chiropractic patients in obtaining health information that extends beyond spinal health. The range of relevant topics covered and modes used for health information transmission in chiropractic practice requires clarification. The prevalence of work-related injury among chiropractors suggests a need to develop safe chiropractic clinical practice protocols. (J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2002;25:240-245)

Patient satisfaction with chiropractic physicians in an independent physicians' association

Background: Satisfaction with care is one of the variables that can be used in determining the results of medical care. Patient satisfaction surveys allow managed care plans to determine how well their providers meet certain standards. Objective: To determine the level of satisfaction with chiropractic care in a random sample of patients seen by physician members of a chiropractic independent physicians' association. Design: A visit-specific questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 150 patients from health insurance claims filed in the first two months of 2000. Results: The rate of return was 44%. Various aspects of chiropractic care were given a rating of “excellent” by the following percentage of respondents: Length of time to get an appointment (84.9%); convenience of the office (57.7%); access to the office by telephone (77.3%); length of wait at the office (75.7%); time spent with the provider (74.3%); explanation of what was done during the visit (72.8%); technical skills of the chiropractor (83.3%); and the personal manner of the chiropractor (92.4%). The visit overall was rated as excellent by 83.3% of responders, and 95.5% stated they would definitely recommend the provider to others. Conclusion: The study demonstrated a high satisfaction rate among managed-care patients. (J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2001;24:556-9)

Unsubstantiated claims in patient brochures from the largest state, provincial, and national chiropractic associations and research agencies

Objective: To determine the presence or absence of claims for the clinical art of chiropractic that are not currently justified by available scientific evidence or are intrinsically untestable. Design: A survey of patient education and promotional material produced by national, state, and provincial societies and research agencies in Canada and the United States. Method: Patient brochures were solicited from the 3 largest provincial, 3 largest state, and the 3 largest national professional associations in the United States and Canada. Similar requests were made of 2 research agencies supported by the national associations. Brochures were reviewed for the presence or absence of unsubstantiated claims. Results: Of the 11 organizations sampled, 9 distribute patient brochures. Of these 9 organizations, all distribute patient brochures that make claims for chiropractic services that have not been scientifically validated. Conclusion: The largest professional associations in the United States and Canada distribute patient brochures that make claims for the clinical art of chiropractic that are not currently justified by available scientific evidence or that are intrinsically untestable. These assertions are self-defeating because they reinforce an image of the chiropractic profession as functioning outside the boundaries of scientific behavior. (J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2001;24:514-9)

Chiropractic Case Includes a Cautionary for Dentistry: FTC claims a state chiropractic association encouraged a conspiracy to boost fees and boycott third-party payers.

Chiropractic Case Includes a Cautionary for Dentistry: FTC claims a state chiropractic association encouraged a conspiracy to boost fees and boycott third-party payers.

The Stiff-Legged Deadlift

P.J. Gardner, MS, CSCS is currently employed as an exercise specialist at Physiotherapy, Associates in Memphis, Tennessee and works individually with local high school and college athletes. He holds a Master's degree in fitness and wellness from the University of Memphis and is currently pursuing an athletic training certification through Rhodes College. He is certified by the ACSM, NSCA, and USWF. Dr. Don E. Cole is a chiropractic physician with post-graduate training in spinal biomechanics and physical rehabilitation. He has extensive experience in the treatment and correction of athletic injuries at the collegiate level. Dr. Cole is a member of the American Chiropractic Association and presently serves as Vice President of the Tennessee Chiropractic Association, and is a guest lecturer at several Chiropractic universities. He is former Chiropractor of the Year for the State of Tennessee.

Chiropractic and the Social Context of Medical Technology, 1895–1925

Chiropractic and the Social Context of Medical Technology, 1895—1925 STEVEN C. MARTIN In 1924, B. J. Palmer, America’s foremost chiropractor, revealed “the most valuable invention of history,” the neurocalometer. A thermopile connected to a galvanometer that measured temperature differences along the spinal column, the neurocalometer would revolutionize chiropractic because “it picks, proves and locates the CAUSE of all diseases of the human race.”1 In response to this dramatic announcement, Palmer was widely condemned by many of his most ardent supporters in the chiropractic community. Many chiropractors scorned Palmer as a traitor to the cause, and nearly half the faculty of his Palmer School of Chiropractic (PSC) resigned. Palmer fled his headquarters, disappearing with his family on a round-the-world journey that lasted eight months. The proud PSC plummeted, and what had once been the premier chiropractic educational institution nearly folded a year later.2 Dr. Martin is an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine and the Department of Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is writing a book on the history of chiropractic. He gratefully acknowledges the support of a grant from the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation and a travel grant from the Bakken: A Library and Museum of Electricity in Life. The author is indebted to the librarians and archivists at the Bakken, the Palmer College of Chiropractic, the National College of Chiropractic, and the Logan College of Chiropractic. He also thanks Ellen Koch and Ruth Schwartz Cowan for their help and encouragement. ‘B. J. Palmer, The Hour Has Struck (n.p., 1924), p. 35. ‘Details of the neurocalometer episode are derived from the following sources: ibid.; B.J. Palmer, The Neurocalometer (n.p., 1924), Why Did B.J.? (n.p., n.d.); the special neurocalometer issues of the Fountain Head News, eds. 1 —18, vol. 14, no. 18 (August 22, 1924)-vol. 15, no. 14 (February 6, 1927). These sources are available in the Archives of the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. Secondary sources include Chittenden Turner, The Rise of Chiropractic (Los Angeles, 1931), pp. 39-45; A. A. Dye, The Evolution ofChiropractic: Its Discovery and Development (Philadelphia, 1939), pp. 127— 45; Russell W. Gibbons, “Assessing the Oracle at the Fountain Head: B.J. Palmer and His Times, 1902—1962,” Chiropractic History 7 (1987): 9—14; Joseph C. Keating, “Introducing the Neurocalometer: A View from the Fountain Head,” Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association 35 (1991): 165— 78.© 1993 by the Society for the History of Technology. All rights reserved. 0040-165X/93/3404-0003S01.00 808 Chiropractic and the Social Context of Medical Technology 809 The neurocalometer controversy highlights the critically important role that technology plays in the history of chiropractic. Throughout their history chiropractors have clashed over the appropriate place of machines in health care. As a profession self-consciously defining an alternative approach to health care, chiropractic struggled with the appropriate role of medical technology. In this article I explore this facet of chiropractic history as a means of illustrating how technology helped define both orthodox and unorthodox medicine. In addition, I argue that the evolution of chiropractic attitudes toward technology illustrates important changes in popular American attitudes toward medical machines.’ Early Chiropractic, 1895—1910 Chiropractic was founded by Daniel David (D. D.) Palmer (fig. 1). Born into a Canadian frontier family, Palmer emigrated to the American Midwest as a young man. Without formal education, he supported himself as a grocery clerk, beekeeper, fish seller, and schoolteacher before turning to magnetic healing in 1886.4 He developed a successful practice in Iowa and later claimed to have spent the following decade searching for the underlying cause of disease/ In September 1895 he experienced his “eureka moment.”1’ He described it so: 'Surprisingly little literature exists on the history of medical technology. Useful sources include Audrey Davis, Medicine and Its Technology (Westport, Conn., 1981); Joel D. Howell, “The Meaning of Medical Machines” (Ph.D. diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1987); Stanley J- Reiser, Medicine and the Reign of Technology (Cambridge, 1978); Margaret Rowbottom and Charles Susskind, Electricity and Medicine: A History of Their Interaction (San Francisco, 1984); Ellen Koch, “The Process of Innovation in...

Resolving Strabismus Through Craniomandibular Manipulation

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsGil WeinerGil Weiner, D.C.Dr. Weiner received his doctorate in chiropractic from New York Chiropractic College in upper Brookville, New York in 1978. He is actively in private practice in San Juan, Puerto Rico, treating craniomandibular problems with a multidisciplinary approach. He has been a consultant for the past five years for T.I.I, industries in Puerto Rico. He also treats the local Ballet Companies. Dr. Weiner is conducting studies correlating dance performance, structural integrity, and TMJ dysfunction. He is a member of the American Chiropractic Association and The Puerto Rico Chiropractic Association.

In Search of "The Spirit of '76"

will undoubtedly recognize Spirit of '76. All year long its three tattered, patriotic musicians have been doing a heroic job reminding us of our Revolution and the most essential products of our modern culture. They have been pictured leading the way for such diverse organizations as Budget Rent-A-Car, the American Chiropractic Association, and Sesame Street. The English even recruited them to promote British Airways. This painting has been used in so many adaptations that its title is recalled with difficulty, and only devotees of historical trivia can name the man who actually painted it. Like the dying foreground figure who is usually cropped out (e.g. the commemorative stamp issued by the Postal Service), Archibald Willard has been left by the wayside, unable to share in the triumph of the valiant trio he created (see Plate 1). Information on the forgotten painter of this hallmark of American popular culture is scarce and highly inaccurate. The Spirit of '76 by Henry Kelsey Devereux, who posed for the drummer boy, is the main source, but the twelve pages devoted to Willard are filled with distortions and errors. Moreover his account was published in 1928 in a private printing of only 500 copies. Anne Colver, Willard's great-niece, has written a second book entitled Yankee Doodle Painter, but it is essentially a children's book about Uncle Arch. The few articles on Willard and his painting do little more

Medicine and Chiropractic

For the past 53 years a well-organized and determined band of practitioners has importuned the state legislatures of this country for permission to administer to the health needs of the people. Their efforts have been so successful in the political arena that 48 states license them. These individuals call themselves chiropractors. Their aggregate number is variously estimated at from 15,000 to 25,000, and it is claimed that about 4 million people consult them in any one year. In 1966, the American Chiropractic Association published a brochure entitledWhat Medicine Really Thinks About Chiropractic.1The authors were C. W. Weiant dean emeritus of the Chiropractic Institute of New York and S. Goldschmidt, member Special Committee on Political Education, American Chiropractic Association. Two statements in their introduction to a defense of chiropractic present the salient points to be dealt with here. The first reads as follows: In this brochure we present

Medicine and chiropractic

For the past 53 years a well-organized and determined band of practitioners has importuned the state legislatures of this country for permission to administer to the health needs of the people. Their efforts have been so successful in the political arena that 48 states license them. These individuals call themselves chiropractors. Their aggregate number is variously estimated at from 15,000 to 25,000, and it is claimed that about 4 million people consult them in any one year. In 1966, the American Chiropractic Association published a brochure entitledWhat Medicine Really Thinks About Chiropractic.1The authors were C. W. Weiant dean emeritus of the Chiropractic Institute of New York and S. Goldschmidt, member Special Committee on Political Education, American Chiropractic Association. Two statements in their introduction to a defense of chiropractic present the salient points to be dealt with here. The first reads as follows: In this brochure we present

Educational Background of Chiropractic School Faculties

What type of educational background do faculty members at the schools of chiropractic have? In an attempt to check the claims that such "faculties are made up of seasoned practitioners, young chiropractors with academic degrees in the subjects in which they teach and non-chiropractor specialists in the fields in which they are assigned,"¹catalogs were obtained from 13 schools of chiropractic in the United States and Canada. The 13 schools included all the "approved" schools of chiropractic in the United States. (The "approval" is by the two national chiropractic associations; none of the chiropractic schools is accredited by any recognized educational accrediting agency in the United States.) <h3>Study Design</h3> To base the study on current information available from the 13 schools, the most recent editions of their catalogs were requested. The section of each catalog listing the faculty members was reviewed, and figures were compiled on faculty members according