I just wanted to hear some opinions from colleagues regarding perspectives on chiropractor practices. I have done moonlighting in chiropractor offices (my employer leases the office spaces on the weekends for our exams) and I routinely see propaganda advising against vaccinations (in huge print on the wall in the lobby). I knew about this commonly held belief among "straight" chiro's (those who strictly adhere to the founding principles of chiro; ie. "innate intelligence," the ability of spinal manipulation to cure ALL diseases, etc.) but I had never seen it first hand. This was most egregious and offensive during the H1N1 pandemic.
I have also seen chiro's market themselves as actual primary care providers who are eager to perform chronic disease management (a 1995 survey showed that 90% of U.S. chiro's consider themselves to be primary care providers). Unfortunately, the lay public perceives chiro's as bona fide "doctors" and truly don't know the difference. Chiro's also routinely treat children and INFANTS for asthma, eczema, ear infections, colic, bedwetting, hyperactivity, and learning disorders! Remember, the modality of treatment is primarily spinal manipulation.
When I see that insurance companies reimburse for chiro services that are typically frequent and unnecessary (not to mention the superfluous amount of x-rays ordered), I find myself annoyed that the same insurance companies hold physicians to Pay for Performance standards and have the bar hovering incredibly high for services rendered. Who watches the chiro's quality measures? Are their charts audited as well?
Isn't there some kind of malfeasance inherent in recommending against vaccinations? Isn't this a public health issue if "doctors" recommend against this crucial role of healthcare and arguably the single most important discovery in medicine? What am I missing? And yes, chiro's do peddle med's. But since they are "supplements" and "natural," it doesn't count. I have a personal anecdote of an acquaintance who was told by a chiropractor to give her INFANT a supplement he was selling to cure the baby's otitis. Said chiro did not even ask about the medications the baby was currently taking (for GI issues).
There are plenty of discussions regarding the roles of midlevels and its appropriateness, but this is a whole other level of practicing outside of one's scope of training.
Obligatory qualifier: I have been to a chiro in the past and received wonderful results for lumbago. Yes, there has been more of a consensus (based on meta-analysis) that chiro therapy is moderately efficacious for LOW BACK PAIN. That's about it. Let's not forget about the danger of cervical manipulation (low amplitude/high velocity) and the underreported incidence of vertebral artery dissection inherent to this maneuver.
I have also seen chiro's market themselves as actual primary care providers who are eager to perform chronic disease management (a 1995 survey showed that 90% of U.S. chiro's consider themselves to be primary care providers). Unfortunately, the lay public perceives chiro's as bona fide "doctors" and truly don't know the difference. Chiro's also routinely treat children and INFANTS for asthma, eczema, ear infections, colic, bedwetting, hyperactivity, and learning disorders! Remember, the modality of treatment is primarily spinal manipulation.
When I see that insurance companies reimburse for chiro services that are typically frequent and unnecessary (not to mention the superfluous amount of x-rays ordered), I find myself annoyed that the same insurance companies hold physicians to Pay for Performance standards and have the bar hovering incredibly high for services rendered. Who watches the chiro's quality measures? Are their charts audited as well?
Isn't there some kind of malfeasance inherent in recommending against vaccinations? Isn't this a public health issue if "doctors" recommend against this crucial role of healthcare and arguably the single most important discovery in medicine? What am I missing? And yes, chiro's do peddle med's. But since they are "supplements" and "natural," it doesn't count. I have a personal anecdote of an acquaintance who was told by a chiropractor to give her INFANT a supplement he was selling to cure the baby's otitis. Said chiro did not even ask about the medications the baby was currently taking (for GI issues).
There are plenty of discussions regarding the roles of midlevels and its appropriateness, but this is a whole other level of practicing outside of one's scope of training.
Obligatory qualifier: I have been to a chiro in the past and received wonderful results for lumbago. Yes, there has been more of a consensus (based on meta-analysis) that chiro therapy is moderately efficacious for LOW BACK PAIN. That's about it. Let's not forget about the danger of cervical manipulation (low amplitude/high velocity) and the underreported incidence of vertebral artery dissection inherent to this maneuver.
