Appreciates help

Thanks for your help in the battle of Alberta. The anti-CCP resolution was defeated.

In Alberta we use the Glen Erin Guidelines for the Practice Review Board to check out our colleagues. It has been and will most likely still be followed in the practice reviews.

The CCP Guidelines are a welcome addition for those who lacked information to support their way of practice. I would like to personally thank you for making this information available to us.

Lambert W. Sindelar, D.C.
Wetaskiwin, Alberta,
Canada

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(NOTE: The following letters are representative of the correspondence received by The Chiropractic Journal regarding its March 2000 front page article on Dr. Jay Holder. It is obvious that the content -- and the situation it described -- really hit a nerve in the chiropractic community. We've refrained from commenting on the letters because they speak for themselves.)

Guerilla tactics

It's about time! I wish to thank you for the article appearing in the March 2000, Vol. 14, No. 6 issue of The Chiropractic Journal entitled, "Holder files lawsuit to clear his name."

What I can't understand is why it took so long to find out that the Harrisons' intent was a malicious attempt to smear a fellow colleague's name. The end result of the Harrison's slanderous action has, in my estimation, put the entire chiropractic profession in a bad light.

I have personally attended many of Dr. Holder's seminars and have always found them to be professional, containing excellent subluxation based-material which was delivered to the attendees in a timely fashion. The intent of Dr. Holder's classes always promoted the chiropractic profession in the highest light, for all to enjoy, and to serve as an example to those outside our profession that we are more than just "bad-back" doctors.

I would have liked to have seen a more stinging rebuttal against the guerilla tactics that the Harrisons have been using over the years to put a stop to their competition. It's time to wake up Don and Sang, a better "mouse-trap" has been introduced to our profession. It is a fresh approach that Dr. Holder brings to principled chiropractic that can only amplify the entire profession.

As a final note, it is my hope that Dr. Holder's suit will prevail and put the Harrison's on notice that enough is enough! And to stop dragging an honorable profession through the muck and mire of their compulsive attacks.

James F. Aquila, D.C.
Diamond Bar, California

The other side

It's about time that we got to hear the other side of the story.

I look forward to receiving The Chiropractic Journal on a regular basis. The story that you ran in your last issue concerning Dr. Jay Holder's lawsuit against Dr. Don Harrison is a breath of fresh air.

I believe our entire profession has been waiting for Dr. Holder's next move after the many vicious attacks against him by Dr. Harrison's newspaper.

Your story affords your readers the ability to know all of the facts! Without your reporting on these issues, we would be left with only the personal agenda of an angry man.

Dr. Harrison and his American Journal of Clinical Chiropractic has over the years consistently attacked many great leaders in the chiropractic profession for his own benefit. Dr. Holder is now included in that list.

The Chiropractic Journal has supported principled chiropractic in a positive way while Dr. Harrison's newspaper has only harmed it.

Alan Walden
San Francisco, California

Shameful

I must speak out regarding your March 2000 Journal article regarding Dr. Holder's lawsuit to clear his name. It shames our great profession to see this type of legal action having to be taken in order to "clear" one's "credentials."

I have been practicing chiropractic for 20 years. I have been involved in a fictitious malpractice suit against me by a so-called friend. I had to defend it out of my own pocket. I took it all the way to a jury trial and was found not guilty of any of the made up charges. So I know the pain and heartache it causes even when the victory is gained. It takes away from the things we should be doing, to spend time, energy and resources in another arena.

Perhaps this is Dr. Harrison's goal with Dr. Holder. Perhaps he is jealous of Dr. Holder's research and breakthrough technique that he feels threatens his own paradigm of chiropractic care. I don't know, this is just my opinion.

I do know Dr. Holder and I have taken his seminars and studied his documented research. I do know that if B.J. Palmer were alive today, he would have endorsed Dr. Holder with open arms.

Dr. Holder has put together the finest research in vertebral subluxation and the effects on quality of life issues to date. He has made the sacrifices to assure that his research was flawless, endorsed and secured through what we would call "accepted scientific avenues." He has attained a level of credibility not seen in our field. And he did it using the name "chiropractor."

I personally questioned him regarding his M.D. degree and his comment was that he got his degree to add credibility to his research. That is right, to further establish that chiropractic works and not in a pain model, rather in quality of life issues.

If that offends a chiropractor, then perhaps we should look into the "whys" of why we are not accepted in what is called mainstream scientific research.

I do not think it is because we lack initials after our names (DACBR, FIACA, Ph.D., etc.). Is it because no one takes chiropractic research seriously, or because the chiropractic researchers don't take it seriously? I think, perhaps the latter.

The "back pain" scenario research and treatment is a dead cow. We stand on the brink of becoming what the Palmers dreamed chiropractic would be: a system of wellness care that has the potential to change people, cultures, and yes, even society in general. Imagine, if you can, your own hometown being free from the grips of the medical paradigm and seeking wellness care. Does that excite you? It does me.

I know that in this world we will have tribulations. I know that the greatest enemy is the one on the inside. It still appalls me that Dr. Harrison, who holds his own system out to be scientific and with merit would do the things listed in your article against a fellow researcher and chiropractor.

What is to be gained? Prestige, power, notoriety. Dr. Harrison, you may have it, so did Jack the Ripper.

I am a subluxation-based chiropractor and have incorporated the Torque Release Technique into my practice. I have purchased and used the Integrator adjusting tool as well. I utilize the Subluxation Station (SEMG, Thermography and Inclination) which is another well- researched and documented source of knowledge for chiropractic.

I know the integrity of Dr. Holder and hold him up as one of the modern day leaders of chiropractic. I reprint his research and pass it to patients to further educate them on the limitless abilities they may receive from quality chiropractic care.

Does it mean that I am 100% in agreement with all Dr. Holder's beliefs? No. But, what he has done for our profession should not be attacked from within.

Isn't it ironic that is where the majority of attacks come from? Isn't it ironic that our federal government has accepted his research and adjusting tool as valid and applicable within our society? Isn't it ironic that Candice Pert can see what Dr. Holder is doing and chiropractors can't?

In closing, I would like to quote a biblical passage which says you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Through this case, the truth will be known, Dr. Harrison. It is just a shame to our profession that it even came up.

Thank you, Chiropractic Journal, for your continued honesty in bringing forth facts, not fiction.

Dan Allen, D.C.
Tucson, Arizona

Stop Dr. Harrison

Thank you for reporting on Dr. Holder's lawsuit against Dr. Harrison. They have been attacking Dr. Holder in their newspaper for years, and from your article, it appears their attacks have gone well beyond the realm of healthy competition.

I agree with the conclusion drawn in the article that Dr. Harrison's false and misleading activity regarding Dr. Holder and Torque Release Technique hurts the profession and must be stopped.

Hopefully, it will be stopped in a manner that discourages others from repeating Dr. Harrison's behavior regarding intraprofessional competition. I look forward to follow up coverage.