May 2004

Infertility research still a top news story in U.S.

Since more than more than six million women in the United States are infertile, and over nine million use some kind of infertility service, it wasn't surprising that the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) press release about chiropractic and infertility drew media attention. What was surprising was the incredible wave of positive news reports that aired on television stations from Idaho to Connecticut.

Among the stations showing news spots on the research published in Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research were:

KBCI Boise, WCBS New York, KING Seattle, KYW Philadelphia, WTNH New Haven, KUTV Salt Lake City, WCPO Cincinnati, WOAI San Antonio, KOLD Tucson, and KPTM Omaha. (Some of the stations that broadcast news about the research also included the news on their Internet websites. For links to many of these pages, visit the WCA website at www.worldchiropracticalliance.org).

On one specialized health news wire service, the press release was accessed by reporters 745 times by the end of March. Although the service is used by most major medical institutions    including the American Medical Association, American Dental Association, the American Osteopathic Association, Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, American Pediatric Society, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and The Lancet ‑‑ the chiropractic research story generated more interest than 97% of all releases distributed during February.

In fact, so much attention was generated by the research report that the wire service showcased the piece as one of its "success stories" and has continued to result in interviews and news stories. The head researcher, Madeline Behrendt, DC, also reported receiving numerous requests for referrals to chiropractors.

"Never before has the chiropractic profession enjoyed such positive publicity," stated Terry A. Rondberg, DC, WCA President. "And we didn't have to shy away from the concept of subluxation correction. We were able to tell millions of people that subluxations can cause a disruption in their normal nerve flow and affect their body's function ‑‑ and that chiropractors could correct subluxations."

Critics have long warned that, in order to reach the public, the chiropractic message had to adopt medical jargon and distance itself from the medically disputed notion of subluxation. Some have even suggested dropping the word "subluxation" in favor of lesion or other medical terminology.

At a Chiropractic Town Hall meeting held in Feb. 2000, David Chapman Smith, Secretary General of the World Federation of Chiropractic stated: "the dominant force for the provision of spinal manual therapies in the mainstream health care systems throughout the world ... To me, that's a very much bigger vision than simply using your own language talking about adjusting subluxations."

Chapman Smith also claimed that market experts had determined that people would not respond to information on subluxations. In response, then‑ICA President Bob Hoffman argued: "If we can unify around the subluxation, we can make tremendous inroads. The problem is there are people like you telling the profession that won't work."

Reminded of the Town Hall debate, Dr. Rondberg said the infertility publicity proved that vital research, coupled with aggressive public relations, can have a profound affect without betraying the subluxation centered foundation of the profession.