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September 2006

'Chiropractic Brain Trust' conference set for Nov.

Subluxation‑centered chiropractic leaders to gather to develop long‑term strategic plan

More than 30 leaders of the subluxation‑based chiropractic community will meet in Portland, Ore. this November for a "Chiropractic Brain Trust" conference that could help determine the future of the profession.

Among those who have pledged to attend are: Terry A. Rondberg, DC, President of the World Chiropractic Alliance; Judy Campanale, DC, President of the Federation of Straight Chiropractors and Organizations, and CJ Mertz, President‑Emeritus of the International Chiropractors Association. John Malty, DC, current ICA president was invited but was unable to attend due to a previously scheduled commitment.

The three organizations are founding members of the Chiropractic Coalition, which focuses solely on legislative action and was therefore not considered an appropriate sponsor of the event.

Despite the presence of current and past leaders of the three top subluxation‑based associations, the meeting is not for organizations. All attendees are gathering as individuals rather than as official representatives of their respective groups. Organizers say this was done to ensure that no single organization would dominate the proceedings or have its agenda given priority.

Guiding the meeting will be Mary Rowe, who has facilitated many chiropractic meetings throughout Canada and the US, including the National Chiropractic Leadership Forum, and meetings of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges and the WCA.

The meeting was called in order to begin the process of formulating a long‑term strategic plan for protecting and promoting subluxation‑centered chiropractic. The urgent need of such as plan has been spotlighted by recent events such as widespread anti‑chiropractic advertising campaigns, increased Medicare audits on chiropractors, the development of the CCGPP's medicalized back pain guidelines document, continued criticism of chiropractic as an unscientific and unproven approach, and government resistance to incorporating chiropractic into federal health plans without medical gatekeepers.

It was initially thought that personal and political differences among the attendees might sidetrack the effort before it got started. However, the response to the invitations has been almost universally positive. Nearly every doctor contacted was enthusiastic about the concept of a Chiropractic Brain Trust meeting, even those unable to attend.

For more than a century, conservative chiropractors have flourished as a true alternative to the disease‑ and condition‑focused medical approach. Yet, in recent years a movement within the chiropractic profession has pushed DCs closer to the medical paradigm. Anti‑subluxation rhetoric from within the profession has been exploited as a way to categorize all but the most medically oriented chiropractors as quacks and charlatans.

According to one often‑cited research paper, "More than 100 years after its inception the chiropractic profession has failed to define itself in a way that is understandable, credible and scientifically coherent. This failure has prevented the profession from establishing its cultural authority over any specific domain of health care." ("Chiropractic as spine care: a model for the profession", C Nelson et. al, Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2005, 13:9).

Although the researchers noted that one reason for this problem is "reliance upon obsolete principles of chiropractic philosophy," the history of the osteopathic profession actually argues the contrary. As Karl Loren explains, "At its birth, osteopathy was a radical concept, rejecting much of what allopathic medicine claimed was new and useful. Today, osteopathic medicine has moved close to the mainstream ‑‑ close enough that in general it is no longer considered alternative medicine. The long‑term survival of osteopathic medicine will depend on its ability to define itself as distinct from and yet still equivalent to allopathic medicine."

The same is true in chiropractic. The surrender of the philosophy upon which the profession is based ‑‑ a vitalistic and holistic concept of health and wellness ‑‑ has undermined the "cultural authority" as well as the very identity of chiropractic. In order to offer the public an alternative to the medical model, chiropractic must be able to maintain its identity as a separate and distinct wellness approach.

Practicing chiropractors appear to overwhelmingly agree with this assessment. More than 88% of all DCs think the term "vertebral subluxation complex" should be retained, according to the survey conducted by the Institute for Social Research of Ohio Northern University.

Yet, aside from the Chiropractic Coalition, there has been little coordination between subluxation‑centered chiropractic organizations or leaders. For the most part, they have assumed their shared vision of chiropractic and their individual work on behalf of the profession was sufficient. For decades, this was true.

Only recently has the increased pressure to medicalize chiropractic underscored the need for an organized long‑term plan that could bring together diverse elements of the traditional branch of chiropractic.

During the two‑day Brain Trust session, to be held Nov. 15‑16, attendees will discuss numerous questions, such as:

***  How to define and promote a chiropractic identity that embraces the traditional concept of subluxation correction?

***  What's the best plan regarding litigation and other legal strategies against opponents (within and outside the profession) who use libel, slander and misinformation to attack chiropractic?

***  What steps can be taken to establish the scientific basis of chiropractic as an evidence‑based discipline and promote subluxation‑centered clinical research?

***  Can DCs expand the chiropractic market by positioning chiropractic as an integral part of a lifetime wellness care regimen?

***  Is there a way to gain entry into all federal and state funded health care initiatives as a subluxation‑based discipline, without being limited to musculoskeletal conditions or regulated by medical gatekeepers?

***  Should DCs work toward ensuring that all third party payers recognize the validity of subluxation correction in health care and pay for that uniquely chiropractic service ... or opt out of the third‑party payer system altogether?

***  What are chiropractic's legislative priorities?

***  Can subluxation‑based chiropractic formulate a long‑term public education and media relations campaign to communicate the true meaning of chiropractic care to the world?

The group will also decide on what future action attendees will take after the Brain Trust conference concludes.

Representatives from The Chiropractic Journal will attend the meeting in order to report the procedures to the profession.