The Three Medical Options

When a patient sees a medical doctor because of pain-- whether it be migraines, neck pain, back pain, sciatica, etc., there are three courses of care 99.9% of the time.

1. The doctor will prescribe a drug.  The problem with drug therapy is that it does nothing to correct the cause of the pain.  Medications only attack the effect.  At best, the relief is temporary.  At worst, chronic use of drugs can cause damage to the kidneys and liver.  Strong prescription painkillers can be addicting and cause new, worse problems for the patient.
2. If the pain is severe enough and actual damage has been done to the tendons, spinal discs, ligaments and/or bones, the medical recommendation will probably be surgery. These invasive procedures are designed to fix damaged structures that could have remained healthy if they were properly cared for and maintained.
3. The third option is a referral to a physical therapist.  Physical therapy can be a great approach to rehabilitating muscles and other soft tissues after an injury.  However, many times a physical therapist will focus only on stretching and strengthening exercises to the injured area before sufficient healing has occured.

So when you see a medical doctor in search of relief, expect one of the three: drugs, surgery or PT.  The focus will be on the symptom, not the cause of the symptom.  A chiropractor, on the other hand, will assess the problem with the intent to uncover the cause.  And if, in fact, the pain is either directly caused by or exacerbated by a spinal subluxation, the one and only option will be to correct the misaligned backbone with a chiropractic adjustment.

The Intention of Chiropractic

I just wrote the following comment on a recent blog post written by Bill Esteb:

"The distinction between chiropractic and medicine is considerably more than merely the difference in the intervention used. Instead, one must examine the intent and hoped-for outcome from the intervention. Reducing, ameliorating or eliminating symptoms is the domain of medicine. Enhancing, restoring or reviving a person’s ability to self-heal and 'right themselves' is the practice of chiropractic."

According to what you've written here, I would say that all chiropracTORS should, at times, be willing to practice medicine. When a new patient starts chiropractic care, most of the time they are in our clinics for the sole purpose of reducing, ameliorating or eliminating a symptom.

If a doctor of chiropractic uses the desperation of the new patient to promote chiropractic, giving little or no thought towards what the patient really wants (eliminating pain symptoms) it is disrespectful at best and unethical at worst (as in those times when a patient's fear and anxiety are used as tools to get a hold of thousands of dollars in pre-payment).

For those principled doctors who state that they do in fact address the elimination of pain symptoms by promoting the principles of chiropractic, I ask if the promises of "self-healing" and "righting themselves" for pain relief are then, not in fact, medicine. It is the intent which defines, right?

For those principled doctors who state that they do not identify or treat symptoms at all, I would ask them to scrutinize carefully their marketing efforts, entrance forms, patient education materials, exam and report procedures to see if they are truly FREE from direct or implied promises which uphold that chiropractic can eliminate specific symptoms.

With all due respect, Mr. Esteb, many of the products that you sell focus on symptoms, caused by subluxation, with which people have a great desire to reduce, ameliorate and eliminate.

I am a chiropractor who practices medicine, according to your definition. I am not ashamed of this even though many other chiropractors may look down on me with disdain. Ironically, many of these colleagues who would condemn a chiropractor who practices medicine, probably do the same on some unidentified level to which they are blind to.

My first purpose, as I see it, is to eliminate suffering by relieving symptoms. This my FIRST hoped-for intention of my chiropractic "treatments." After the symptom is gone, I am then ready to continue my relationship with my patient on a different, higher plane by teaching them true principles of healing and wellness through chiropracTIC.

A chiropractor who practices medicine (as defined in your post) is not necessarily a hypocrite or incompetent-- just as a medical doctor who incorporates chiropractic principles into his or her practice should never be deemed less of a healer.

Thank you for considering this perspective.