They're Just Words. Right?
"Defining the Difference!"
From the Subluxation Free Mind of John Cafferty, D.C.
1998 President - Oregon Doctors Of Chiropractic
Mainstream Medicine:
The administration of pharmaceuticals and other established western medical products
and/or procedures, including surgery, from the outside of a human body with the
specific intent of curing and/or relieving conditions or diseases on the inside
of a human body. A practitioner who believes in the reductionist/mechanistic philosophical
viewpoint that the whole is only the sum of its physical parts. The legitimate
practice of the traditional science of medicine.
Alternative Medicine:
Any type or form of medicine not yet accepted as standard in the mainstream of
western medical thinking. Examples would be the administration of botanicals,
herbs, Oriental medicine, acupuncture, etc. administered from outside a human
body with the specific intent of curing and/or relieving conditions or diseases
on the inside of a human body. Practiced by Naturopathic Physicians and other
providers who work within the so-called natural healthcare sciences.
Mainstream Chiropractic:
The correction of vertebral subluxations (nerve interference) by the use of specific
Chiropractic Adjustive Procedures and protocols with the specific intent of allowing
the Innate Intelligence within the human body to return a patient to his/her state
of optimal health and wellness. A science which states that healing, all healing,
comes from within the body. Practitioners who hold that an Innate Life Force controls
and coordinates all functions and actions within living organisms. Doctors of
Chiropractic who equate Lifetime Wellness Care with optimal human health. The
legitimate practice of the Philosophy, Science and Art of Traditional Chiropractic.
Alternative Chiropractic:
Sometimes referred to as Alternative/Complementary Medicine. The application of
non-specific spinal manipulative therapy and/or the use of physiotherapeutic modalities
for the relief of back and neck pain found in common uncomplicated orthopedic
and/or musculoskeletal conditions. Any use of alternative medical products and/or
procedures with the specific intent of curing and/or relieving conditions or diseases
from outside the human body. Practiced by chiropractic providers who reject part
or all of Mainstream Chiropractic and limit themselves and their practices to
the therapeutic relief of painful musculoskeletal conditions. Those practitioners
who have adopted the reductionist/mechanistic medical philosophical paradigm.
The application of Chiropractic as poorly defined and/or incorrectly understood
by the medical profession.
Comment: As anyone
can see, these are more than just words. When looking at the big healthcare equation,
medicine and all other applications of alternative medicine or alternative chiropractic
belong on one side, and Traditional Mainstream Chiropractic, by itself, belongs
on the other side. Therefore, members of our profession need to be careful how
we speak to other healthcare providers and insurance companies when describing
our Science, Art and Philosophy. We must be aware how we use these words. Many
Chiropractors could be unknowingly insulting or degrading our profession by using
improper terminology just for the sake of getting along with the medical and/or
the insurance establishment.
The Members Of The
ICA, And The WCA Proudly Practice Mainstream Chiropractic!
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