Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor • July/August 2022 • Business Talk

In 1976, chiropractor Chester Wilk led a lawsuit against the American Medical Association because they were deliberately restricting chiropractor access to hospitals, insurance plans, and suppressing information about chiropractic to patients. In 1987, the US Court of Appeals ruled in favour of chiropractic and ordered the AMA to end the conspiracy. Dr. Wilk died April 21st of this year. He was 91.

If you work in the same office as a medical doctor, thank Dr. Wilk. If you receive referrals from a medical doctor, thank Dr. Wilk. If insurance pays for your treatments, thank Dr. Wilk. If you practice in a hospital, thank Dr. Wilk. If your license is recognized by nations around the world, thank Dr. Wilk. Dr. Chester Wilk brought our profession into the mainstream.

“On August 27, 1987, Judge Susan Getzendanner, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, found the American Medical Association, The American College of Surgeons, and The American College of Radiology, guilty of having conspired to destroy the profession of chiropractic in the United States. Evidence at the trial showed that the defendants took active steps, often covert, to undermine chiropractic educational institutions, conceal evidence of the usefulness of chiropractic care, and orchestrate a huge slander campaign to discredit and debunk the chiropractic profession while doing many other activities to maintain a medical monopoly over health care in this country.” -www.chiro. com

Evidence in the case demonstrated that the AMA knew of scientific studies implying that chiropractic care was twice as effective as medical care in relieving many painful conditions of the neck and back as well as related musculoskeletal problems. The court concluded:

“The AMA was ordered to send copies of the Order of Injunction to each of its 275,000 members, to modify the official AMA Judicial Council Opinions and Reports to be congruent with the Courts decision that: “It is now ethical for a medical physician to professionally associate with chiropractors provided the physician believes that such an association is in the best interest of its patient.” In addition - the AMA was forced to publish the Injunction Order in the Journal of the American Medical Association.”

Dr. Wilk and his team were able to unearth evidence of conspiracy. They were able to prove that the AMA literally held meetings to orchestrate a boycott of chiropractors by telling AMA members that chiropractors were unscientific practitioners and that it was unmedical and unethical for a medical doctor to associate or refer to chiropractors. The purpose of the boycott according to testimony was to “contain and eliminate” the chiropractic profession.

Yet 40 years later the profession is seemingly taking a different path. Of the 45 chiropractic institutions worldwide, only 14 have retained the word chiropractic in the name. This trend is worrisome. A serious identity crisis in the profession is on the horizon. Schools are trading the chiropractic name for a more general, generic, better marketable name. So, are schools financially stable or is there something that schools are not telling us? I was recently at a graduate fair where undergraduate students attended with their parents. Its not uncommon for parents to fund their children’s post graduate education whether by using their savings or through financing. I overheard one father ask: “What kind of a school is a College of Health Sciences?” His daughter replied, “Dad its a chiropractic school.” Her father walked a few more steps and stopped to wait in line at a chiropractic school kiosk. I was right behind them and listened to him say: “Well if I’m going to be paying $200,000 for your education, I want you to go to a school with the profession in its name.” My thoughts exactly. Why is the profession and its graduates straying from their roots? Well, in part we know some of the answers. These name changes have been encouraged by the sharp decrease in enrollment and in order to maintain profits the institutions feel that a more generic name will attract a more diverse array of post-graduate students -especially on a Google search.

I am not the only one who is wondering if technology and the internet is contributing to the decline of the profession. In March 2022 an article in this publication by Jacobs and Klein titled “Insta-bad: Are some bastardizing the evidence for their own image?” stated:

“There is no shortage of graduated chiropractors who now say adjusting the spine is useless, soft tissue therapy is useless, motion palpation is useless, functional correction is useless. Everything they don’t do, or maybe aren’t good at, is useless. If you don’t do exactly what they say and do, you’re a terrible practitioner and you must be shamed. Instagram is downright perfect for that. The uniqueness of our profession and the clinical success in our history is easily forgotten.”

I write a business column. In each particular article I may have 700-800 words to engage the reader about a topic, explain its significance, and make an impression that will help them become better clinicians in business practice. That’s what makes a business column relevant. And to be relevant you need to tell the readership the truth. Dr. Wilk was a trailblazer of truth in our profession.

And here is a dose of truth in 2022: Graduates from CMCC will spend about $126,000 over 4 years on tuition (Tuition & Fees). An average one bedroom apartment in Toronto is $1,446/ month. (Current City of Toronto Average Market Rents & Utility Allowances – City of Toronto.) Multiplied by 48 months, that’s almost $70K. Plus food and entertainment - the cost of a chiropractic education is several thousands of dollars north of $200k. For those who go to the USA for training its a little over $230K.

My point is, new graduates are in huge debt – regardless if they or their parents need to finance their education. I am now in my 20th year of private practice, and I opened my own practice six weeks before I graduated, so my ideas have merit because in part I have been doing it everyday for the last two decades. However, times are changing and what worked for me in 2002 may look a lot different in 2022. But one thing that time should not tarnish is the chiropractic name, the brand, and the tradition.

ANTHONY LOMBARDI, DC, is a private consultant to athletes in the NFL, CFL and NHL, and founder of the Hamilton Back Clinic, a multidisciplinary clinic. He teaches his fundamental EXSTORE Assessment System and practice building workshops to various health professionals. For more information, visit www.exstore.ca.