Dear Editor, While reading the July/August issue of Canadian Chiropractor, I found myself becoming quite disheartened. To the same degree that I was excited to read about the developments and advances at the chiropractic college in New Zealand, and its successful growth, I was equally discouraged (and upset, to be honest) to read about the direction that some Canadian leaders are attempting to take chiropractic. The news item titled “New Guide Outlines Effective Neck Pain Treatments” applauded the development of neck pain treatment protocols and options for treatment. Whereas the New Zealand College of Chiropractic is demonstrating a con-gruency between their focus of research and the practical and technical side of chiropractic including reducing and/or cor-recting the VSC for reasons that go beyond pain, some of our prominent representative bodies, here in Canada, are touting the fact that we are involved in the treatment analysis for neck pain. Several years ago I heard a chiropractic speaker challenge the audience with respect to the pain model of chiropractic care. He told us to imagine that a drug company invents a pill that will entirely eliminate all pain, regardless of origin, do it within a twenty-four hour period, cost only $10.00 and have absolutely no side effects whatsoever. How would that play out within the pain model of chiropractic care? I would suggest that it would completely eliminate much of present day chiropractic here in Canada and North America. Why? Just think: a patient enters your office with, let’s say, neck pain. If your model for care is the pain model then you would be morally and ethically bound to suggest that that patient go out and get that magic pain pill from his MD because it will handle the pain better, faster, with zero side effects and at less cost than could be done with chiropractic care. Thus, the chiro-practic profession (and many manual professions for that mat-ter) would become superfluous and obsolete. As chiropractors, we recognize a VSC complex and that it has detrimental effects on the musculoskeletal system and overall health -we should strive to understand this more fully. Furthermore, I believe we are ethically bound to treat and edu-cate patients with this principle in mind and not only focus on reducing pain. We know that chronic VSCs are no differ-ent than other forms of chronic stress or illness, in that they weaken the body’s defenses, making it much more susceptible to subsequent health issues and diseases that may otherwise not have arisen. Why are certain leaders of the Canadian pro-fession pigeon-holing chiropractic into a pain treatment model? I personally believe that chiropractic is far too important for a person’s health and quality of life to limit it to a symptomatic pain model and that to do so, is a disservice to both our patients and the public. Sincerely, David M.B. Wilson, BA, BTh, DC, London, Ontario 32 • CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | OCTOBER 2010 www.canadianchiropractor.ca letter to the editor
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor October 2010: Page 32
