feature Why Chiropractic – Why Now? Five reasons the profession matters today and beyond T he profession of chiropractic finds itself in interesting times amongst the flurry of health-care reform. Collectively, the profession’s members (and patients, for that matter) know that it holds the answers to some, and perhaps many, questions that plague our health-care system and general well-being. However, it is constantly running up against walls in its efforts to make this value known to governments, the medical establishment and the general public. Part of the reason for this is that DCs have struggled with formulating a clear message regarding what, exactly, chiropractic is, where it is most useful, and how, precisely, it ef-fects its benefits. Chiropractic, as a health and healing system, is multifaceted and this might, in fact, be one reason it is difficult to reduce it to one or two characteristics for public consumption. In other words, its varied proponents are not necessarily wrong in the divergent perspectives they adopt – the question is how to distil these perspectives down to effective messaging strategies. It is tempting to try to enlighten an audience with the full scope of the chiropractic message right from the get-go, but, unfortunately, this can serve to muddle the conversation, and further confuse even those with the most open of minds. And so, members of the chiropractic profession are still carrying on a dialogue regarding how to reach out and convince people that chiropractic should be retained as a viable, perhaps even primary, option, in the health and healing toolbox. As the key to making messaging “stick” is to keep things simple, and focus on salient concerns for the audience in question, this article proposes five points that may be presented to make the case for chiropractic as a valid health-care option. These points aim to offer a clear message without watering down, or selling out, the 8 • CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | APRIL 2011 www.canadianchiropractor.ca
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor April 2011: Page 8
