Some people, including medical professionals and veterinarians, believe that chiropractic is some branch of witchcraft or voodoo medicine and that we all wave our magic crystals over our patients and cure them from all of their diseases. In those people's defense, there are some chiropractors that believe in the use of crystals or other supplies to assist in treating patients. At my national boards exam, a chiropractic student from another school pulled a crystal out from her cleavage and waved it over my friend's head to help him do better on his exam. Another chiropractor that treated my mother years before I enrolled in a chiropractic school placed crystals on her and immediately told her that she had a sensitivity to gluten. After researching, I have yet to find a way to diagnose gluten intolerance by placing crystals on a patient.
Not many people realize that there are two main philosophies of chiropractic. Chiropractors can be divided into two groups, the "straights" and the "mixers." I will try to describe the difference between the two in the shortest and simplest way I can.
In general, the straights believe that vertebral (spinal) "subluxations" are the cause of or one of the causes of most disorders. Straights typically will not say that they diagnose or treat conditions, but only find and cure subluxations. Approximately 15% of the population of chiropractors in the United States are straights.
Mixers (majority if the chiropractic population), however, typically believe that conditions are caused from other factors such as bacteria, viruses, etc. They do not believe that subluxations cause conditions or diseases, but that a malposition or restriction of a vertebral segment (subluxation) may cause a neurological imbalance resulting in the body's decreased ability to heal itself or prevent disease.
National University of Health Sciences, where I graduated from, teaches their chiropractic students according to the "mixer" philosophy and trains their future chiropractors to be primary care phycisians, not just back or knuckle crackers. Students spend nine months dissecting cadavers (not just watching an instructor do it) and six months taking pharmacology even though we don't prescribe drugs. Since many medical doctors, veterinarians, etc. do not realize this distinction within the chiropractic profession, the next time your or your pet's doctor says seeing a chiropractor is a waste of time, they are a bunch of "quacks," or they are just the "hippies of the medical world" just remember that more than likely they are referring to the minority.
Thank you so much for reading my blog. Please ask questions, leave comments, and let me know what you would like me to post about!
Dr. Margaux Allen
