It's unfortunate that we have to call this a "battle" between DCs and MDs. It's also unfortunate that people like Clark Bartram do not embrace our chiropractic profession, but that is his opinion and he doesn't represent the whole medical community.
I belong to a family of medical doctors, nurses, and podiatrists and we always engage in wonderful conversations about science and health. My father, who is a general practitioner, now refers many of his patients who have suffered from years of migraines to chiropractors. His patients come back to him thanking him, for had he not referred them to a chiropractor, they might never have gotten better. My father now thanks me for educating him on what chiropractors do.
The point here is that MANY medical doctors really have no idea what we treat and think all we treat is acute low back pain. That is not their fault. In fact we need people like Dr. Bartram to ask these important questions so that we can educate the public.
What is also wonderful is that many other medical doctors, in addition to my father, DO ACCEPT chiropractic. Just yesterday I had a patient with sciatica down her right leg who was told by her medical doctor to see a chiropractor for her sciatica. I feel a great sense of joy every time I see evidence of the medical and chiropractic profession getting along.
As long as the these two professions together with other health care professions get along can we really reach our common goal, which is to HELP OUR PATIENTS. Folks, this shouldn't be a battle between us, it should be a battle to HELP PEOPLE GET BETTER.
Thank you to Dr. Vanden Hoek for educating those who don't understand chiropractic.
Thank you to Dr. Bartram for asking about our profession. Without questions nothing will ever be answered.
Anna Marie
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Dr. Bartram,
How could you possibly say the chiropractor made a fool of himself by giving scientifically-referenced (and in many cases, medical journal references) responses to your emotionally-driven questions? Do you have an equally intelligent rebuttal, or must you resort to name-calling in lieu of a real argument?
Incidentally, my 7-year-old was never vaccinated (I don't tell my patients not to do this either, but I will give them the other side of the story, as will our pediatrician, who supports us not vaccinating), has had one round of antibiotics in his life (the infection came back after the meds, and was then successfully and completely resolved with homeopathy), and has only once been sick for more than 24 hours (the chicken pox--no scratching, thanks to homeopathics and adjustments). I have adjusted him since he was 3 hours old.
I would add that my malpractice is so much lower because the "side effects" of my treatments are improved immunity (as reported to me by my patients, who are thrilled to not have so many colds), better digestion and elimination, and improvement in conditions such as asthma (I don't claim to cure it, but know from clinical and personal experience that regular adjustments drastically reduce the need for rescue inhalers--I've thrown away 2 of my own half-full inhalers because they expired.)
How is it that the chiropractor lost? I think it is your patients who are losing because of your unwillingness to learn.
Tina Warren DC
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