The schism in chiropractic through the eyes of a 1st year chiropractic student

Strahinjevich, Bob; Simpson, Jenny

doi:10.1186/s12998-017-0171-x

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Papers in this series have again revealed deeply rooted disagreements within the chiropractic profession about what chiropractic is, and what it should be, as a profession [13,19,20], as well as disagreements and variation in relation to education of chiropractors [14,15] and chiropractic clinical practice [11]. In our opinion, it is ironic that while chiropractic has a strong presence in large parts of the world [3], is taking on increasingly important roles in disability prevention [6,7,17], in the military [5] and in interprofessional care [8] as well as growing research capacity [16], discussions about fundamental values and direction of the profession are unresolved.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These authors suggested that it may be time to openly discuss separation or divorce so that the two fractions can pursue a separate future [19]. Strahinjevich and Simpson also targeted the schism between the evidenceoriented and the vitalistic groups in chiropractic as seen through the eyes of a first-year student, and discussed both the historic background for this and possible ways forward [20].…”

Section: Discussion and Debate Papersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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So, what is chiropractic? Summary and reflections on a series of papers in Chiropractic and Manual Therapies

Hartvigsen

French

2020

Chiropr Man Therap

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This commentary brings the 2017-2019 thematic series What is Chiropractic? to a close. The 18 papers published in the series contribute to a better understanding of what chiropractic is, where chiropractors practice and function, who seeks their care, what chiropractors do, and how they interact with other healthcare professionals. Several papers in the series highlighted deeply rooted disagreements within chiropractic about fundamental issues pertaining to ideology, acceptance of scientific evidence as the basis for clinical practice and the future of chiropractic. If the chiropractic profession is to remain relevant in today's evidence-based healthcare environment, there is an urgent for the profession to undertake further research to describe what chiropractic is, what chiropractors do, and provide evidence for the value of these activities to patients and healthcare decision makers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion and Debate Papersmentioning

confidence: 99%

So, what is chiropractic? Summary and reflections on a series of papers in Chiropractic and Manual Therapies

Hartvigsen

French

2020

Chiropr Man Therap

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“…The technical rationale notes that the subluxation is a correctable and treatable biomechanical lesion via spinal manipulation for the treatment of many health afflictions [ 15 , 24 , 52 ]. The use of anecdotal evidence is used to demonstrate that such a construct exists.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The prevalence of the term subluxation in chiropractic degree program curricula throughout the world

et al. 2018

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BackgroundThe subluxation construct generates debate within and outside the profession. The International Chiropractic Education Collaboration, comprised of 10 chiropractic programs outside of North America, stated they will only teach subluxation in a historical context. This research sought to determine how many chiropractic institutions worldwide still use the term in their curricula and to expand upon the previous work of Mirtz & and Perle.MethodsForty-six chiropractic programs, 18 United States (US) and 28 non-US, were identified from the World Federation of Chiropractic Educational Institutions list. Websites were searched by multiple researchers for curricular information September 2016–September 2017. Some data were not available on line, so email requests were made for additional information. Two institutions provided additional information. The total number of mentions of subluxation in course titles, technique course (Tech) descriptions, principles and practice (PP) descriptions, and other course descriptions were reported separately for US and non-US institutions. Means for each category were calculated. The number of course titles and descriptions using subluxation was divided by the total number of courses for each institution and reported as percentages.ResultsMeans for use of subluxation by US institutions were: Total course titles = .44; Tech = 3.83; PP = 1.50; other = 1.16. For non-US institutions, means were: Total course titles = .07; Tech = .27; PP = .44; other = 0. The mean total number of mentions was 6.94 in US vs. 0.83 in non-US institutions. Similarly, the mean course descriptions was 6.50 in US vs. 0.72 in non-US institutions.ConclusionsThe term subluxation was found in all but two US course catalogues. The use of subluxation in US courses rose from a mean of 5.53 in 2011 to 6.50 in 2017. US institutions use the term significantly more frequently than non-US. Possible reasons for this were discussed. Unscientific terms and concepts should have no place in modern education, except perhaps in historical context. Unless these outdated concepts are rejected, the chiropractic profession and individual chiropractors will likely continue to face difficulties integrating with established health care systems and attaining cultural authority as experts in conservative neuro-musculoskeletal health care.

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“…The difficulty for chiropractic is that it is essentially two disparate groups held together by a common early history and name. As evidence-based practice continues to expand and strengthen, the groups can be seen to be increasingly divergent and the differences may be irreconcilable [10,224].…”

Section: The Polarizing Effect Of Modernizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vitalism in contemporary chiropractic: a help or a hinderance?

Simpson

Young

2020

Chiropr Man Therap

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Background: Chiropractic emerged in 1895 and was promoted as a viable health care substitute in direct competition with the medical profession. This was an era when there was a belief that one cause and one cure for all disease would be discovered. The chiropractic version was a theory that most diseases were caused by subluxated (slightly displaced) vertebrae interfering with "nerve vibrations" (a supernatural, vital force) and could be cured by adjusting (repositioning) vertebrae, thereby removing the interference with the body's inherent capacity to heal. DD Palmer, the originator of chiropractic, established chiropractic based on vitalistic principles. Anecdotally, the authors have observed that many chiropractors who overtly claim to be "vitalists" cannot define the term. Therefore, we sought the origins of vitalism and to examine its effects on chiropractic today. Discussion: Vitalism arose out of human curiosity around the biggest questions: Where do we come from? What is life? For some, life was derived from an unknown and unknowable vital force. For others, a vital force was a placeholder, a piece of knowledge not yet grasped but attainable. Developments in science have demonstrated there is no longer a need to invoke vitalistic entities as either explanations or hypotheses for biological phenomena. Nevertheless, vitalism remains within chiropractic. In this examination of vitalism within chiropractic we explore the history of vitalism, vitalism within chiropractic and whether a vitalistic ideology is compatible with the legal and ethical requirements for registered health care professionals such as chiropractors. Conclusion: Vitalism has had many meanings throughout the centuries of recorded history. Though only vaguely defined by chiropractors, vitalism, as a representation of supernatural force and therefore an untestable hypothesis, sits at the heart of the divisions within chiropractic and acts as an impediment to chiropractic legitimacy, cultural authority and integration into mainstream health care.

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The schism in chiropractic through the eyes of a 1st year chiropractic student

Cited by 17 publications

References 68 publications

So, what is chiropractic? Summary and reflections on a series of papers in Chiropractic and Manual Therapies

So, what is chiropractic? Summary and reflections on a series of papers in Chiropractic and Manual Therapies

The prevalence of the term subluxation in chiropractic degree program curricula throughout the world

Vitalism in contemporary chiropractic: a help or a hinderance?

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