Editor's note: This article was written while Dr. Necela was a student at Life Chiropractic College West.
Like everything else on this planet, chiropractic is not perfect. Despite the advances we have made since 1895, and the volumes of people we have helped gain better health, there is one major area in which chiropractic is failing miserably. Can you guess what it is? Well, read on!
Finding chiropractic's greatest failure to date is not an easy task for anyone connected to our profession. Our collective psyche as chiropractors, which has been beaten up by years of opposition, causes us to worry about many things. Some of us feel we need greater acceptance from the public, from medical doctors, and from insurance companies. Others are anxious about chiropractors becoming too assimilated into the mainstream. They fear we will lose our unique aspects in the search for the universal embrace of our services. Some DCs are concerned that there are too many chiropractors and too much competition, and that they won't be able to make a decent living. Others are of the opinion that there are not enough chiropractors to serve the needs of the growing public interest, to attend to a subluxated world. While these misgivings come close, none hit the target precisely.
Despite our philosophical differences - in seminars, in writings, and in our meetings at colleges and associations - most chiropractors speak of the need to expand the scope of chiropractic. Almost universally, we agree that the public needs to know that we are more than doctors for back and neck pain. We seek to care for more children, and we want to teach more people about our unique philosophy of natural health. Yet, our greatest challenge is of a much greater magnitude and, at the same time, much more basic than these worthy ideas. Still not sure what our major failure is? Consider this:
There is no chiropractic planet. we have neglected to deliver chiropractic on a grand scale. While medicine has pervaded all parts of the earth, even in the most remote areas, chiropractic has let down many people throughout the world by denying them the choice of our path to health. From this perspective, our greatest challenge - and also our greatest failure to date - is in the globalization of chiropractic. It is that simple, yet profoundly complex. We have failed to take chiropractic to the world.
While it is true that DCs are present on every continent, their number and accessibility in many countries is pitifully small in some, and nonexistent in others. As chiropractors, we intimately understand the value of chiropractic care and the detrimental effects of subluxation. This philosophy of health provides us with the guiding principles on which we base our practice. It follows, then, that our duty is to ensure that every person on this planet may have access to a chiropractor, in order to experience the numerous health benefits of chiropractic care.
To adhere to this obligation, much work must be done. Currently, there are about 75,000 chiropractors in the world. Approximately 94% of these are in the United States and Canada. That leaves less than 5,000 (or 6%) for the rest of the world. In fact, there are only 25 countries with chiropractic laws in existence, and only 68 countries that possess a chiropractic association to support the local profession.
From a global perspective, our collective worrying (about acceptance, competition, treating non-musculoskeletal conditions, etc) is relatively superfluous. There are billions of people on this planet with no chiropractors nearby who, currently have no chance of getting them unless changes are made on our part. When chiropractors truly consider the philosophy that is at the heart of this profession, one thing becomes evident: All people, created equal, deserve access to chiropractors and the benefits of our care. It is time for this profession to take the steps necessary to overcome our failure to put chiropractors everywhere on the planet and start "walking our talk."
Dr. Tom Necela maintains a private practice in Washington state. He is also the founder of The Strategic Chiropractor, a consulting firm for chiropractors. Dr. Necela can be contacted with questions or comments via his Web site, www.strategicdc.com.