Editor's note: Enrique Benet-Canut, DC, is the president of the Colegio de Profesionistas Cientifico Quiropracticos de Mexico, and the Federacion Latinoamericana de Quiropractica.
Dear Editor:
In relation to the recent and unfortunate assassination of Mexico's presidential candidate Mr. Luis Donaldo Colosio, and the events in the state of Chiapas, I have to tell you that life in Mexico goes on as usual and that Mexico continues to function with its institutions intact. In our office we still see as many patients as ever. The restaurants, movies, theaters, and malls are filled.
We know that in Cancun the hotel occupancy is as high as ever, so there is no reason to worry about security in coming to our Congress in Mexico. Chiapas is very far from Cancun. One of the reasons for holding the Congress in Cancun is its international reputation as a beautiful and serene beach resort, far removed from any political turmoil.
On another front, Mr. Sergio Saldivar, director of sports development and promotion in Mexico City, has been an incredible supporter of sports chiropractic. One of the achievements in this direction is that every year the largest marathon in the world is held in Mexico City, with over 70,000 participants. Chiropractic care for the first time will be provided at the July 31 marathon by the Sports Chiropractic Assoc. in Mexico City.
Enrique Benet-Canut, DC
Mexico City, Mexico
Not Funny
Dear Sirs:
I didn't find anything funny about your latest editorial, "Those Funny MDs: Another Lesson Learned at their Expense." Why must chiropractors knock down our fellow health professionals to build ourselves up? The sarcastic and superior tone of this editorial seems to say that those crazy MDs are at it again and they can't figure anything out. Is it any wonder that prejudice against chiropractic from other health care professionals exists when we publicly fault the medical profession in as demeaning an editorial as this? Is it a victory for chiropractors to know that the AMA bureaucracy has to deal with 1,600 practice guidelines?
In my two years as a chiropractic student I have already seen an abundance of soldiers crusading for chiropractic. Are we salesmen or doctors? I think the tone of this editorial serves as "friendly fire" and does nothing but give opponents of chiropractic more ammunition.
Jeff Randall
NWCC T-5 student
Where have all the subluxations gone?
Dear Editor:
I am hoping that you will be willing to inform your readers about an apparent discrepancy in the messages being given on behalf of the ICA.
The WCA's Chiropractic Journal has been touting the ICA as a "subluxation based" organization for several months. Presently the ICA is running full page ads in both Dynamic Chiropractic and the Chiropractic Journal which are aimed at telling us what our national organizations "stand for." This is confusing and misleading in that the ICA ad does not mention the word subluxation at all. On the other hand, 31 percent of the ad is devoted to the ICA position on immunization.
If chiropractors are interested in a national organization that "stands for" vertebral subluxation then they need to be talking to the FSCO. My letters to the Chiropractic Journal have not been printed and so I thank you in advance for informing your readers.
Bill Decken, DC
Spartanburg, South Carolina
First Rate Natural Healers -- Second Rate Prescribers
Dear MPI:
I would like to add a few comments and perhaps some perspective to Dr. John Hofmann's views in "Drugs-R-Us."
In the past I worked for two and one-half years in a hospital in West Africa and initiated that area's first in-hospital chiropractic clinic. Since the administrators had never experienced chiropractic care, there was no pre-existing notion of scope of practice. I was able to order lab tests, x-rays, write prescriptions, as well as use any other diagnostic service available in the hospital. As a general observation I found that giving people drugs was in fact the easy way out. I observed that if I wanted to just relieve a symptom there was no need to concentrate on the patients' lifestyle, history or do an in-depth exam and I didn't have to concentrate my efforts for solutions to the cause of their problems. Giving drugs is almost a 'no brainer.' For pain and inflammation you give anti-inflammatories and analgesics etc.
The only time I prescribed drugs was when the patients' belief system was such that they were convinced beyond all doubting that they could not get well without an injection or tablet. In this case I often injected them with vitamin B12 or wrote them a prescription for vitamins. There were however cases where the pain was so severe that they would be injected with a cocktail made of vitamin B12 anti-inflammatories and analgesics. (This is in common usage in Germany but on this side of the ocean the use of vitamin B12 would be banned as being "too natural.") They would generally get enough relief to begin the process of chiropractic adjustment. Over here this type of situation would be a good opportunity for medicine and chiropractic to work together on the same patients.
Working without drugs forces us to think, to see alternatives to give the body what it really needs naturally. There are thousands of researchers and billions of dollars out there focused on "perfecting" drugs. Yet there is so little out there 'perfecting' natural therapies. I think we owe it to humanity to expand the alternatives to drugs rather then add a few paltry drops to the already burgeoning pharmaceutical bucket.
MDs know a lot more about drugs than we do. If we started to administer drugs we would be second rate prescribers and become second rate natural healers.
Ward Hazen, DC
New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada
Perturbed in Pasadena
Dear Editor:
I just read a number of articles in the March 11, 1994 issue that were of special interest to me, a retired chiropractor. Current news about the profession is always of special interest, i.e., "20/20," Kentuckiana (Dr. Golden and I were in the same Palmer graduating class), Good Housekeeping, etc.
This "editor" letter was precipitated solely by the last article in the paper, "The 20/20 Expose" by a PhD, Dr. Keating.
After reading it I wasn't sure which side he was (is) on. As bad as "20/20" was, his diatribe is little better. Does this guy have something to do with the chiropractic profession? I hope not.
Over the years I have found few items in Dynamic Chiropractic as irritating as that.
J. Morgan Rasmussen, DC
Pasadena, California