Don't Look to Insurers to Help Reduce Health Care Costs
Dear Editor:
Your editorial on wellness rebates ["Wellness Rebates: Motivation to Reduce Health Care Costs"; publisher's report of findings, July 15 DC] contains a gem of a point.
One way to move forward in promoting more cost-effective health care is to keep bringing up this elephant in the room. Too many are under the illusion (cultivated by the PR campaigns of the insurance carriers) that insurers are invested in trying to cut costs. Their actual investment lies in a bigger pie for a bigger slice. Hold this fact up to the light, over and over again, and positive change will have more fertile ground.
Eric Winder, DC
Slippery Rock, Pa.
Editor's Note: The following letter to the editor is directed to Dr. Perry Nickelston, who authored "The Posterior Chain: It's All in the Hips" in the July 15 issue.
Focusing on Weak Muscles
Dear Editor:
Thank you for your great article.
I have always been a proponent of the kinetic chain, albeit 36 years ago it was not called a posterior kinetic chain. Back when I was a student at TCC, the professors would tell us that the reason people got back pain was that we were bipedal creatures, Oh yeah? Then why do horses and dogs need adjustments?
The reason for back pain is weak muscles. God made our bodies and God does not make mistakes. A joint is only as strong as the muscles around it.
I tell my runners and dancers all the time that they need to work out their hamstrings and glutes, because they are sorely neglected in their respective sports. Your hypothesis is right on target. Congratulations!
C.X. Domino, DC, DNBCE, CCSP
Houston, Texas
We Need More Great DCs, Not More Mediocre Ones
Dear Editor:
I read Kent Greenawalt's article,"Growing the Future: The Chiropractic Education Foundation; Committed to Increasing Chiropractic Enrollment – and Encouraging You to Do the Same," in the June 3, 2011 issue and wanted to comment.
The Greenawalt's have done great things for our profession, so I do not want this to be an attack on Mr. Greenawalt; I just disagree with his premise and his approach. Mr. Greenawalt wants to increase enrollment, whereas I feel our chiropractic college presidents and the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners need to increase entrance requirements for enrollment into chiropractic school.
Currently, we let too many unqualified students into our chiropractic schools, and this holds us back as a profession more so than the actual numbers of chiropractors. We need great DCs, not more mediocre DCs. Increasing entrance standards would benefit our profession more than increasing chiropractic college enrollment simply for the sake of numbers. I am fine with more DCs if they are outstanding.
I understand Mr. Greenawalt is a vendor, so I get his reasoning for wanting to increase college enrollment. I have not found any students or DCs who disagree with the idea of raising our entrance standards.
Mark A. King, DC
Cincinnati, Ohio