107 126 Years of Challenges
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Dynamic Chiropractic – May 1, 2022, Vol. 40, Issue 05

126 Years of Challenges

By Louis Sportelli, DC

In his book Seeing What's Next, Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator's Dilemma and The Innovator's Solution, writes: "The past might seem a strange departure point for a book the explains how to see the future. We started with history, however, to show that theory can help explain why things happened the way they did. After all, we cannot hope to use something to explain the future if it cannot explain the past."

In reflecting on chiropractic's 126-year history, I felt the need to look dispassionately and objectively at what has transpired, with key issues affecting the profession both positively and negatively.  We have indeed been very litigious as a profession; some of the litigation quite literally changed the trajectory of the entire profession. Legislation was also necessary for licensure, and incredible patient support fueled a tremendous political movement.

chiropractic - Copyright – Stock Photo / Register Mark Education and research, however, are the two areas that enabled the profession to survive and withstand the seemingly insurmountable challenges and opposition we had to endure.

By contrasting the past and present, perhaps a more objective and optimistic view of the future will be realized by those who did not live through the historical battles and feel the joy of victory or pain of defeat, while never losing optimism that the chiropractic profession would emerge victorious.

I have produced a short video that is by no means comprehensive, but highlights a few of the many significant issues which could have easily altered the course of chiropractic history. As Dr. Christensen indicated, the past is necessary to understand, the present is important to appreciate, but the future will depend on a strategic vision for tomorrow.


Click here for previous articles by Louis Sportelli, DC.


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