Next New Beginnings - April 20 - 23, 2006

What If ?

Peter J. Kevorkian, DC

What if people knew what you knew about chiropractic, what type of decisions would they make? Would they follow the recommendations that you gave them? Would they bring their children? Would they continue care for a lifetime – regardless of finances? Would they refer others?

Success in practice fundamentally comes from the patient / practice member understanding the unique service of chiropractic. Once they do, they would make the best decisions for themselves and their family. Telling the story, patient education, is the key. It is the most critical link for a family wellness practice. It needs to begin with the first encounter with the office and then continue regularly throughout care. Most important though, is a regular workshop/ health talk / lecture. In this medium the chiropractor and / or the chiropractic assistant can give the entire chiropractic story from start to finish.

There are many lecture programs available to use in chiropractic but fundamentally there are four concepts that need to be covered.

First is the concept of “Health”. Our society has a perverted viewpoint of health. They view that health can be purchased in a health food store or a health care providers office. In reality health is a birthright. It is an internal job of the body working properly. Dorland Medical Dictionary states that: “health is a condition of optimal physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmities”. The absence of disease is what many of our patients believe is a condition of health. Health is a body that is FUNCTIONING properly. It may or may not have a symptom. The key to health is function. Whereas we have no way of measuring “optimal function” it is important that we take steps to care for our health by being responsible to all parts of our well being, physically, mentally and emotionally.

Second is the concept of “Innate Intelligence”. People need to develop confidence and faith in their bodies. By understanding the magnificence of the bodies design, taking responsibility for ones body becomes a natural process. Our body’s make every drug and every chemical it should need in a lifetime. It makes an entirely new human being in a matter of nine months from two tiny cells. It needs no help just no interference. Gaining the appreciation of that concept (reducing and eliminating interferences) is the single greatest gift we give people in our workshops. The magnificence of life’s design does not need to be helped – it only needs to have interferences removed from it.

Third is the concept of Vertebral Subluxation. The brain and nerve system control the FUNCTION of all the organs and systems of the body. This system is very delicate it has the consistency of wet spaghetti or Jell-O so nature protects it with bone (the vertebra). The delicate nerves make a connection directly or indirectly from the brain to every cell in the body. If there is damage to any part of that system, the brain cannot control the function of the body properly. A condition of the spine exists when the vertebra have lost their proper alignment or motion and place an irritation on the delicate nerves and reduce the FUNCTION of the body. The causes of vertebral subluxations are in multitudes. Any stress, physically, mentally or emotionally that the body cannot fully adapt to can create vertebral subluxation. The causes of subluxation must be made very real to our patients. They begin with the birth process and continue throughout a lifetime.

The fourth and final concept is Chiropractic. Chiropractic is the correction of vertebral subluxations. The unique service is to analyze the spine and provide a specific force to the body to reduce the vertebral subluxation process.

With a complete educational program, people have a foundation upon which to understand the miracle of chiropractic. People are then given the opportunity to participate in chiropractic wellness care for a lifetime. If people knew what you knew about chiropractic, what type of decisions would they make?

Your Honor, It’s A Philosophy, Science And Art

Brian L. Solofsky, DC

In “Our Masterpiece”, volume XXXIX BJ wrote: “The results of these procedures are insistently and consistently taught in PSC (Palmer School of Chiropractic) classes and clinics. The regrettable feature is that many students, for many diverse reasons, overlook, forget and do not follow such in their practices once they leave The PSC. This is not the fault of there being no, “chiropractic IS TO establish itself as an accepted science and the profession establish itself as a truly scientific profession”, all of which HAS BEEN DONE and WAS “done in our own centers with our OWN personnel.”

This past week I was on trial in a six-year malpractice case. The bad news is that the judge allowed an Osteopathic Orthopedic Surgeon to be the expert witness against me, not a Chiropractor. This Orthopedic claimed that chiropractic and osteopathy are very similar and we use the same physiotherapies, of which I use none. He made further claim as to his knowledge of chiropractic based on the fact that he employs chiropractors in his office, and is their supervisor. BJ stated that, “we are nothing medical”! The more a chiropractor utilizes medical procedures and works with medical practitioners, the more they will be judged under medical standards. This orthopedic actually referred to us as, “chiropractitioners”?

After a morning of motions on our part that were denied, and an afternoon of jury selection, we were sent home. Opening arguments began a 9:30am, the next day. The Plaintiff and his wife did their testifying. Then came the Osteopathic Orthopedic Surgeon. Under cross-examination my lawyer was able to get this expert (a drip under pressure) to agree that there was a difference in technique, philosophy, and science. He agreed that we attend different schools, take different boards, use different techniques, and have different philosophies. He admitted to never having attended a Chiropractic College, Chiropractic Seminar, or even read one publication of Chiropractic literature. I can only imagine that made him unable to testify as to the standard of care in a ChiropracTIC office.

The attorney for the plaintiff then rested his case. The Judge called for a break and sent the jury out of the courtroom. The judge then questioned council for the plaintiff as to where his Orthopedic stated that I deviated from the standard of care for a ChiropracTOR. Then the judge ordered both attorneys into his chambers. My attorney emerged stating that the judge persuaded council for the plaintiff to drop the charges against me. My only offense was my philosophy, science, and art. My defense was the documentation of performed history, examination, X-rays, analysis, recommendations for care, and adjustments.

“One know of no ways of SCIENTIFICALLY researching any ONE-philosophy, science, or art-independent of other two, and come out with an over-all conclusive and factual knowledge of HOW man was systematically organized; WHAT organized him; WHY he was produced as is, and for what purpose; Why he is here at all, BY himself, FOR himself, internally and externally to act and react, receive and reject environment as it helps or hurts him, his present and future. As well say there is ONLY day, no night; all cold, no heat; all sea, no land. These and many more factors are one composite invisible, indivisible whole.” Our Masterpiece!

Whose standard do you practice under? Is it the latest scientific journal, your last philosophy session, a chiropractic technique, the insurance company, your state board or your Guru? What is innate without the body? What is the body without innate? And, “What are they together”? As J. Clay Thompson once said to me, “Brian, just let innate guide you, follow the light!

Time for a Yard sale!

Louis Corleto, DC

I’m sure by now everyone has experienced moving from one place to another, a new home. Of all of the things that come up during this process like –packing, cleaning, preparing rental trucks, recruiting help from friends and family or professionals, I feel one of the most profound aspects of this reality check is how we “collect” & “store” so much stuff under one roof. It seems to be proportional: if we move from a smaller place to a larger place we collect and store more “stuff”. We never fully realize how much stuff we have stored until we “move”.

This is when we go through the process of deciding why we kept it in the first place. Is it still worth keeping? Does it serve a purpose, should we sell it, donate it, or trash it?

During the healing process a very similar situation takes place. In my opinion and experience it is directly proportional: the more stuff we store in “our home” (with in the body) the more stuff we store in our house (outside of the body).

As we CHOOSE to heal, or move forward, (which means better feeling and not necessarily feeling better) we will become aware of the “things” we have stored in our bodies. They might show up in the form of tension in muscles, joints, organs- pains in parts, decreased ability to breathe deeply, etc.

So when we choose to “move” we and we alone need to decide to take them with us to our “new home” or get rid of them. You only have to give yourself permission- ALLOW IT. You can feel it is important to “pack it” or realize it no longer serves you and trash it.

You can even “return to sender”. As the process of moving continues, be as authentic as possible about the “need” to “keep” or release the old stored “stuff”. Re-member the more old stuff the less room for new experiences. Getting adjusted regularly allows you to integrate once and for all the “old stuff” and tap into the courage of letting go. Now YOUR new home is free and clear!!!.

Keep Setting YOURSELF FREE!!!