By Robert Braile, D.C.

Oh No! A recent study seems to verify that ongoing chiropractic care is the cause of brain damage and irrational behavior. The study consisted of observing a population of people who were under chiropractic care for a long period of time. These subjects were observed for rational actions, interaction within their population, and their level of self preservation activity.

The results showed that the study population regularly acted irrational, especially with regard to their own unique population, they often were hostile toward other members of their own population, and they rarely demonstrated activities that would preserve their own group.

This new and devastating study will have profound ramifications for our profession. This is bad news for chiropractic not only because of the implications of what could happen to patients under our care, but more importantly because the subjects in the study are us! Chiropractors are the group who have been under long term care and exhibit the destructive activities I described above.

Consider for a moment that Chiropractors are the most well adjusted population on the planet. We, for the most part, are under regular chiropractic care. Yet, as a population, we exhibit behaviors that suggest that we are on a very destructive path.

Cases in point, most complaints against chiropractors to various State Board of Examiners are initiated by other chiropractors. It is bad enough that we have enemies. We are often at each others throats as well. We also often create regulations, rules and limits that help limit the growth and proliferation of our own profession. State Boards are seeking more power in order to “regulate” the population of DCs more closely. Much of this power is used to restrict what chiropractors can do in an effort to impose their view of where we should be.

In California, one doctor is being prosecuted by the Board for news articles that he has appearing on his website. It appears that the California Board is attempting to tell this doctor what news is acceptable for his community to read. No other profession would ever attempt to interfere with the first amendment of our US constitution.

In education, we have also imposed the same insanity. Just at the time when the population of available college students was declining, the CCE increased the pre-chiropractic requirements, thus making it even harder to get into chiropractic college. The result was predictable. Most schools had a drastic drop in enrollment and are in financial straights. In fact, the number of chiropractic students in school in the US is near half what it was just several years ago.

The next irrational behavior has to do with the general population of our profession. I believe it is evident to most of us that chiropractic is a minority profession and that there are those in organized medicine who would love for us to just go away. In many jurisdictions, as well as on a national level, there are always laws being introduced to remove us from programs, or curtail our ability to reach the population. With the high level of anti-chiropractic activity, you would think that we would be mobilized and involved. Unfortunately, we as a profession are very un-involved. Presently less that 25% of our professionals are members of a National Chiropractic Association. No other profession has such a low level of participation in their national groups.

Another activity that demonstrates our level of brain damage is the message we send to the general public. With the exception of this brain damage thing, chiropractic offers one of the greatest gifts in health care to mankind. However, one trip to the phone book will confuse anyone as to what we do. I’ve seen ads that feature hair removal, bikini wax, weight loss, and a host of other things that have nothing to do with chiropractic.

Chiropractic offers the ability for people to free their nervous system of interference that prevents them from functioning at their full potential. This is one of the most wonderful gifts we could ever give to another person. Why then, do we find the need to incorporate so many things from other less effective professions into chiropractic?

I’m sure in reading this each of you can come up with examples of how we seems to be our own worst enemy. Most of us at one time or another has shaken our heads at the activities of those within our profession. Our response probably was some flip remark, “brain damage”. Well, it seems we may be right! The only rational explanation why the most well adjusted population on the planet acts the way we do is that chiropractic care must cause brain damage.

The one good thing here is that this form of brain damage is probably reversible. As soon as we lose our inferiority complex, as soon as we lose our apathy, as soon as we take pride in our unique offering, I believe that the brain damage activities I’ve stated above will decrease and may someday not be a factor. But then again, I could be wrong, as I am regularly adjusted and probably suffer from brain damage.