The War Against Chiropractic

Have you ever wondered why so many medical doctors resolutely attempt to discredit any sort of holistic practitioner, despite the overwhelming evidence of their benefit and effectiveness? Why, when you visit your doctor, are you shunned if you tell them you have seen a holistic based provider?

The answer to this may be surprising to some people, but the reality is that the allopathic medical community has a long history of attempting to shut down all types of care providers except themselves. Acupuncturists, homeopaths, chiropractors, midwives, naturopaths, and even nutritionists are usually the object of scorn in the medical community. They are often dismissed as quacks, or worse, outright frauds - especially chiropractors.

From the early 1900’s - 1987, the American Medical Association actively and deliberately tried to shut out the practice of chiropractic care. Medical doctors were not even allowed to associate with chiropractors because it was considered “unethical” to associate with a “quack.” Medical students were given literature their first day of medical school that demanded medical students not voluntarily associate with chiropractors. Practicing physicians could lose their hospital privileges for simply talking to one.

In 1964, the AMA created what was known as the “Quackery Committee” and their job was to “contain and eliminate” the practice of chiropractic care. They wrote and dispersed literature detailing as much, and they were successful in their attempts in many ways. During this time, the AMA also tried to downplay the fact that they were attempting to sabotage chiropractors, but the evidence  of their meddling was overwhelming.

Their smear campaign worked beautifully, though not completely. The AMA spent millions of dollars and several decades in trying to discredit and snuff out chiropractic care.

In 1987, the AMA and several other professional medical boards were found guilty of illegally trying to restrain the free trade of chiropractic profession. Even though they lost their court case, they had accomplished a lot of what they had set out to do. Both the culture at large and medical doctors despised most chiropractors, and the title “quack” is one that is still used to describe us today.

Fortunately, the relationship between most chiropractors and medical doctors is beginning to improve. However, we still have a long way to go toward the goal of regular collaborative care between chiropractors and medical doctors. Each branch of medical care - be it holistic care or allopathic - has it’s strengths, and synergistically we have the potential to all work toward creating optimal health.

Today, chiropractors have a good reason to be optimistic about the future of our profession despite the fact that we still feel the fallout from decades of smear campaigns. Chiropractic care speaks for itself in terms of its effectiveness and safety, and fortunately our patients agree. At the end of the day, they are still the reason that we do what we do.

To Your Health,

Dr Felicia Conner