I Am a Principled Chiropractor
Posted by Marietta chiropractor on December 24, 2008
This quotation from Dr. BJ Palmer explains as clearly as I know what and why I do what I do as a chiropractor. Enjoy!
“I am a Chiropractor working with the sciences of the universe by turning on the life in man thru the art of adjustment.
I do not prescribe, treat or diagnose conditions. I use only my hands. I work with that ‘mysterious something’ which created my body from two cells. At a time prescribed aeons ago I was set in this body to experience. That cosmic power which created me, which also moves the seas, rotates the earth, directs the heavens, gives life, takes it away, is everything. And that power which set the universe in motion and created me did not abandon me when I became free of security of my earthly mothers’ womb. It is still with me and protects me as it moves all forms toward their final predestined goal; It is not mine to educatedly ask ‘why’ or ‘where’, but to innately live; and live to help my fellow creatures.
And with this Chiropractic adjustment I use all the power and energies moving this universe, to allow my fellow creatures the chance to live, free of disease. I wish nothing in return, only the chance to GIVE. I give with the only thing I have, LOVE. And I love all by removing that which interferes with 100% LIFE. I do not look to others for direction, I look within. I am a perfect expression of God living 24 hours each day for others – I am a PRINCIPLED CHIROPRACTOR. By BJ Palmer
A Different Way 
J said
Wow… So we are to take away from this that you aren’t treating a condition, a disease, or even a symptom, but you still want people to call you “doctor” and you want insurance to pay for your services? And then we sit around and wonder why only 7% of the population wants to see us. Oh! And for the record the vast, vast majority of that 7% is seeing us because of back pain, neck pain, headache, and extremity pain. As long as we don’t step up to the plate and start presenting ourselves as musculoskeletal specialists, we will get trampled by the DPT movement, managed care, and lower reimbursements. If we don’t get better at musculoskeletal medicine (which is what the public already perceives as our place) we have no future. We will be resigned to the doctors who sit in mall kiosks and annoy people. Our subluxation talk, hard selling, and proposed lengthy treatment plans will send the public running. Eventually, they’ll run and they will never come back.
Hope this isn’t too much reality for one day… : )
drtim said
I’ve got news for you. The DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) movement is HERE. It WILL replace chiropractic in the inusrance and back pain realm. You may as well resign yourself to that inevitability. The Medical establishment would rather pay for dangerous back surgery than reasonable chiropractic care EVEN when surgery is the least favorable modality for the situation.
What did chiropractors “treat” BEFORE insurance inclusion? AND why should we be upset because PTs now want to offer manipulation. Back pain chiropractors have been “doing” PT for years.
Maybe we’ve just gotten lazy as a profession and defaulted to back pain doctors because that’s where the easy money was. Assuming that your number of 7% is correct, it tells me that we’ve done a pretty lousy job telling the public what we really can do for them. AND if we’re going to settle for that tiny piece of the pie, we should expect to be easy targets for the PTs.
Look, I don’t tell you how to practice. I don’t even seek out your clientele. I’ll continue to adjust families and help folks live better, fuller lives without having to don a white coat. If I wanted to be THAT kind of doctor, I’d have gone to medical school in the first place.
Dr.G said
yes, J is correct. We lobby to keep PT’s and others from doing what we do because they can’t diagnose, but we claim to ( & us ‘doctors’ do) and that keeps us portal of entry practitioners. But, you say that it isn’t our responsibility to diagnose…well…let me remind you, Dr. Tim what the first chiropractor said: ‘we should diagnose and then treat the condition with chiropractic’-D.D. Palmer. This is a sharp contrast to B.J. who said ‘the role of the spine is to support the head, the ribs and the chiropractor’. The difference you ask? D.D. was a physician, B.J. was full of shit!
Also, J is correct 7% is what we see, possibly 8% on a good day !!
Dr. G
Dr P said
I completely welcome the Doctor of Physical Therapy movement in fact all they should allow all neuromusculoskeletal DC’s to convert their license to DPT, it will get all of the medical model DC’s out of the profession so that the profession can move forward with it’s destiny and not me polluted by unenlightened people wanting to become chiropractors because it seemed like a good idea at one time. Most DC’s are called to this profession, in fact I dare say that a chiropractor is extruded out of society out of necessity to keep that society connected to source. I don’t expect to be paid by the insurance companies for what I do, because I don’t treat back or neck pain. I remove interferences to the expression of life itself, I remove interferences to the expression of God self on this earth for each person I touch. So if you want to stick to back pain and beg for a bone from a dying mechanistic, scientific symptom based medical model then by all means stay on that sinking ship. This country is in a health crisis and either your part of the problem or your part of the solution and sticking with the symptom based model is contributing to the problem even if that’s how you want to make your dollar.
hope this isn’t too much reality for the coming evolution of consciousness where the mechanistic model will fall away =)
And for the original doctor who posted this, thank you, I gave this quote out to my practice members and they all loved it, thought it was very deep and profound and told me that I embodied that quote.
Dr P
Marietta chiropractor said
I agree. 100%.
The Focused Chiropractor said
Attention Chiropractors:
Be proud to align spines and improve peoples health. Any symptom or
condition that is caused by or aggrevated by mis-alignment(s) will most
of the time be reduced and eliminated when the spine becomes better
aligned and the nervous system functions better. Get your nose out of
the symptomatic arena and into the alignment arena. Get people who
come to you to understand what true chiropractic is meant to do!
ps: All you need is your hands and a clear purpose to align. Leave
physical therapy to physical therapist, nutrition to nutritionist, massage
to massage therapist etc. Most of these distracations do very little good
when mis-alignment is the cause.
Sincerely,
The focused Chiropractor
Ken Chiropractic said
Wow!!!!
That is about as clear as it can get fellow chiropractors. Thankyou
Focused Chiropractor for making this clearer for all of us.
Ken Chiropractic
MG said
This is the exact reason our profession gets nowhere…explain your philosophy to the next class of starving chiros who have yet to suffer from myopia.
Marietta chiropractor said
The reason our profession “goes nowhere” is that so few people (especially new chiropractors and students) really know what a chiropractor does or what makes it special. If folks wanted a medical doctor, they’d go to an MD not someone with a sub-par medical education AND someone who could prescribe them real drugs and do real surgery. New graduates have been taught by failed chiropractors that they must do what “real doctors” do because they’re “real doctors, too”. How sad is that?
People go to chiropractors because they want something different. And, new chiropractors fail because their state won’t allow them to be “real doctors” nor will insurance companies pay them as such.
Maybe when we start training REAL chiropractors and teaching REAL chiropractic in our schools, the profession will straighten itself out. Thanks for your comment.
MG said
I take it that you are a Life Grad Marietta Chiropractor?
Marietta chiropractor said
Proudly,yes.
Larry said
Listen closely……
The Chiropractor aligns, the body heals. This is the true
purpose of Chiropractic period. People brush all their teeth
to keep teeth healthier and prevent problems. They don’t wait
until one tooth gets bad(symptomatic), then brush only that
tooth. Just adjust to allow the body to function better, and
educate people about this little known health secret.
From the Chiropractor of few words and no BS,
Larry the Chiropractor