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A reader recently forwarded me an e-mail he got from another chiropractor responding to some of the recent craziness going on in the profession. Instead of agreeing that both research and political action was needed to protect the profession we so desperately love his response was “Just adjust and let it take care of itself.”

This chiropractor has no doubt never had his feet held to the fire for practicing chiropracTIC. It brought to mind just a few of the issues that have arisen in the recent past relative to chiropractic for children. Of course there is the steady march of third parties that will no longer pay for chiropractic for children. For all those hoping that the National Health Plan will include chiropractic for children - I wouldn't get my hopes up. Then there are the CCGPP guidelines on the care of children. Then there is our friend Edward Ernst who peppers the scientific literature with anti chiropractic dribble in general, but recently focused on chiropractic for children.

Then there are all the pediatric cases I personally recall where I was asked to serve as an expert witness for the chiropractor. Some of the details of these cases would bring tears to your eyes for sure and include custody cases where one spouse is seeking to restrict or remove custody rights of the other because one wants the child to have chiropractic and the other doesn’t. I’ve had a few of these where the parent wanting to provide care is a chiropractor. Imagine if your child could no longer get chiropractic care because a judge issued such an order.

In the past 2 weeks alone I’ve seen another custody case of this type, and another case where a 6 year old was x-rayed and brought before the board, another who cared for a child with ADHD with good results whose parents ended up suing him because an “expert” opined that the child never should have had chiropractic care and another where an orthopedist opined that subluxations don’t exist and the parents went after the chiropractor.

Sure you can let all this “just take care of itself” – at least until you are the one they are after. I want everyone who has read this far to go and look at what has been published in this journal in the first year and a half of its existence and then imagine – first, how much more is needed and second, what will happen if we don’t have it in the next 20 years.

Then ask yourself how you can reasonably justify not supporting chiropractic research for children. Because trust me its not going to just take care of itself.  

Its like the old story of the guy sitting on his rooftop following a flood who passes up being saved by someone with a boat and then a helicopter because “God is going to save me.” He ends up drowning and then asks God why he didn’t save him. God retorts “What do you think the boat and the helicopter were for?” 

So, don't wait it out - take action now!            

As always I look forward to your feedback, comments and suggestions.

Matthew McCoy DC, MPH
matthewmccoy@comcast.net
Editor - Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health - Chiropractic
www.chiropracticpediatricresearch.net