Chiropractors Starting to Find Acceptance

The above headline appeared as the title of a feature article originally published in Northern Colorado Business Report of Feb. 20, 2004. The article, whose subtitle was, "Medical community losing its opposition to chiropractic care," was written by Chryss Cada, and features a number of testimonials from chiropractic patients.

The opening testimonial came from a woman, Nancy Summers who took her 10-year-old daughter, Anna, to a chiropractor. It seems that Anna had been having "episodes", for which she had been brought to general physicians and a neurologist. During these episodes, the athletic and otherwise healthy young girl became dizzy, had ringing in her ears and was unable to function. Her mom believes the episodes are the result of an ATV accident.

Neurologists, thinking Anna might be suffering from some type of migraine headache, put her first on anti-seizure medication and then diuretics (in an effort to drain excess fluid from her ears and restore her balance). The drugs did have some positive impact on Anna's symptoms, but they also had side effects. "It wasn't like she was totally zoned, but it's like she was numb and not the same girl she had been before," Anna's mother said. "And we weren't really happy with the idea of having her on medication for the rest of her life."

Anna's mother, Nancy, recalled that Anna had had three episodes the week before going to the chiropractor. However, after starting chiropractic care, her mother noted, "The weekend after there was not one episode. It was incredible. We were totally in shock." The article further reported that since Anna began chiropractic care in November, she has had only a handful of episodes and those have been milder and up to nearly a month apart.

Ms. Summers said she felt her daughter's doctors were trying to dissuade her from seeking chiropractic care. "It's like the traditional medical community acts like seeking a treatment outside of that medical community is irresponsible," she said. "It was a big step to take her to a chiropractor. But now I know it was definitely the best decision we made."

The article's author further noted that, according to a study published in the Nov. 11, 1998 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately 11 percent of the population visited a doctor of chiropractic in 1997. That translates into approximately 30 million patients.