“The AMA has built a fortress around medical care in this country. They have achieved their fortress illegally. They’re in the position of power in the health-care system.”
That attitude has hurt chiropractors in the past and continues to hurt them today, say members of the profession. Both sides claim their primary concern is the well-being of patients, patients who might be helped–or hurt–by chiropractors.
“At the turn of the century, medicine was in a pretty bad array. Give us our due for correcting our early faults! Certainly, what we teach our students here is standard medical science; we simply choose to take a drugless approach. It’s not that drugs aren’t necessary–but they’re often overused. Lots of medical doctors are emphasizing nutrition and exercise today; well, we’ve emphasized nutrition and exercise for decades. And the whole concept of physical therapy was pioneered here at National College in 1910.”
“The chiropractors are using this decision as major PR,” Johnson responds. “In fact, we spent a lot of money on ancient history in this case. Actually, it wasn’t the AMA’s ethical rule that made physicians not want to associate with chiropractors. Their training, their background, their understanding of the human body is just different.
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“Perhaps it is just because I am a stubborn Norwegian, but I prefer conservative, nonsurgical treatments of back problems. I send my patients to physical therapists or to chiropractors; I give them a choice–of course, not everyone responds to the same thing. If a patient has not tried any manipulative-type therapy, I have them try it, among other things.”
