Chiropractic's

Our current medical model is worse than most people think.

 We tend to give the benefit of the doubt and believe that our standard of healthcare is the best in the world. That assumption could not be further from the truth. The United States has more doctors, more drugs, more hospitals, more testing, and more resources, but we continue to sit in the basement  of overall health when compared to other industrialized nations.

We have a major problem and it is getting worse.

We certainly have good people studying and working in the medical system and those disappointing rankings by no means challenge the individual character of those who have committed their lives to medicine. Yet, there can be no denying that our system produces sub-par results despite the greatest resources available. One could argue the blame should be pointed at the money trail. Our system has sold people’s health to the highest bidder.

Let me tell a quick story to explain some background that can help bring this concept to light. Chiropractic, a new healthcare approach, began to make its way into the mainstream scene in the early 1900s. I often talk about the Flu Pandemic of 1918 and how this event put Chiropractic on the map because of the amazing results patients received during one of the most deadly pandemics in centuries.

Results out of the New York City history books in 1918 showed that every 10,000 people treated for the flu using medical methods resulted in 950 deaths. Compare that to 10,000 treated with chiropractic methods resulting in only 25 deaths. It was also reported that 6,400 people died from pneumonia out of 10,000 treated with medical methods compared to only 100 deaths by those  being treated with Chiropractic methods. This helped expose the public to the true value and power of Chiropractic care. At that time, it was never about back or neck pain. It was more about immunity and overcoming deadly conditions or disease.

However, the discovery of antibiotics occurred a few decades later and healing arts like Chiropractic were displaced by those who believed that science could replace the power of the body. This created a huge shift for infectious disease treatment. Antibiotic discovery gave the illusion that the greatest minds in medicine transformed healthcare. The resulting power and prestige of medicine and medical doctors began to grow to new heights. 

The public never got to hear about the true benefits of Chiropractic or experience the results of other natural remedies. 

Medicine had taken the stage along with a powerful message that common sense and drugs were one and the same. We continue to fight the same stigma today when many people believe Chiropractic is only good for bad backs or neck pain. Meanwhile, most of the population continues to be convinced that medicine has all of the answers. All this takes place while studies of the most powerful and populated countries of the world shows the contrary. 

Many of us have family members or friends that work in the medical system. Whether as a medical doctor, nurse, specialist, or administrator, the healthcare system employs a large percentage of our population. When we have trusted loved ones involved in the system, our view of reality can become clouded and prevent us from truly seeing the barbaric nature of medical care and the dangerous consequences of mortgaging our health. A study came out of the Journal of American Medical Association in July 1, 2009 after analyzing the benefits and dangers of  our current medical system of healthcare. The abstract reads, “On balance, the data remain imprecise, and the benefits that US health care currently deliver may not outweigh the aggregate health harm it imparts.” Directly from the mouths of some of medicine’s smartest minds. Doctors state that  the benefits of the current system may not outweigh the harm. That is a serious problem!

Our system is worse than most think and it is time we step up and do something about it.

The public must first be made aware  of the flaws, limitations, and dangers of medicine. For example, a study published in The Lancet in 2008 concluded that antibiotics should essentially never be given for sinus infections. The study makes the claim that antibiotics create so much harm in the body and give very little, if any help in reducing the sinus infection or symptomatology. Yet, just this year the FDA reported that one antibiotic Levaquin has killed 1,277 people and caused over 98,000 side effects included but not limited to severe life-long nerve damage. According to medical stats, this drug is most popularly given in clinics and hospitals today to treat sinus infections. Can people see this problem if they are not made aware? 

There is a time and a place for medicine and antibiotics. We must bring awareness to the flaws and dangers in our current medical approach to healthcare. This will allow more questions to be asked and solutions to be sought.

Being part of the solution requires telling the truth about the consequences in the medical philosophy of just treating symptoms and the dangers in using harmful drugs to do so. Be a part of the awareness and solution campaign. Wake the people up!