Why Chiropractic is Seperate & Distinct from Medicine - Philosophy

Medical Philosophy vs. Chiropractic Philosophy

By Tedd Koren, D.C.

Chiropractic and medicine disagree on what constitutes health, disease, the meaning of symptoms, and the goal of care. These are philosophical differences that go back over 2,500 years.

"But chiropractic is only about 100 years old. How could we have a conflict with medicine for 2,500 years?" I hear you say. Good question.

The answer is that our philosphical roots go way back, as does medicine. In fact two conflicting philosophies of healing - simliar to that of chiropractic and medicine - can be found from the earliest writings of Hippocrates (5th century B.C.) to the present day. The camps were referred to as the Empiricists or Vitalists and the Rationalists or Mechanists. Medical doctors or allopaths are Rationalists, while chiropractors, classical homeopaths, acupuncturists, traditional osteopaths and others are Vitalists.

This was of viewing medical history was discovered by Harris Coulter, Ph.D. one of the great medical historians of our time. In his magnum opus, Divided Legacy, Volumes 1-4, (written over a thirty year period) Coulter traces the vitalist/mechanist division as it permeated healing.

Let’s look at how vitalists and mechanists view things:

Mechanists assume the body operates like a machine whose whole is equal to the sum of its parts. "Study the body," they say, "study its cells, and its chemistry using disciples such as physics, mechanics and mathematics and the workings of the whole will be revealed."

Vitalists disagree: "Living creatures are fundamentally different from non-living creatures", they say. "The laws of physics, chemistry, mechanics, and mathematics cannot give us a complete knowledge or understanding of biological systems because the whole body is greater than the sum of its parts." Vitalists learn how the body works by studying the living body, not isolated chemicals in a test tube or by making up theories.

This philosophical difference is profound, it colors everything –

Mechanists say: "The body is a dumb machine; symptoms are always bad and must be destroyed. Fevers must be lowered, inflammations must be cooled, itching or eruptions must be suppressed, pain must be eliminated - symptoms are bad in and of themselves and must be destroyed."

Vitalists say: "The body is intelligent and reacts to the environment. Symptoms are its response to environmental stress, a sign that the body is fighting to return to it’s homeostatic balance. Symptoms must be permitted to express themselves so the body may cleanse and heal and return to normal balance."

Mechanists: "The most important thing is to diagnose the disease the patient has and then fight it. The patient’s resistance to disease is not very important."

Vitalists: "More important than diagnosing and treating disease, the individual’s innate power of resistance needs to be strengthened so it may heal."

Mechanists: Everyone who has a certain diseases has the same disease as anyone who has that disease."

Vitalists: people are chemically, emotionally, and structurally unique. When caring for a sick person, we should try to learn why that one person is sick in his or her own unique way, and we should not generalize to other people. 100 people with cancer are, if you look closely enough are really expressing 100 unique conditions that have some things in common but many things unique to their situation. The more their care is tailored to their unique needs, the more successful the results.

Mechanists: "We will ultimately know exactly how the body works, what makes it sick and how to make it healthy.

Vitalists: "The body is essentially unknowable. It has billions of parts, each doing its own thing at a fantastic rate. The body is constantly reacting to its environment and changing moment by moment. How can anyone know what is happening at any one time to all those parts? And doesn’t the very act of observing alter our results?

Rationalists or Mechanists think believe they can know the body and figure out what it needs in advance. Their procedures are often invented. Empiricists sit in awe of the body’s functions and state that the only way we can find out how healing works is see how living bodies react. Their procedures are discovered.

Tedd Koren, D.C., a 1977 graduate of Sherman . Dr. Koren can be reached on-line at TKOREN1@aol.com

Increased Opportunity = Decreased Involvement ???

I've been on the road again visiting schools in MI. (Ok, I know you're more surprised when I actually tell you that I'm in Georgia.) Most of my contact have been with advisors, and two of them in particular, although at different schools, have repeated this to me almost verbatim.


"... Unfortunately, with the number of students at our school (28,000+ at one & 40,000+ at the other), we're not very closely involved with the students and they tend not to seek us out. The internet is their easiest source of information. In some cases they come up with more information than I could have given them, and at other times, they become even more lost in the multitude of choices."

I'm not a student anymore, but I do have to research schools and try to figure out who the departments and people are who would be the most helpful in connecting me to students and students to Chiropractic. Seriously, I understand - it's a nightmare in some places. One school I visited had 6 different departments that ALL dealt with advising science-based majors or career options.

Six!

And to make matters worse, those 6 departments were completely disconnected from each other & not even aware of what services the other departments offered.

I'm not writing about this to discourage you from seeking out advising services. Exactly the opposite - when there are so many choices, you need to be even more diligent in collecting enough information to make an INFORMED DECISION.

Think about the impact that could have in all aspects of your life - your education & career choices (look back at my post on the student who saved an entire semester b/c she finally connected with one of Life's advisors), your health care options, and even the small choice of looking at the ingredients on the package before consuming the food.

Be proactive, be persistent, don't be afraid to ask, gather all the information... then decide.

So if you can't find the advisor on your campus, or you're not even on a campus, contact an Admissions Advisor at Life University. 770-426-2884

No Way to Avoid the Train if You're on the Right Track at the Right Time

Call it coincidence or lucky if that makes you more comfortable, but I'll tell you it's just the way the universe works. I was in Columbus, OH last week to visit OSU & attend the ICA Fitness Symposium. I hosted a couple of meetings for anyone interested in a Chiropractic career and visited advisors on the campus.

I met Vivian, a student at OSU, the last time I visited OSU's campus. She showed up to a drop-in Coffee & Career Talk that I hosted at Caribou Coffee. Vivian is great - she is that person who lights up the room with her excitement & passion. Through the course of her schooling, she had considered several career options, but none of them seemed to quite fit... until she found Chiropractic.

Vivian has already applied & knows her start date for the Chiropractic program at Life University, but she wanted to see me again just to say hello & find out what new & exciting things I could tell her about the campus. Unfortunately, I received a message from her saying she couldn't attend any of my events because she had just started a new job. I told her that I would check the conference schedule for the weekend & we would try to work something out.

Thursday evening, after trekking around OSU's campus for a day & a half, I arrived at the event hotel for the Fitness Symposium. I thought about curling up in my room & ordering in, but decided that the opportunity to network while eating at the hotel restaurant was a better option. I was tired, over-hungry, and not quite all together. As I approached the host stand, I found myself staring at the woman behind it.

Do you ever have that moment when you know that something or someone is familiar, but you can't quite place them because they're not in the context that you know them from?

The woman was watching me... and then we smiled at the same time. It was Vivian!

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine."

There is no way to avoid the train if you're on the right track at the right time.

What to expect when you're the Doctor to Be

Dear Zeek and Ophilia,

I plan on starting the DC program in a few quarters, and was wondering if you could tell me what to expect. Should I be worried? - Doctor to Be?

Dear Doctor to Be,

No doubt you’ve probably heard a lot of different things (the good, the bad, and everything in between) about the Doctor of Chiropractic program here at Life. To help alleviate some of those fears, we’ve managed to come up with a few general suggestions that might ease your transition into the program. First and foremost, put your time in! Go to class, finish assignments when they’re due, and do your best to learn the material as it’s presented to you. Waiting until the last minute to cram four or five different classes worth of material during midterm week is not only stressful but really prevents the information from being stored in your long-term memory for future classes. The Student Success Center offers tutors and supplemental instructors for the notoriously challenging courses. Also, don’t be afraid to see a professor if you feel as if you are falling behind in a class. Most of them don’t bite.

Number two. Your classmates will be your strongest allies. No one else understands exactly what you are going through. Your quarter friends will be both an emotional and academic support. If you know you are weak in a certain subject, find a friend who would be willing to study with you or organize a small study group. Study groups are a great way to relax, hang out for a bit, and get some learning in with friends (just make sure the leader of the group is motivated enough to keep everyone on task and actually knows the information!).

Number three. Upper quarter students are usually more than happy to tell you all of the horror stories of the “hard classes,” but understand that what’s difficult for one person might not be difficult for you. Just because your roommate’s girlfriend’s clinician’s roommate had trouble with anatomy doesn’t mean that you are doomed to the same fate. Try to have an optimistic outlook on the new challenges that face you, and avoid any negative expectations of impending failure simply because someone told you so.

Number four is probably one of the most overlooked. Make sure to have some fun! Take the time necessary to maintain a healthy balance between your relaxation time and the time you should be working. Your outlet can be whatever you want – mediation, taking a soothing bath, joining a sports club, or going out to the movies – just don’t forget to unwind a little. The DC curriculum is by no means easy, and if you don’t incorporate some leisure activities into your schedule, you will burn out.

And above all, take your work seriously. You will eventually be providing a healthcare service, and people will be looking to you as a doctor and educator. Your patients’ impression of you and chiropractic will rest upon your knowledge and professionalism, both of which begin right here at school. If you can keep a clear head and manage to stay on top of your tasks, there is no doubt that you will succeed.

Zeek Learly and Ophilia Paine are Life University students with absolutely no psychology credentials whatsoever.

* As printed in the February 2008 issue of Vital Source. Reprinted with permission.

I'm too old, I already have a career...

Alan Brogan & Irene Kinnair met and fell in love when they were youngsters in an orphanage together. At the ripe age of 9, Alan told Irene he was going to marry her someday. It finally happened - 50 years later. Soon after his declaration of love, Alan was moved to another orphanage and the friends lost touch with one another. Forty years later, they met again, but Alan was in a relationship. But a decade after that, fate reunited them in Sunderland, England. They were both single, and the romantic attraction was still there. Four months later, they married. "Fifty years was a long time to wait." says Alan.

Now some of you will think this is a nice, sappy story about love.

Some will consider it a story of following through on something that your heart knows to be true.

Yes, deciding to go to Chiropractic school is a big decision. But if your heart knows that you are a Chiropractor, then your decision is already made - it's just waiting for you to take action.

This may mean being separated from a spouse or family, changing careers, or getting over your fear of 'I'm too old' (*see note below). But if it is in your heart, then it is only a matter of time until you are true to yourself, or start feeling the internal consequences.


* I had a prospective student tell me she thought she was 'too old'. I know someone who followed his life-long dream (he decided in his heart to become a Chiropractor when he was 15), and graduated at the age of 47.

Dear Future Chiropractors...

This post is compliments of Dr. Mike Headlee, one of the faculty mentors in the Center for Health & Optimum Performance (public/outpatient clinic where students spend their last several quarters adjusting 'real' people).

Dear Future Chiropractors,

Here are 10 thoughts on whole living:

1. Rather than muscle through your day, take a moment to breathe.
   
2. Personal growth is a winding path. Expect to revisit the same issues – and the same mistakes.
3. Empower your decisions and your self-esteem by learning to say no.
4. Tune in to your sense of smell. It connects you to your emotions and your health.
5. Surrender isn’t about giving up. It’s about letting go.
6. Listen to your body; it knows what it needs most.
7. Balance self-improvement with self-acceptance.
8. Invest in your work space. Inspiration and fresh ideas bloom in a positive atmosphere.
9. Use your vacation as an opportunity to engage your creative side.
10. Anger is a voice of the soul. Express it, explore it, let it be heard.

Fast paced tempo seems to go hand in hand with all great success. Developing the SPEED requires that you start moving and keep moving at a steady rate. When you become an action-oriented person, you activate the “Momentum Principle” of success. This principle says that although it may take tremendous amounts of energy to overcome inertia and get going initially, it then takes far less energy to keep going. The good news is that the faster you move, the more energy you have. The faster you move, the more you get done and the more effective you feel. The faster you move, the more experience you get and the more you learn. The faster you move, the more competent and capable you become at your job. So, what are some action steps that will help you speed up?

Just Ask... what's the worst that could happen - you might make a posting on my blog

I understand that making the decision on 'what to do for the rest of your life' i.e. your career, is a big thing. You want to make sure that you'll like (or hopefully love) what you're going to be doing for the next 20-50 years, that it will provide for you financially, and that you'll make a difference. When you throw into that mix a career that requires an educational investment that may leave you with student loan amounts around $125,000, it can become a bit overwhelming.

As the pressure builds, I find that most people start to lose focus on the important questions:

1. What IS Chiropractic? What is the philosophy behind the practice of the profession?

You may not know this (yet), but Chiropractic actually deals with the nervous system, not (just) the spine/bones. It is based on the idea that the body is self-healing and self-regulating as long as there is no interference.

So what regulates & heals us... our nervous system. What can cause interference (among other things)... bones. Of course there's also thoughts, toxins & traumas, but that's another lesson. (See, I planted a seed. It will grow. You will want to learn more.)

2. What would my daily life look like, should I decide to become a _____ (Chiropractor)?

Now, please understand me, this question is certainly not asking whether you put your pants on left leg or right leg first, or what you'll eat for breakfast. What I am asking, is do you know what a Chiropractor does? Have you visited an office, observed a doctor in action, and have you been a patient, so that you know what it is like to receive care?

3. Does this career/thing/Chiropractic give me a 'spark' feeling that ignites a passion in me? Do I have the desire to serve others through healing touch? Do I crave learning more about Chiropractic?

You have to understand that this is a COMMITMENT. You cannot complete your Doctor of Chiropractic degree online, by taking 'Extension' classes, or by taking 2 days of classes a month & completing the homework. This means that you have to relocate to the area of the school of your choice, and live your life at that place for approximately the next 3 1/2 years. Most students don't work during the first year.

That brings me to questions that people considering Chiropractic as a career and/or Life University as a school. Let's just say this: this post has been based off of questions I have been asked. I have explained what Chiropractic is AFTER someone has applied for the program. Several people have become angry at me because I explain that no, they can't keep their job, continue to live in ____, and still complete the program if take internet questions and spend 2 days a month or the last 2 quarters on campus.

BUT, what I do love about these people is they ASKED a question that they did not know the answer to. And there is NEVER anything wrong with that.

You just might end up being the topic of a post on this blog.