Commentaries

March 26, 2008

 Commentaries is where Minnesota Public Radio welcomes your thoughtful opinion about current events and issues. Commentaries are like letters to the editor. To be considered for publication, your commentary should be issue-related, clearly written, and follow our Terms of Use. New insights into ongoing topics are especially welcome. Not all commentaries received are published. For topical interaction with others, visit the discussion groups.

Submit your commentary!


Veterinarians vs. Chiropractors

I have been a practicing chiropractor for over 30 years. Over that time I have had the opportunity to treat many animals including horses, sheep, dogs and cats, including my 3 cats 3 horses and 4 dogs, actually even an occasional bird! This argument which is going on in your state is the same as what transpired between Medical Doctors and Doctors of Chiropractic for years. [MPR News: Veterinarians bark about animal chiropractic bill]

This was before a successful anti-trust suit by chiropractors against the American Medical Association and all their political arms was proven to be an attempt to eliminate the chiropractic profession by containing and thus eliminate them through attrition. This was all done for monetary reasons (Wilk vs. the AMA etc.)

Would you rather bring your pet to a doctor that has trained for 5 + years on the fine art of structural manipulation or a vet who may have taken a weekend seminar on the subject? I and any other chiropractor could probably perform an appendectomy in a pinch, but who would you rather trust you or your child's life to a chiropractor or a surgeon? This is the same analogy. It is much easier to train a chiropractor in the anatomy of an animal and the contraindications to manipulation because that is what we do every day.

I estimate that in my 30 years of practice I have performed at least 156,000 adjustments on humans and prior to the procedures I an obligated to perform a complete physical exam including differential diagnosis. In actuality chiropractic training is no different than medical and I assume veterinary training, we take all the "-ologies" and are trained in all aspects of disease care and treatment. I would say that many of us as I am are a portal of entry into the health system meaning the first place a patient goes for care. We are also trained to know when a referral is necessary for the good of the patient.

This is no different. In fact it is probably more important to treat a human up to these standards, although I'm sure some of us feel differently about that.

Stephen Garbarini D.C.
Peru, Maine


Reciprocity agreement in animal chiropractic bill?

Will this cut both ways? I am a veterinarian and was curious if 210 hours of continuing education would qualify me to work on human patients.

John Quanrud
Caledonia,, Minn.


Commentaries home  :  Submit a commentary

MPR News
Radio

Listen Now

Schedule

Shortcuts
Hosts
Station Map

Other Radio Streams from MPR

Classical MPR
Radio Heartland

Services

Become a sponsor

In The Spotlight