Longtime chiropractor recalls that medical doctors were very prejudiced against chiropractic — chiropractic care has come a long way, he says
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Chiropractic has become “one of the most commonly used complementary and alternative medicine therapies in the United States and Europe,” according to the National Institutes of Health.
One of the reasons is that with the high costs of healthcare, more people want to find solutions for the cause of their physical discomfort instead of taking medications that only mask the pain.
Many people dislike the side effects of pain medications as well, including the possible risk of dependency.
“Chiropractic has historically been stigmatized,” said Alex Kuehl, doctor of chiropractic and owner of No Crack Chiropractic in Rochester. “I do think it’s improving.”
He said that the trend toward evidence-based practice in the field and movement of universities and healthcare programs toward integrating more modalities of healthcare have helped reduce stigma toward chiropractic.
The desire to cut costs in healthcare also favors chiropractic.
“Generally, there is more research on chiropractic that’s showing it to be a safe, cost-efficient and effective option for conditions like back pain,” Kuehl said. “Patients are taking charge of their health and looking for alternative treatments. In many cases, it works with less pain and more ability. And they share their success with their PCPs.”
One of the criticisms lobbed at chiropractic care is that some patients do not receive immediate relief in some cases, unlike with taking pain medication. Unlike most acute injury cases, someone with a long-term injury that sees a chiropractor after years of ineffective medical treatments may find that it takes weeks or even a few months of treatments from a chiropractor to achieve lasting results.
“There’s not always an easy answer,” said Kuehl. “There are ways to work with different populations.”
The nuances of different chiropractic training and application of that training also matters.
“One of the things I tell people is that there are a lot of different types of chiropractors out there,” Kuehl said. “Even if you’ve had a bad experience, I wouldn’t write off the whole field and profession. It’s definitely worth doing your research and interviewing them and trying them out.”
The profession has come a long way since the 1980s when Vincent Sportelli, doctor of chiropractic, launched his career. He owns Sportelli Chiropractic Health & Wellness Center in Syracuse.
“[Medical] doctors were very prejudiced” against chiropractic, he said. “I had a booming practice and did my lectures and different seminars. I hit the ground running. But I’d get referrals from just eclectic MDs. Now, it’s from everyone. There are hospitals that have chiropractic departments and universities that have chiropractic colleges associated with them. The controversy has been eliminated, but it took 20-30 years.”
He added that chiropractic is the third largest of the medical primary professions.
These days, Sportelli treats medical doctors who want to avoid surgery and medication side effects.
“They’d rather try conservative approaches first,” Sportelli said. “Chiropractic is 95% effective. Who would not want to try chiropractic first?”
About one-quarter of his practice comes from people who want to prevent injury and stay active. He helps patients with weight control, nutrition and muscular symmetry, all within his training scope as a chiropractor and state-licensed clinical nutritionist.
Like Sportelli, it’s not uncommon for chiropractors to acquire further education that complements their chiropractic care. Sportelli is also certified to offer Theralase Cold Laser treatments.
Despite his practice’s advances, he said that New York limits what chiropractic doctors can do.
“This state is medically dominated — a pharmaceutical paradise,” Sportelli said.
In addition, chiropractic doctor graduates do not receive the same support in gaining patients as medical doctor graduates who “get fed patients from their medical university,” Sportelli said.
But a positive tradeoff is the start-up costs for setting up a practice is much lower than an independent medical practice.
“It’s rewarding as can be,” Sportelli said. “The patients love you and they bring in goodies and tomatoes from their gardens. They’re very considerate and appreciative of what you do. I can’t think of another profession I could get into than every day getting the reinforcement that they appreciate it and they can’t believe how quickly they got better.”