In reading various blogs, I cannot help but continually notice students and doctors of chiropractic asking questions. Some are very good questions. Some are not so good. Some indicate a lack of basic chiropractic philosophy. All of them indicate one thing – chiropractors and students are thinking…and that’s great. We need more of that kind of dialogue. I am excited to see now many have no reluctance to put a question out there and ask for a viewpoint on a subject related to the science, art and philosophy of chiropractic. But I also imagine that there are many questions not being asked or answered. I personally receive a number of questions each week. I also know that there are many readers of this blog who are knowledgeable in the philosophy, have had years of experience and would be happy to share that knowledge and experience.
With that in mind, we are beginning something new on www.chiropracticoutsidethebox.com. Each week we will publish a question from a reader. I also encourage those of you who have something to contribute in answering this question to do so. If I have something worthwhile to add, I will, but there are many others who can answer questions as well as I can and may have an even better answer. We are going to call this “Chiropractic Q&A.” I will number the questions as they come in and answers will be posted as comments. If you would like to ask a question, just e-mail it to me at info@chiropracticoutsidethebox.com. If you would like the question to appear anonymously, mention that in your e-mail and I will post it without identifying the writer. So ask away and let’s all continue to learn more about chiropractic philosophy.
A question posed by one of our readers:
I hope this is acceptable for me to use your site for asking this question. If not I will understand.
I have a question for anyone who cares to answer it.
Why did the Federation of Straight ChiropracTORS and Organizations changed its name by removing the word Straight?
I did listen to Shane Walker and I don’t get the point. The International Federation of Straight ChiropracTORs and Organizations would have been appropriate. It has only to do with the way the chiropractors choose to practice CHIROPRACTIC event outside of the United States. Right? Unless both camp will be represented… Straights and Mixers?
I understand why Sherman College did change its name…. There is no such thing as Straight Chiropractic. There is ONLY and ALWAYS will be CHIROPRACTIC. Those of us who choose to practice CHIROPRACTIC in an unadulterated way distinguish themselves as Straight ChiropracTORs. Those who choose to practice CHIROPRACTIC by adding therapies, or nutrition, or acupuncture, or energy medicine, etc… are Mixer Chiropractors and should market themselves as such.
Can anyone show me what I am missing?
I’m not sure the exact reason for removing the word “straight”.
What I do know is that being a straight or mixer is no longer dependent upon what ones does necessarily, but why. If you only adjust the vertebral subluxation in order to get sick people well (medical objective), that would be mixing.
It appears to me, and I may be wrong here, that it’s more of a “business” move. Removing “straight” opens up the organization to attracting a wider variety of chiropractors who might want to support that organization. In the case of Sherman, it’s partly a political move as well as it relates to accreditation, etc.. But then again, this is just my opinion…..I could be wrong.
And YES…both camps (mixer and straight) are represented in both the IFSCO and at Sherman. That’s part of the “business” move.
And quite frankly, I never liked the names “mixer” and “straight” anyway! You either practice chiropractic or you are practicing something else (i.e. physical medicine). Either way, it should be made clear to the public what it is you do.
I feel you, “straight chiropractic” is a redundancy.
The original name of Sherman College did not include the word “straight,” which was added later and now has been removed.
Our mission is to bring chiropractic to the world, and our focus is still on teaching the art, science and philosophy of chiropractic.
While we should make it clear to the public what we do, it remains confusing to the public. 90%+ of the D.Cs. tell the public that chiropractic is physical medicine and is a natural alternative to medicine. 35 years ago people came to the office and did not know anything about chiropractic. Nowadays, the public think it “knows” what we do (which is to treat musculo-skeletal conditions like back pain and neck pain). The word Straight to identify how a D.C. practices chiropractic is significant. It determines WHO the prospective member is choosing as his/her D.C. People are sick and tired of chasing after the shadows of their own symptoms. It requires courage and discipline to identify the WHO as distinct and different from the alternative trend. It’s never really about WHAT… It’s about WHO!
I agree there is ONLY chiropractic. The objective of chiropractic is to locate, analyze and correct vertebral subluxations for a full expression of the innate intelligence of the body. PERIOD.
The objective of medicine is to treat diseases for the removal of symptoms and pain of the body.
A straight chiropractor practices chiropractic to accomplish the objective of chiropractic. PERIOD.
A mixer chiropractor practices chiropractic to accomplish his/her objective (which may or may not be the objective of medicine and is certainly NOT the objective of chiropractic).
A straight chiropractor uses the 33 principles of chiropractic as a guidance to practice chiropractic and achieve the objective of chiropractic.
A mixer chiropractor uses whatever principles as a guidance to achieving his/her objective (which may or may not be the objective of medicine and is certainly NOT the objective of chiropractic).
As far as Sherman College goes, my chiropractic degree states:
SHERMAN COLLEGE OF CHIROPRACTIC.
Charlotte Babb is accurate.
Confusing isn’t it?