Historically, there has been a conflict between the practice of medicine and the practice of chiropractic. There is no doubt that the profession began in part as a response to the failure of 19th century medical practice.
Today a very strange and mixed attitude exists relative to medicine and chiropractic. Some of our profession desire to embrace the practice of medicine in its entirety and abandon the traditional philosophy of chiropractic. Others want to be a specialized branch of medicine addressing only musculoskeletal conditions. Another group wants to be an alternative to medical practice for a variety of conditions and sees itself as competition for the medical, therapeutic field. Most of this group, while maintaining the superiority of chiropractic in alleviating most medical conditions or their cause, still embraces part of the procedures of medicine such as diagnosis and also recognizes the need to refer certain conditions or patients with serious medical crises to medical practitioners. These represent the majority of the present-day chiropractic profession.Objective Straight Chiropractic represents a totally different viewpoint.
By defining our practice by its objective we are totally divorced from any relationship, alternative or competitive with the practice of medicine. The straight objective of correcting vertebral subluxations to enable the innate intelligence to be more fully expressed has nothing to do with a disease. It is a procedure beneficial to people not diseases and it is beneficial to those people who have subluxations even if they do not have medical conditions. Further, if an individual has a disease and no subluxation, then chiropractic care is not necessary. With the foregoing in mind, Objective Straight Chiropractors do not pass judgment on medical practice in general or medical procedures in particular.
The Objective Straight Chiropractor is an authority on correcting vertebral subluxations and the benefit that it provides for every human being.
He or she is not knowledgeable about the efficacy or the appropriateness of medical practice and under no circumstances gives advice or makes recommendations relative to medical conditions or their treatment. It should be noted that there is a larger philosophy of life often referred to as the ADIO (above-down, inside-out) philosophy. Chiropractic is a small part of this philosophy as it relates to the function of the human body. In sharing this ADIO philosophy, the Objective Straight Chiropractor may on occasions contrast it with other viewpoints and use medicine as an example of another viewpoint. But it is the ADIO philosophy that is in contrast with other viewpoints, including the practice of medicine, not the chiropractor.
See also ADIO Philosophy.