Q: I recently had appointments with my medical doctor and chiropractor on the same day. Their philosophies on health seemed almost totally opposite. What is the difference between " medical" and "chiropractic" philosophies?

A: Let’s look at the bottom line definition to answer your question immediately. "Medicine" is the study of disease and what causes a man to die while "Chiropractic" is the study of health and what causes a man to live.

Another definition or label for the Medical Model is Mechanistic (Rationalism) vs. the Chiropractic Model Vitalism (Empiricism). Mechanists (rationalists) believe the body can be figured out using chemical, mathematical or other disciplines. Mechanists like mechanisms and will often deny or criticize phenomena that conflict with (or cannot be explained by) "known" mechanism.

Vitalists (empiricists) admit that our knowledge is limited and we should be open to possibility of "surprises". That is why a vitalist healing art is a discovered one (Ex. Chiropractic, chelation therapy, etc.) while a mechanistic art is based on a theory (Ex. An aspirin a day and vaccination).

Modern medicine has become disconnected from the patient. The focus on diagnosis and understanding has evolved as primary concerns over usefulness to patient healing and cure. Modern chiropractic maintains it’s original premises which focus on the body’s own innate intelligence and ability to heal itself respecting the fact that we are changing and adapting every second of every day. The principals of vitalism acknowledge that we are physically, mentally and chemically in constant flux and any one area out of balance can alter the being as a whole.

It is time to accept that every individual is just that, an individual. We cannot treat human beings like cookbooks. Our health functions differ in various environments.

Every healing philosophy has its place and each exists to put checks and balances on the other. We all need each other and if we work together the benefactor will be you, the patient.

Quote of the week: Disease is the lack of co-ordination between innate, the source of power, and its expression. DD. Palmer (founder of Chiropractic)