I often wonder about trends.
Within the chiropractic profession I have seen one of these courses unfolding. While following the news within the chiropractic community, I have noticed a movement develop by several State Chiropractic Associations, including New Mexico and Alabama, to put forth potential legislation allowing chiropractors to prescribe and inject substances with nutritional and pharmaceutical components to their patients.
First came over the counter pain relievers (NSADS) like Advil at stronger doses, then B12 injections and other homeopathic injectable substances.
And this seems to be a growing trend nationally.
Chiropractic Care and Pharmaceuticals
My initial reaction is to say that there is no way that at a chiropractor should be offering medications to a patient, even with additional training.
The use of vitamins, food supplements and herbal substances is one thing, but to cross over the line into pharmaceutical drugs is another.
For me, I have always been proud of the fact that Chiropractic as a profession, for over 115 years, has been the largest drugless health care profession, so why change now?
On the flip side, chiropractors would have more tools to help their patients with to relieve pain.
There would surely be an infusion of needed dollars into the profession for research donated by companies who profited by the new paradigm. Perhaps the divide between MDs and DCs would grow smaller.
Healing needs to be expansive, not expensive
However, even as I explore the benefits of such a change, they do not outweigh the potential risks that come with traveling down the road of seeing healing as something that comes from outside the body and can be taken to fix an injury.
I recommend that chiropractic remain a drug free profession.
A better course of action would be to work cooperatively with ALL allied health professions, especially the allopathic medical profession that needs to work hand in hand with non-drug professions.