“The Dr. Oz Show” recently touted new research that found chiropractic care is just as effective as over-the-counter pain relievers for back pain.
Dr. Oz explained how the spine gets misaligned and what chiropractic care can do for patients.
The episode even featured an adjustment right in the studio. Watch the segment now.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Turns Out That Anti-Microbial Soaps Really Are Bad For You...
Well, if it shows up on Fox News, then it has to be true, right? LOL...
But really... Chiropractors have been warning for years that trying to kill the bug is not the correct path to health. Fortify the host!!!! That is the secret to real health. The contention is that simply trying to kill and organism that has a life cycle in terms of hours or days is futile. That in reality, you will just drive the next phase of evolutionary change that will leave you with an even more dangerous bug to deal with - just like what we see with antibiotic abuse.
But now, this lawsuit comes out which accuses the FDA of delaying appropriate regulation of two chemicals found to be in most of the antimicrobial soaps that we use EVERY DAY! The chemicals are triclosan and triclocarban and the plaintiffs in this case assert that the FDA has been aware of the harmful effects of these chemicals on our sexual hormones and thyroid hormones for 30 years and has yet to do anything about it. They cite a study which found that residues of these chemicals are found on over 75% of our population over the age of 6.
I don't know about you, but I'm making sure my patients know that regular old soap is just fine without the toxic soup, thank you very much. Just look at the active ingredients in our liquid hand soap at home and at work and throw it out when you find it.
But really... Chiropractors have been warning for years that trying to kill the bug is not the correct path to health. Fortify the host!!!! That is the secret to real health. The contention is that simply trying to kill and organism that has a life cycle in terms of hours or days is futile. That in reality, you will just drive the next phase of evolutionary change that will leave you with an even more dangerous bug to deal with - just like what we see with antibiotic abuse.
But now, this lawsuit comes out which accuses the FDA of delaying appropriate regulation of two chemicals found to be in most of the antimicrobial soaps that we use EVERY DAY! The chemicals are triclosan and triclocarban and the plaintiffs in this case assert that the FDA has been aware of the harmful effects of these chemicals on our sexual hormones and thyroid hormones for 30 years and has yet to do anything about it. They cite a study which found that residues of these chemicals are found on over 75% of our population over the age of 6.
I don't know about you, but I'm making sure my patients know that regular old soap is just fine without the toxic soup, thank you very much. Just look at the active ingredients in our liquid hand soap at home and at work and throw it out when you find it.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
New Guidelines for Fall Prevention in Elderly
Dr. Harriott's Comments:
Chiropractic has a significant role in fall prevention as well... Balance is a result of successful integration of accurate sensory inputs and muscular control. Sensory inputs include middle ear vestibular feedback, visual signals, as well as neurological feedback of our position in space from the mechanoreceptors in our joints.
Joint dysfunction, which is a primary area of focus in chiropractic, causes inhibition of muscular control, and faulty position sense feedback from our joints. Also, when pain signals dominate the feedback then mechanoreceptor signals of our position in space is compromised. So proper management of painful joint dysfunction then is clearly another important part of fall prevention that high quality chiropractic care can assist with.
With the recent study (see full text here) showing that all non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) pose cardiovascular threats of increased incidence of stroke and infarction on the order 2 to 4 times, it is clear that simply "dealing with it" isn't a reasonable option for the elderly, or anyone else for that matter.
Everyone needs a chiropractor on their healthcare team. In Mission Viejo, everyone has a chiropractor at Mission Viejo Chiropractic, whether they know it or not.
==================================
January 13, 2011 — The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and the British Geriatric Society (BGS) have updated their 2001 guidelines on preventing falls in older persons and have published a summary of the new recommendations online January 13 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. All healthcare practices for older adults should include fall screening and prevention, with new assessments involving feet and footwear, fear of falling, and ability to carry out daily living activities. All interventions for fall prevention should include an exercise component, with additional interventions to be considered including starting tai chi and reducing medications.
Chiropractic has a significant role in fall prevention as well... Balance is a result of successful integration of accurate sensory inputs and muscular control. Sensory inputs include middle ear vestibular feedback, visual signals, as well as neurological feedback of our position in space from the mechanoreceptors in our joints.
Joint dysfunction, which is a primary area of focus in chiropractic, causes inhibition of muscular control, and faulty position sense feedback from our joints. Also, when pain signals dominate the feedback then mechanoreceptor signals of our position in space is compromised. So proper management of painful joint dysfunction then is clearly another important part of fall prevention that high quality chiropractic care can assist with.
With the recent study (see full text here) showing that all non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) pose cardiovascular threats of increased incidence of stroke and infarction on the order 2 to 4 times, it is clear that simply "dealing with it" isn't a reasonable option for the elderly, or anyone else for that matter.
Everyone needs a chiropractor on their healthcare team. In Mission Viejo, everyone has a chiropractor at Mission Viejo Chiropractic, whether they know it or not.
==================================
January 13, 2011 — The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and the British Geriatric Society (BGS) have updated their 2001 guidelines on preventing falls in older persons and have published a summary of the new recommendations online January 13 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. All healthcare practices for older adults should include fall screening and prevention, with new assessments involving feet and footwear, fear of falling, and ability to carry out daily living activities. All interventions for fall prevention should include an exercise component, with additional interventions to be considered including starting tai chi and reducing medications.
New Recommendations
Recommendations for interventions that are new since the 2001 guidelines include the following:
- Multifactorial interventions should always include an exercise component, such as tai chi, physical therapy, or other exercise for balance, gait, and strength training, in group programs or as individual programs at home. Endurance and flexibility training may be prescribed, but not apart from strength training. On the basis of currently available evidence, exercise programs are recommended only for community-dwelling older persons.
- Environmental adaptation by a healthcare professional should be considered to reduce factors in the home and in daily activities that could increase fall risk.
- Cataract surgery should be performed if indicated, but this or other vision intervention should not be administered in isolation apart from a multifactorial assessment and intervention strategy.
- Medication reduction or withdrawal is recommended, particularly for sedatives, antidepressants, and other drugs affecting the central nervous system, regardless of the number of medications prescribed. This is a change from the 2001 guidelines, which recommended reducing medications only if patients were taking 4 or more.
- Orthostatic hypotension, arrhythmias, and heart rate abnormalities should be managed appropriately as part of a multifactorial intervention strategy. Older persons with cardioinhibitory carotid sinus hypersensitivity who have unexplained recurrent falls may benefit from dual-chamber cardiac pacing.
- All older adults at risk for falls, and those with known or suspected vitamin D deficiency, should receive a daily Vitamin D supplement (800 IU).
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
6 Cancer Fighting Superfoods
The cure for cancer is in your refrigerator..."All the studies on cancer and nutrition point to eating plant-based foods for their phytonutrients and other special compounds," says Richard Béliveau, PhD. Dr. Béliveau is a profressor at the University of Québec at Montreal and also the author of Foods to Fight Cancer.
We should try to get five to nine daily servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables - and the short list should include as many as possible of these special sources of cancer fighting nutrition...
1. Broccoli
Cruciferous vegetables (the crisp, water-filled veggies like cauliflower, cabbage, kale...) contain cancer-fighting properties, but broccoli is unique in that it also includes sulforaphane, a particularly potent element that that hellps maintain the body's protective enzymes and helps to flush out toxic compounds. Recently, a study at the University of Michigan found that sulforaphane also targets cancer stem cells in mice — those that ultimately become cancer cells that grow together to form cancerous tumors.
Reduces Incidence of: stomach, bladder, breast, liver, lung, prostate, and skin cancers
Recommendation: Eat as much as you can. Every culture has its staple foods (like rice for the Asian cultures, olive oil for the Greeks or corn meal for those in South Africa). Consider making brocolli a staple food in your home.
2. Tomatoes
The red color of tomatoes comes from a carotenoid called lycopene, according to Béliveau. Lycopene has been shown to stop endometrial cancer cell growth in a study published in Nutrition and Cancer.
Reduces incidence of: endometrial, stomach, prostate and lung cancers
Recommendation: Inteerestingly, cooked tomatoes provide more absorbable lycopene than fresh ones. So eat more tomatoes in your cooked meals (like in pasta sauces and such).
3. Berries
All berries are packed with cancer-fighting phytonutrients. Blueberries, black raspberries contain a great deal of phytochemicals called anthocyanins. According to Gary D. Stoner, PhD, a professor of internal medicine in The College of Medicine at Ohio State University, these anthocyanins slow down the growth of pre-cancerous cells and inhibit the growth of new arterial blood vessel to supply those cells.
Reduces incidence of: skin, colon, oral, and esophageal cancers
Recommendation: A half-cup serving of berries a day is a great source for all the anthocyanins you need.
4. Walnuts
Their phytosterols (cholesterol-like molecules found in plants) have been shown to block estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells, possibly slowing the cells' growth, says Elaine Hardman, PhD, associate professor at Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, West Virginia.
Reduces incidence of: breast and prostate cancers
Recommendation: Hardman's research found that an ounce a day of walnuts yields great benefits.
5. Beans
Beans are a great source of butyrate, a fatty acid that has been shown to reduce cancer cell growth. A Michigan State University study found that black and navy beans significantly reduced colon cancer incidence in rats and another study publsihed in the journal Crop Science, found dried beans helped to prevent breast cancer in rats.
Reduces Incidence of: breast and colon cancers
Recommendation: A half-cup of legumes a few times a week is a very beneficial addition to your dietary choices.
6. Garlic
Phytochemicals in garlic have been found to inhibit creation of nitrosamines, which are cancer causing agents formed in the gastro-intestinal tract when you consume nitrates, a common chemical preservative in prepared foods. The Iowa Women's Health Study found that women that ate higher amounts of garlic had as much as a 50 percent lower risk of certain colon cancer than those who ate little to no garlic.
Reduces Incidence of : stomach, esophagus, breast, and colon cancer
Recommendation: Crush, then chopped cloves of fresh garlic should be added to your foods whenever possible, and, of course, appropriate for the recipe. Note that crushing the garlic first releases particularly beneficial enzymes.
We should try to get five to nine daily servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables - and the short list should include as many as possible of these special sources of cancer fighting nutrition...
1. Broccoli
Cruciferous vegetables (the crisp, water-filled veggies like cauliflower, cabbage, kale...) contain cancer-fighting properties, but broccoli is unique in that it also includes sulforaphane, a particularly potent element that that hellps maintain the body's protective enzymes and helps to flush out toxic compounds. Recently, a study at the University of Michigan found that sulforaphane also targets cancer stem cells in mice — those that ultimately become cancer cells that grow together to form cancerous tumors.
Reduces Incidence of: stomach, bladder, breast, liver, lung, prostate, and skin cancers
Recommendation: Eat as much as you can. Every culture has its staple foods (like rice for the Asian cultures, olive oil for the Greeks or corn meal for those in South Africa). Consider making brocolli a staple food in your home.
2. Tomatoes
The red color of tomatoes comes from a carotenoid called lycopene, according to Béliveau. Lycopene has been shown to stop endometrial cancer cell growth in a study published in Nutrition and Cancer.
Reduces incidence of: endometrial, stomach, prostate and lung cancers
Recommendation: Inteerestingly, cooked tomatoes provide more absorbable lycopene than fresh ones. So eat more tomatoes in your cooked meals (like in pasta sauces and such).
3. Berries
All berries are packed with cancer-fighting phytonutrients. Blueberries, black raspberries contain a great deal of phytochemicals called anthocyanins. According to Gary D. Stoner, PhD, a professor of internal medicine in The College of Medicine at Ohio State University, these anthocyanins slow down the growth of pre-cancerous cells and inhibit the growth of new arterial blood vessel to supply those cells.
Reduces incidence of: skin, colon, oral, and esophageal cancers
Recommendation: A half-cup serving of berries a day is a great source for all the anthocyanins you need.
4. Walnuts
Their phytosterols (cholesterol-like molecules found in plants) have been shown to block estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells, possibly slowing the cells' growth, says Elaine Hardman, PhD, associate professor at Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, West Virginia.
Reduces incidence of: breast and prostate cancers
Recommendation: Hardman's research found that an ounce a day of walnuts yields great benefits.
5. Beans
Beans are a great source of butyrate, a fatty acid that has been shown to reduce cancer cell growth. A Michigan State University study found that black and navy beans significantly reduced colon cancer incidence in rats and another study publsihed in the journal Crop Science, found dried beans helped to prevent breast cancer in rats.
Reduces Incidence of: breast and colon cancers
Recommendation: A half-cup of legumes a few times a week is a very beneficial addition to your dietary choices.
6. Garlic
Phytochemicals in garlic have been found to inhibit creation of nitrosamines, which are cancer causing agents formed in the gastro-intestinal tract when you consume nitrates, a common chemical preservative in prepared foods. The Iowa Women's Health Study found that women that ate higher amounts of garlic had as much as a 50 percent lower risk of certain colon cancer than those who ate little to no garlic.
Reduces Incidence of : stomach, esophagus, breast, and colon cancer
Recommendation: Crush, then chopped cloves of fresh garlic should be added to your foods whenever possible, and, of course, appropriate for the recipe. Note that crushing the garlic first releases particularly beneficial enzymes.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Living Near A Freeway During Pregnancy Doubles Risk of Autism
Dr. Harriott's Comments:
I am interested in understanding which is the predominant influence, pollution or noise. I would imagine it is toxic airborne chemicals of incomplete combustion that are prevalent.
But then again, this study considered "close" to be within 1000 feet of the freeway centerline. I don't know about other areas of the country, but I would swear that some of our local freeways are 1000 feet across. I guess if you are living right smack next to the freeway, then, yes, noise could be an issue. Bottom line: If you are pregant, please move as far away as possible. And, if you have a choice, move even if you aren't pregnant.
=========================================================================
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20101217/fast-lane-to-autism-living-near-freeways
Fast Lane to Autism: Living Near Freeways Autism More Likely in Kids Whose Moms Live Near Freeways
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Dec. 17, 2010 --
Having a mother who lived within 1,000 feet of a freeway while pregnant doubles a child's odds of having autism.
The finding comes from a study looking at environmental factors that might play a role in autism. University of Southern California researcher Heather E. Volk, PhD, MPH, and colleagues collected data from 304 California children with confirmed autism and from 259 children who developed normally.
"It has been estimated that 11% of the U.S. population lives within 100 meters [328 feet] of a four-lane highway, so a causal link to autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders would have broad public health implications," the researchers note.
Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is suspected of a wide range of negative effects on the fetus. A particularly crucial period may be the third trimester, when the brain develops rapidly.
Air pollution is particularly heavy within a thousand feet of a highway. Volk and colleagues found that the 10% of women who lived closest to a freeway during pregnancy were within about 1,000 feet of center line. Children born to these women were 86% more likely to have autism than kids born to women who lived farther from the freeway.
The relationship was stronger for women who lived within 1,000 feet of a freeway during their third trimester. Children born to these women were 2.2 times more likely to have autism.
Interestingly, the odds of autism remained unchanged when the researchers controlled for factors such as child gender or ethnicity, household education, maternal age, and maternal smoking.
It's becoming clear that a child's genetic inheritance has a lot to do with whether that child has autism. But genes do not explain why one child develops autism while another does not. Many researchers believe that something or a combination of things in the environment trigger autism in genetically susceptible kids. That exposure may come while the child is still in the womb.
But what is it about living near a freeway that might trigger autism? Is it really air pollution? Or could it be the noise?
Volk and colleagues note that their findings should be confirmed in studies that measure the actual air pollutants to which pregnant women living near freeways are exposed.
The Volk study appears in the Dec. 16 online issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, published by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
I am interested in understanding which is the predominant influence, pollution or noise. I would imagine it is toxic airborne chemicals of incomplete combustion that are prevalent.
But then again, this study considered "close" to be within 1000 feet of the freeway centerline. I don't know about other areas of the country, but I would swear that some of our local freeways are 1000 feet across. I guess if you are living right smack next to the freeway, then, yes, noise could be an issue. Bottom line: If you are pregant, please move as far away as possible. And, if you have a choice, move even if you aren't pregnant.
=========================================================================
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/20101217/fast-lane-to-autism-living-near-freeways
Fast Lane to Autism: Living Near Freeways Autism More Likely in Kids Whose Moms Live Near Freeways
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Dec. 17, 2010 --
Having a mother who lived within 1,000 feet of a freeway while pregnant doubles a child's odds of having autism.
The finding comes from a study looking at environmental factors that might play a role in autism. University of Southern California researcher Heather E. Volk, PhD, MPH, and colleagues collected data from 304 California children with confirmed autism and from 259 children who developed normally.
"It has been estimated that 11% of the U.S. population lives within 100 meters [328 feet] of a four-lane highway, so a causal link to autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders would have broad public health implications," the researchers note.
Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is suspected of a wide range of negative effects on the fetus. A particularly crucial period may be the third trimester, when the brain develops rapidly.
Air pollution is particularly heavy within a thousand feet of a highway. Volk and colleagues found that the 10% of women who lived closest to a freeway during pregnancy were within about 1,000 feet of center line. Children born to these women were 86% more likely to have autism than kids born to women who lived farther from the freeway.
The relationship was stronger for women who lived within 1,000 feet of a freeway during their third trimester. Children born to these women were 2.2 times more likely to have autism.
Interestingly, the odds of autism remained unchanged when the researchers controlled for factors such as child gender or ethnicity, household education, maternal age, and maternal smoking.
It's becoming clear that a child's genetic inheritance has a lot to do with whether that child has autism. But genes do not explain why one child develops autism while another does not. Many researchers believe that something or a combination of things in the environment trigger autism in genetically susceptible kids. That exposure may come while the child is still in the womb.
But what is it about living near a freeway that might trigger autism? Is it really air pollution? Or could it be the noise?
Volk and colleagues note that their findings should be confirmed in studies that measure the actual air pollutants to which pregnant women living near freeways are exposed.
The Volk study appears in the Dec. 16 online issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, published by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Mercury Exposure Due to Dental Fillings of Superfund Site Magnitude: Biologist
Dr. Harriott's Commentary: I won't have amalgam used in my children's teeth. I had all the amalgam removed from my teeth. All I need to know is that mercury is a neurotoxin that vaporizes in the oral cavity from amalgam deposited there. While there is debate about how much damage is being caused, that seems awfully academic considering that we still put this in our bodies. I say, and without adding any academic or professional value here, I admit) "Get it out of me!!!". Can I hear a "heck yeah!" on that? ===================== by: Robert Lowes December 15, 2010 — Millions of Americans with mercury-based dental fillings are exposed to levels of mercury vapor that qualify toxic waste sites for the federal Superfund program, a scientist told an advisory panel of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday. The scientist, biologist G. Mark Richardson, PhD, appeared among a parade of researchers, dentists, and consumer advocates who spoke for and against the use of mercury-based fillings — also known as dental amalgam — on the first day of a 2-day hearing of the FDA's dental product panel. Last year, the agency reclassified dental amalgam from a lower-risk class I medical device to a moderate-risk class II device with a new label stating that fetuses and young children may be more sensitive to its neurotoxic effects. Nevertheless, the agency declared that the material was safe for adults and children aged 6 years and above. Opponents of dental amalgam, who link it to diseases ranging from autism to Alzheimer's, have petitioned the agency to reconsider its 2009 decision and either ban the filling material or classify it as a high-risk class III device. The FDA convened the advisory panel to hear out these opponents, but not to recommend new regulations for dental amalgam. Two prime questions for the panel are how much mercury is absorbed by people with dental amalgam and what the reference exposure level (REL), or safety threshold, for mercury vapor should be. Estimated mercury doses can be calculated from exposure levels to the vapor. In its 2009 decision, the FDA put the mercury dose absorbed by individuals with 7 to 10 amalgam fillings at 1 to 5 ?g/day. The range is roughly identically to permissible doses for children and adults derived from an REL for mercury vapor — 0.3 ?g/m3 — set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Such an REL, also called a reference concentration, is considered safe for even the most susceptible individual. Dr. Richardson, the lead author of a dental amalgam study commissioned by a group advocating mercury-free dentistry, disagrees with the FDA's daily dose calculation and states that the amount of mercury absorbed can range up to 22 ?g, based on a conservative scenario of amalgam use. In his study, he estimates that 67 million Americans with dental amalgam exceed the permissible mercury dose associated with the EPA's REL. Dr. Richardson told the panel that RELs such as those for mercury vapor "do mean something." Of 1500 toxic waste sites in the EPA Superfund program, almost half contain elemental mercury, according to Dr. Richardson. Those mercury-contaminated sites make it on the list "because levels of exposure...exceed the EPA reference dose." RELs and reference doses, he said, also shape guidelines for cleaning up these sites. "When they're cleaned up, the doses from those sites should not exceed the [REL]," said Dr. Richardson, a former employee of the Canadian equivalent of the US Department of Health and Human Services who now works for the environmental division of a Canadian engineering and construction firm. Dr. Richardson believes that the EPA's REL for mercury vapor is set too high and views the REL of 0.3 ?g/m3used by the California EPA as more accurate. All Americans with dental amalgam — some 122 million of them — are exceeding permissible mercury doses linked to this stricter safety threshold, according to Dr. Richardson. "I Have Amalgams in My Own Teeth" During a public comment section of the hearing, representatives of organized dentistry countered claims by Dr. Richardson and others that dental amalgam is a public health threat. Dennis Charlton, DDS, president-elect of the Pennsylvania Dental Association, asserted that millions of patients have used dental amalgam with no adverse effects. He explained that mercury, normally toxic to humans, is rendered harmless by its combination with other metals in dental amalgam, just as poisonous chlorine gas combines with sodium to form perfectly safe sodium chloride — otherwise known as salt. Dr. Richardson's research came under fire from Rod Mackert, DMD, PhD, a dental materials researcher and professor in the School of Dentistry at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. Dr. Mackert, speaking on behalf of the American Dental Association, said Dr. Richardson reached his "ludicrous" assertions about the need for a lower REL for mercury vapor by discounting valid studies and relying on a flawed one. A number of dentists told the panel that their support of dental amalgam has nothing to do with their economic self-interest, as some critics charged. "I have amalgam in my own teeth, and I have used it to treat members of my own family," said Jonathan Knapp, DMD, from Bethel, Connecticut, a member of the American Dental Association's Council on Dental Practice. "If had any doubt — any doubt — about the safety of amalgam, I would never use it to treat my family." Mercury Issue Rarely Mentioned to Patients Another contingent of dentists was on hand yesterday to denounce dental amalgam and tout mercury-free alternatives. "Mercury exposure is no longer a price we have to pay to be successful in restorative dentistry," said Stephen Koral, DMD, from Boulder, Colorado, a past president of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, which opposes the use of dental amalgam. "I learned mercury was toxic in the second grade," added Janet Stopka, DDS, from suburban Chicago, Illinois. "Mercury fillings have been a 200-year-old mistake." The panel also heard a number of individuals who bore painful witness to a host of health problems such as panic attacks, memory loss, food allergies, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and cancer that they attributed to dental amalgam fillings and subsequent mercury poisoning. Several of them said their conditions subsided after they had these fillings replaced with mercury-free substitutes. They might have avoided their ordeals, they said, if their dentists had informed them about the risks of dental amalgam. "Placing mercury in the mouths of patients is reckless and dangerous, and I am proof of that," said Stephanie Bernier-Adamson from Fullerton, California. "The issue of mercury was never mentioned in any dental office where I was a patient." Medscape Medical News © 2010 WebMD, LLC Send comments and news tips to news@medscape.net.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
A Word on Chiropractic Training
Sonoma, CA Chiropractor, Todd Lloyd has uploaded an article in is Sonoma Chiropractic Blog posted a great table comparing the educational requirements of a chiropractic doctor degree against those of a medical doctor degree.
I have reproduced that table from his website above. I can tell you from personal experience, as someone who also earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, that the class hours spent in chiropractic college were quite extensive. And for every hour spent in class, we spent about 3 hours outside preparing for lectures, reveiewing materials, preparing assignments, and reviewing for exams. On top of all of that, during and after this course of study, we were required to undergo 4 different national licensing exams and then another license exam specific to the state in which we were to practice. Amazing to look at in restrospect.
At any rate, many of my patients are amazed to learn that we actually had more hours in anatomy, physiology, radiology and neurology than our MD counerparts. On the other hand, they had to go through gruelling pharmacology courses that we were not asked to study as that is outside of the chiropractic scope of practice.
Some of the most interesting classes? I enjoyed the 4 semesters of cadaver lab work. Sounds grotesque if you have never done it, but there is nothing that compares with seeing the actual structures laying right there in front of your eyes just the way our creator planned it or as we evolved it (depending on your beliefs). Oh yeah, and that reminds me of something that I kept thinking as we would sit in our physiology lectures... "I wonder why they designed it that way... oops... it wasn't designed that way... it's only that way because it works!"
Interesting stuff... no matter who you are :)
Now, at this point, I would point out that the chiropractic subject matter that is taught in chiropractic college is not taught anywhere else. Just as an MD will suggest that we do not have identical educations and thus we cannot do their job, we can say the very same thing about MDs, physical therapists, physical trainers, and I dare say even osteopaths. These professions do not include training in the specific vertebral adjustment to address subluxation. Many are surprised to learn that even Osteopaths do not require adjustive or manipulative techniques in their curriculum and those procedures (which are substantially less specific than the corresponding chiropractic procedures, by the way) are taken as an optional elective and nowhere near enough time is provided to develop proficiency.
| Subject | Chiropractic Schools | Medical Schools | ||
| Hours | % of Total | Hours | % of Total | |
| Anatomy | 570 | 40 | 368 | 31 |
| Biochemistry | 150 | 11 | 120 | 10 |
| Microbiology | 120 | 8 | 120 | 10 |
| Public Health | 70 | 5 | 289 | 24 |
| Physiology | 305 | 21 | 142 | 12 |
| Pathology | 205 | 14 | 162 | 14 |
| Total Hours | 1,420 | 100 | 1,200 | 100 |
I have reproduced that table from his website above. I can tell you from personal experience, as someone who also earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, that the class hours spent in chiropractic college were quite extensive. And for every hour spent in class, we spent about 3 hours outside preparing for lectures, reveiewing materials, preparing assignments, and reviewing for exams. On top of all of that, during and after this course of study, we were required to undergo 4 different national licensing exams and then another license exam specific to the state in which we were to practice. Amazing to look at in restrospect.
At any rate, many of my patients are amazed to learn that we actually had more hours in anatomy, physiology, radiology and neurology than our MD counerparts. On the other hand, they had to go through gruelling pharmacology courses that we were not asked to study as that is outside of the chiropractic scope of practice.
Some of the most interesting classes? I enjoyed the 4 semesters of cadaver lab work. Sounds grotesque if you have never done it, but there is nothing that compares with seeing the actual structures laying right there in front of your eyes just the way our creator planned it or as we evolved it (depending on your beliefs). Oh yeah, and that reminds me of something that I kept thinking as we would sit in our physiology lectures... "I wonder why they designed it that way... oops... it wasn't designed that way... it's only that way because it works!"
Interesting stuff... no matter who you are :)
Now, at this point, I would point out that the chiropractic subject matter that is taught in chiropractic college is not taught anywhere else. Just as an MD will suggest that we do not have identical educations and thus we cannot do their job, we can say the very same thing about MDs, physical therapists, physical trainers, and I dare say even osteopaths. These professions do not include training in the specific vertebral adjustment to address subluxation. Many are surprised to learn that even Osteopaths do not require adjustive or manipulative techniques in their curriculum and those procedures (which are substantially less specific than the corresponding chiropractic procedures, by the way) are taken as an optional elective and nowhere near enough time is provided to develop proficiency.
Edward Harriott, DC
Mission Viejo Chiropractic
24896 Chrisanta Dr. #120
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
(949)360-1112
If you want to reach more from Dr. Lloyd's Sonoma Chiropractor blog, fee free to visit it. If you need a chiropractor in Sonoma, CA, you can find him at:
525 3rd Street West, Suite C
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 408-2225
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