SciFiFisher wrote:I am not sure at what point a medical practice/profession becomes 100% accepted. What I do know is that many medical insurance plans cover chiropractic treatment. Specifically for spinal and skeletal manipulation. They will also allow acupuncture as part of the treatment plan.
Well, much you're closer to Medical Professionals than I'll ever be. So, of course I have no idea either. I do suspect that it's a lot harder these days than it was, say....... in the 19th century. The bar is a lot higher these days, and unfortunately, with good reason.
SciFiFisher wrote:The U.S. military and the Veteran's Healthcare administration also cover both chiropractic and acupuncture. Usually the chiropractor is also a practitioner of acupuncture.
You of course realize, that THAT doesn't exactly make me more confident about Chiropractors. Based on what I've read I can accept that SOME parts of Chiropractic have some value. But Acupuncture, SO FAR, has failed to show that it's anything more than a placebo.
SciFiFisher wrote:I have talked to a number of osteopaths who tell me their curriculum barely covered skeletal manipulation. IMO the Osteopaths have all but given up that fight due to the low or no re-imbursement for spinal/skeletal manipulation.
On the wikipedia link I posted, I found this
While no single profession "owns" spinal manipulation (SM), and there is little consensus as to which profession should administer SM, chiropractors have expressed concern that orthodox medical physicians and physical therapists could "steal" SM procedures from chiropractors. Chiropractors regularly introduce bills into state legislatures to further prohibit non-chiropractors from performing SM, and they are opposed by physical therapist organizations.[98] Two U.S. states (Washington and Arkansas) prohibit physical therapists from performing SM,[99] some states allow them to do it only if they have completed advanced training in SM. In the most restrictive states, SM is limited to chiropractors and medical physicians.
A focus on evidence-based SM research has also raised concerns that the resulting tighter practice guidelines could limit the scope of chiropractic practice to treating backs and necks
If the above is accurate, It sounds like MAYBE therapy based on Chiropractic can find its place among the Medical Profession with regards to Spinal Manipulation only, but then we go beyond the realm of what can be determine scientifically and enter politics within Practitioners of the Medical Profession in which case all bets are off
Yes, there are chiropractors who make wild claims for what they can do. But, I don't think those are the ones who are representative of where the profession wants to be.
That's not my point. By now, it's obvious that at least some people in the practice of Chiropractic want to take the parts of it that are valid and merge it with the Mainstream of the Medical Profession. HOWEVER, they still have way too many "fellow travelers" among them that promote bunk, which they will have to get rid off entirely. The bar is high and probably not all that fair, and I'm sure that politics within the Medical Profession will throw a couple of Monkey wrenches. But, considering
the history of quacks within Medicine I can understand why it is the way it is. Hell, it's already hard enough within Mainstream Medicine to keep the quacks away.