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6 June 2019 (Falls Church, VA)International Chiropractors Association (ICA) President Stephen P. Welsh, DC, FICA announced today the adoption of new value statements by the ICA Board of Directors. 

Dr. Welsh stated,“For too long there has been divisiveness and disrespectful discourse within our profession. This disrespect was on full display at presentations by members of the World Federation of Chiropractic Research Council in Berlin that were so egregious that the ICA Board voted unanimously to file a formal complaint. The ICA is resolved to lead the change within our profession by adopting value statements in order to set a new tenor for our professional community world-wide. “

ICA’s Five New Value Statements:

Respect: We acknowledge and honor the diverse perspectives and approaches in the practice of chiropractic and in promoting health, healing, and well-being. We pledge to conduct ourselves with kindness, compassion, direct and honest communication.

Equitability: We advocate for a healthcare system that is just, fair, and free from discrimination. We believe that all people should have equal access to services that promote health and well-being, including chiropractic care. We support the inclusion of all licensed health providers that are practicing within the scope and standards of their profession and advocate for compensation that is commensurate and fair for services provided.

Empowerment: We advocate for a health care system that gives people control of their own health and health promoting practices. We foster the development of health promoting capacity in individuals, organizations and health professions through education, knowledge and information, advocacy, access, communication, and collaboration.

Collaboration: We are dedicated to working in respectful dialogue and supportive partnership with others to address the needs of individuals and society for better health and healthcare systems.

Transparency: We act in a way that is easy for others to see what we are doing and why we are doing it. We make available full information required for collaboration, cooperation, and collective decision making.

The ICA Visionstatement provides that we seek to Empower humanity to optimal life expression, health and human potential through specific and scientific chiropractic care.

The ICA’s Missionis To protect and promote chiropractic throughout the world as a distinct health care profession predicated upon its unique philosophy, science, and art of subluxation detection and correction.

The ICA has recently streamlined its affiliation process and welcomes all chiropractic associations world-wide that support the ICA vision, mission, and value statements to apply for affiliate status.

Dr. Welsh continued, “To fulfill our mission and vision, it essential to have respectful dialogue and collaboration both intra-professionally and inter-professionally. We work cooperatively to eliminate discrimination against all vitalistic health care professions, of which chiropractic is the largest. ICA is currently working to advance federal legislation to eliminate discrimination against chiropractic patients currently existing in the Medicare system. The ICA objective is to remove existing barriers in order to provide Medicare beneficiaries a non-drug alternative for both acute and chronic pain conditions related to the subluxation, we will work with our professional colleagues to achieve this goal.”

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For Immediate Release

Media Contact: Name: Bridget Van Egmond

Title: Executive Director

Phone: 703-528-5000 Email:bvanegmond@chiropractic.org

6400 Arlington Blvd., Suite 800,
Falls Church, VA 2204 703-528-5000| info@chiropractic.org | www.chiropractic.org

The world is in triage. Population increasing by about 1 billion every 10 years! The term bioethics was recently invented to address the fact that if everyone got the best possible care, population will only increase faster. There are already not enough resources to provide standard medical care to everyone. Decisions have to be made who gets care and who doesn't. It tastes like Communism to me. Because the decisions are not being voted on by everybody. It is being co-ordinated via the UN WHO and dictated to the EU, etc.

The current battle to get subluxation recognized by the WHO as a legal entity is not about how many degrees a wervel is supposed to move. The picture is much bigger than that! It is bigger than what is the safest, most effective, and cheapest way to manage back pain.

Subluxation notwithstanding, Chiropractic philosophy of natural prevention and maintenance care is the target. End-of-life is their goal.

When people have a decent standard of living they stop having extra kids because they aren't needed as social security, and they cost too much. We are the solution, not the problem. Obviously. But as usual we are up against the most profitable corporations run by the most wealthy few on the planet. Whose objectives are strictly pragmatic. And self serving.

In case you were thinking being here doesn't really matter. Or that not getting involved is somehow safe. Lots of people, everywhere, still need to be enlightened by the Chiropractic paradigm. Even some DCs, apparently, not to mention the people on top.

Of course subluxations aren't real. Their is no physical substance to them. A rose by any other name, or phrase, is still a rose. Lots of words describe things that have no physical existence. Because the phenomena they give name to do exist. Explaining phenomena is naturally often complex or impossible. Yet, empirically we are confronted by them all the time.

I think we can make a case for adoption by the scientific and legal communities of the term subluxation, as we define it, to define the unique and demonstrable phenomenon, for the management of which, we are the experts. And fully deserving of primary care provider status.

All we have to do is explain that healthier, happier, longer lives for everyone doesn't spell the end of the world.

bioethics: https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/bioethics/

The battle line here in Europe is drawn. Take notice! What the competition has been unable to do with science, it seeks here and now to accomplish with vocabulary.

A colleague writes:

"It is suggested that ‘subluxation’ be replaced by Joint Dysfunction, or Joint Dysfunction Complex, or even Biomechanical Joint Lesion. ...‘Subluxation’ takes too long to explain and has a lot of baggage. The other proposed terms MEAN THE SAME but are much easier to explain."

I understand the significance of establishing medico-legal terms. It isn't easy. But the phrases being proposed to replace 'subluxation' actually are brief, easy to understand, explanations of the meaning of subluxation. The only baggage the word has, comes from a century of misrepresentation and disinformation big pharma and AMA have dumped on us.

Whenever science takes another leap and more proof backing up VSC becomes obtainable and available, we get a whole new onslaught. Using word games in an attempt to get us to throw the baby out with the bathwater. The phenomenon we treat deserves a name, rather than a phrase description. The name 'subluxation' legally stakes out our territory.

When DCs eventually merge with MDs, those hybrid practitioners need to be DCs first, and only resort to petro-pharmaceuticals and surgery when absolutely necessary. The current trend, as evidenced by this renewed attack on our terminology, is a sign of the opposition's weakness in the face of new research breakthroughs that prove we have been right all along, and they have been overpriced, unsafe, and ineffective, ...and worse!

What we want to fight for is recognition that a lifetime of covered chiropractic maintenance and prevention care saves the system money. I sincerely believe it does. And mounting evidence supports that. We do not want to be reduced to specialists treating pain. Specialists are not primary care providers. You need an MD script to get to see one. That would be a HUGE, unwarranted, step backwards for us.
 
The scientific community is well equipped to adopt new terms with legally recognized definitions.

When we now do have a rapidly growing body of scientific EVIDENCE backing us up, it would be foolish to let them castrate the profession with semantics.

Maybe a good place to start is getting microsoft to add subluxation into their spell checker! ;)

You can make a difference by helping us gather sound research here in the forum so it is readily available to policy makers! Who are currently, or most likely will be, suffering needlessly, otherwise. Your thoughts on this matter, also matter!