In November, two well-known media sources - a weekly magazine and a popular alternative health Web site - published articles in print and online highlighting chiropractic. Together, these sources have helped to enlighten millions of people about the value of chiropractic care.
New York Magazine Examines Chiropractic in Manhattan
New York magazine is one of the largest regional magazines in the country, with a circulation of more than 420,000. In the November 18 issue of New York, journalist Joanne Kaufman's article "Take That Back" sheds a positive light on chiropractic and its use by New York City's rich and famous. The article (www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/health/features/n_7991/index.html) takes readers inside the office of Dr. Douglas Seckendorf, who runs a sports medicine practice in Manhattan and is known as the "chiropractor to the accomplished." Dr. Seckendorf lists Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Kissinger and Ralph Lauren among his clientele. Also on his patient list is fashion designer Oscar De la Renta, who visited Seckendorf after an automobile accident.
"I was in a car accident and had whiplash and horrible pain in my elbows and arms," said De la Renta. "The doctor said I would need another surgery on my cervical vertebrae, and I have to tell you, I went to Dr. Seckendorf every day for six weeks and not only did I not have to have the surgery, I have never again had any pain."
"Take That Back" then travels to the Margolin Wellness Center on Fifth Avenue, where Dr. Steven Margolin uses acupuncture, massage, nutritional counseling - and, of course, chiropractic - to treat stars such as Cynthia Nixon ("Sex and the City") and Kristen Johnson ("Third Rock from the Sun"). Another patient, Clida Shaur, a former dancer, began seeing Dr. Margolin after an automobile accident. "The idea of someone cracking my back - that was not the thing to do," said Ms. Shaur. "But I wanted my life back. And then I went, and I was fine within a month."
According to Dr. Margolin, most people visit a chiropractor because they want to have more control over their own health and well-being. "Patients want to be proactive," he said. "They want to know what they can do to decrease their symptoms and help reduce the changes of their returning. They've gone through the usual medical route, and they're either tired of being on medication or haven't got the results they wanted."
DrWeil.com and the Power of Spinal Manipulation
Wellness guru Andrew Weil hasn't always been a fan of chiropractic. In 1997, in response to a question from a DC, Dr. Weil said, "I have mixed feelings about chiropractic. I'm a great fan of manipulation. But in general, my personal preference is to get it from doctors of osteopathy because their training is more like mine." He also questioned the quality of chiropractic education, calling it "poorly standardized."
Five years later, in response to a question about chiropractors and back pain, Dr. Weil appears to have changed his ways. "I value manipulative therapy and wish I had learned some of it in medical school," he said in his answer, published on DrWeil.com on Nov. 29. "Done properly, it can relieve musculoskeletal discomfort as well as improve circulation of blood and balance the energy of nerves."
Quoting J. Michael Menke, DC, a frequent contributor to Dynamic Chiropractic, Dr. Weil added, "...one out of every three people who suffers from low back pain seeks chiropractic care, making it the most utilized health care practice outside of mainstream medicine." Dr. Menke is a member of the Integrative Medicine program at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, founded by Dr. Weil in 1994.
Dr. Weil also emphasized the value of chiropractic adjustments for particular conditions: "A single session of spinal manipulation ('adjustments' in chiropractic lingo) can often relieve the pain of such acute musculoskeletal ailments as severe stiff necks and wrenched backs, sometimes producing instant and lasting cure."
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Millions of people visit a doctor of chiropractic each year. As these articles show, however, there is still a significant portion of the population that has yet to learn about the benefits of chiropractic. As more people discover what chiropractic has to offer, use and acceptance of these services will no doubt increase, and as outlets such as New York and DrWeil.com promote chiropractic, millions of people will become aware of this natural, drugless method of healing.
