 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Dynamic Chiropractic March 9, 1998, Volume 16, Issue 06 |
Printer Friendly Version E-mail to a Friend |
|
We Get Letters and E-mail"Egregious Ads"?Dear Editor:I just wanted to drop you a brief note to express my regret that you have allowed placement of the advertisements "The Ultimate Money Machine," and "The Lazy Doctors Way to Make $20,000" (p. 7, 9, Feb. 9, 1998 issue). These distasteful and egregious ads only support the unscrupulous stereotypes propagated by our detractors.
Has Dynamic Chiropractic fallen on such hard times that they are compelled to accept such disingenuous tripe and further aid in its promotion? Given the outlandish claims and warrants made in each advertisement, any reasonable person should be readily suspicious and remember the adage, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." I strongly encourage you to refrain from accepting these types of salacious ads and avoid further tarnishment of your image. Tracy A. Sanders, DC
Editor's note: We forwarded Dr. Sander's communication to the Cummings Marketing Group for their comments, which follow:
"Judge for Yourself"Dear Dr. Sanders:Thank you for your letter, Tracy. I respect your criticism of our "blunt" style of advertising. Frankly, if I was paging through a magazine, I might initially have the same reaction. Our ads are definitely "contrarian" and break all the rules. Someone else once considered "contrarian" was B.J. Palmer. He is one of my heroes. Criticized, harassed, even jailed by the AMA, Palmer would have appreciated a little chutzpa in "going against the norm" to communicate a message we believe in. If B.J. Palmer had not been an unconventional thinker, willing to risk his reputation and success as a doctor on his firm belief in chiropractic, this magazine, you, and I would not be having this conversation! New paradigms and new ways of thinking can and should be applied to marketing chiropractic. It was new, bold thinking that led to chiropractic in the first place. In much the same way, I have often been attacked and criticized for my bluntness, style of marketing, and ways of getting our chiropractic message out into the marketplace. But, like B.J. Palmer, we have helped change an industry. Today, our over 1,100 chiropractic clients are reaching many more people and introducing hundreds of thousands of new patients to chiropractic due to "our style" of marketing. I appeal to you as a doctor, to objectively analyze the bottom-line results you've been getting from your marketing. I believe we have a moral obligation to spread the chiropractic message. If that offends a person or two, well, phooey on them. Chiropractors have been dumped on for years, and I think it's high time we start fighting back with powerful marketing messages. My friend Dan Kennedy says, "The greatest marketing sin is being boring. If you're not offending at least 3 people a day, you probably aren't making an impact!" So, in a strange way, I appreciate and respect you for taking the time to write this letter, because it further validates that our message is getting noticed! I'm even more optimistic about the future of our profession and the opportunity the future holds. I believe we are on the verge of the greatest boom chiropractic has ever witnessed. I sincerely wish you the best of success in your practice, because I know how challenging times can be. If you or any reader would like a report that explains my philosophies in more detail, feel free to call my office. Oh, and please read the ads and judge for yourself! Best wishes, my friend.
Ben Cummings
Bare-Backed Woman OffendsDear Editor:Recently, I have seen some ads in DC which I find troubling, and which I feel send a bad message to the profession. For the purpose of this letter, I am referring to the February 9, 1998 issue.
On page 38, an ad is present for the Neurology Group. It shows what is clearly a large-breasted woman standing naked, holding her lower back. It seems to me that this particular pose is strategically struck to show off her generous attributes. However, if a doctor were to allow a patient to be in a treatment or examination room in such a state of undress, with no attention paid to modesty or boundaries, the doctor would be potentially subject to significant sanctions from their board. Given that there is no reason to have a patient in such a state, this can only be viewed as a gratuitous attempt to use sex to sell a product. I believe these ads are beneath Dynamic Chiropractic, and I am saddened by such displays and the messages they send. Don't get me wrong; I am not a prude. However, I have traveled around the country for last several years, giving seminars on professional boundaries and sexual misconduct to try to help doctors avoid problems in these areas. It is counter-productive to attempt to educate doctors about methods of maintaining appropriate boundaries which can help the patient feel safe, while at the same time sending visual messages from one of the most highly read publications in the profession that sexual exploitation is OK if it raises the professional's bottom line. As the executive director of the Minnesota Board of Chiropractic Examiners, I have watched families crumble, practices disintegrate, and hard-won licenses go down the drain because of behavior that is not acceptable in today's clinical arena. I believe publications such as Dynamic Chiropractic should be raising the bar and setting the standard, not giving the appearance of advocating such prurient clinical conduct. I don't believe this was your intent, but I wonder if Dynamic Chiropractic is up to the challenge of taking such a stand. Larry A. Spicer, DC More on Proteolytic EnzymesDear Editor:While I enjoy Douglas Andersen's articles and have for some time, I must differ with his opinion on the necessity of proteolytic enzymes being enterically coated. While Izaka's research on dogs and rats1 showed no anti-inflammatory activity of bromelain in the powdered form unless in an enterically coated capsule, most research that I have read did not use enterically coated capsules and have still found potent anti-inflammatory effects. For example, some of the more recent research by Walker2 showing bromelain's ability to attenuate contraction-induced (eccentric) skeletal muscle injury used bromelain, dissolved in water and administered orally. He found significantly less muscle fiber injury in the bromelain group than the untreated group. Most recently, Castell3 verified that orally administered bromelain in adult humans can be found undegraded in plasma after oral administration (non-enterically coated). In my own practice, I have utilized non-enteric bromelain for acute injuries and to attenuate post-exercise muscle soreness with great success. Walker's research was nice, because it verified what I had already found to be true. While enteric coated enzymes may be absorbed better, my experience and the literature has found that it is not essential. Izaka's research may have been flawed because he administered the enterically coated tablets 20 hours before testing the inflammation to allow for capsule dissolution and absorption. He does not say how long he waited to test after dosing with bromelain powder. I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Andersen when he says that proteolytic enzymes are under-utilized as a potent weapon in our therapeutic arsenal. In his 1991 article on proteolytic enzymes, Dr. Andersen mentions his frustration trying to determine measurements of activity and USP equivalents (His articles are available on the Internet at ChiroWeb, and are highly recommended). My experience has shown that no matter what is listed on the label, it is no guarantee of what is in the bottle. How do you know if the enzymes are any good? After lecturing on inflammation to a group of chiropractic students, several of them reported no benefit from the bromelain they had purchased at a chiropractic college bookstore. I figured that with placebo, at least 20% should have reported some benefit, but they all said they saw no difference. I sent a bottle of that brand to a lab and had it assayed. It had zero activity. It could have been a bad company, or possibly the batch had been heated, which inactivates bromelain. So how do you know if you are getting a good supplement? Bill Sparks, the biochemist at Biotics Research, told me an easy way to test bromelain for activity. You take about 10ml of whole milk and heat it to about 40 degrees C. Then, add the contents of one capsule, or crush one tablet and add it to the milk. Stir (if in a test tube, invert it 5-8 times) and wait. It should thicken like yogurt in about 90 seconds. If not, it has no activity. A friend recently called and said she had tried bromelain and it was worthless. I had her test her bottle, and it didn't do anything. Then she got another brand, tested it, and it clotted the milk. After trying that brand, she is a believer in bromelain. I have never tried this test with combination enzyme supplements, but I suspect it should still work. Ito4 found a greater anti-inflammatory effect with a combination of enzymes compared to the enzymes separately, and I would agree, for many reasons outlined in Cichokes texts on enzymes, that a combination is a better therapeutic regimen. It is interesting to note that in Ito's research, he found that the combination of bromelain and trypsin actually inhibited the vascular permeability caused by direct application of histamine. If this is true, then a proteolytic combination with mast-cell stabilizers such as quercetin/myricetin (bioflavinoids) with vitamin C (decrease basophil histamine release in vitro 99% with myricetin and vitamin C) may give greater relief of allergy symptoms by decreasing histamine release and decreasing vascular reacitivity to histamine. References
Duane Lowe, DC, DABCI
Medical Savings Accounts: The End of Gatekeepers?Dear Editor:I read your editorial, "The New Health Insurance: Should You Become a Player?" in the December 1, 1997 issue of Dynamic Chiropractic. Your ideas and presentation are very perceptive, and the historical description of events you described leading up to our current state of affairs in chiropractic is locked on like a laser beam. There is, however, one potential and very likely scenario that will, in my opinion, bring us full circle to a point that even predates modern health insurance. It will allow, and even encourage, the patient to again interact with his/her doctor regarding costs of any and all medical/chiropractic procedures, prior to their administration. The patient is again motivated to negotiate, because instead of a third-party picking up bills without any question, the money will come from a personal medical savings account (MSA), which is currently legal and has been enacted within the past year by Congress. There are approximately 750,000 such policies available to professionals. It is my understanding that, after reaching that level, the government will look at providing greater numbers for the general public. Currently,a professional and his/her family can put up to $3,750 in a medical savings account with $1000, $1500 or $2500 deductibles towards their current health insurance policy. The insured family then pays from the MSA directly to the doctor until all deductibles on their current insurance policy are paid. The insurance company then picks up the remainder at a pre-agreed term. The MSA will be allowed to be deposited in mutual funds and be used for virtually any medical expense. Chiropractic will be a big winner, because there will be no more gatekeepers. Individuals will determine when, where and how much they will spend on their health. With the current conservative groundswell for everything from acupuncture to Zen therapy, who do you think yuppies and those in generation X are more likely to go to? Will they go to their family MD to receive the latest drug for symptom relief? Or will they go to a doctor of chiropractic who uses hands-on care in relieving bodily aches, pains and dysfunctions by natural means; someone with genuine caring, common knowledge and wisdom? The answers to these questions remain unanswered, of course, but personally, I am completely confident that when the power is given to the "little guy" again, most personal health problems will be solved quicker, cheaper and better than ever, and both DC's and patients will be situated perfectly. Start now by purchasing your own MSA and encourage your professional brothers and sisters to do the same. R.J. Jensen, DC
God Bless Dr. HeineDear Editor:After reading Dr. Heine's letter in the December 15, 1997 issue, I finally have the ammunition to ward off all those Amway cultists. He lists about six things that "if you can truthfully say to yourself ... then don't get involved with the Amway business." He's being facetious, of course, but I'm taking him dead serious. Attention, Amwayers of the world: leave me alone! My profession is providing me all of my dreams. My lifestyle can survive my illness or disability. I do have enough time for my family. And a resounding "Yes!" to the other three statements, as well. So, multilevelers of the world, this is Frank Means, DC, saying "Take me off your list." Frank Means, DC
Croup and Whooping Cough: Distinctly DifferentDear Editor:Errors in Dr. King's homeopathy column of January 26, 1998 must be rectified, both to protect patients from possible misdiagnosis, and to save doctors the embarrassment of offering misinformation. These comments are based on 25 years of experience in respiratory therapy. Whooping cough and croup are two distinctly different clinical entities. Whooping cough (pertussis) is a serious disease caused by the bordetella pertussis bacterium. It is characterized by paroxysms of coughing, followed by a vigorous inhalation that produces the "whooping" sound. It may result in severe, permanent airway damage such as bronchiectasis, which causes lifelong pulmonary complications. Croup, on the other hand, is a usually self-limiting condition found in young children, in combination with a viral upper-respiratory infection. Edema of soft tissues in the laryngotracheobronchial structures produces narrowing of the airway, resulting in the coarse, barking cough. As children grow older, their airways increase in internal diameter, thus eliminating the possibility of croup. The measures Dr. King recommends for treating croup are normally effective. One caveat, however: A croupy cough accompanied by a high fever may be more serious and require medical attention (sorry for the use of the "m" word), because epiglottis, a life-threatening condition, must be considered in the differential diagnosis.
Howard J. Weigel, DC
Revised Website Worth the WaitDear Editor: Congratulations on your new website. It was worth the wait! I wanted to make travel arrangements for a seminar in Arizona, and found your new calendar format to be outstanding! Your website let me select the region and time period, then provided immediate choices for how to get there.I have not yet had the time to explore all of the website's features, but the links look like they will be a tremendous resource. Thanks for all the good work. David E. Riffel, DC
Internet Articles "Have Been the Best I Have Been Able to Find"Editor's note: The following letter is an example of what can happen when a chiropractor goes that extra step to help enlighten their patients. We encourage our readers to share any information they find worthwhile in Dynamic Chiropractic with their patients.Dear Editor: Just a note to tell you that I have been following your articles about the computer world and feel very strongly that you should put it into a book or booklet form. My chiropractor gives me all the papers so that I can follow your information and learn about the computer world. Your articles have been the best I have been able to find. The world needs lots of good and helpful news about the Internet; I'm glad to see you're leading the way. Thanks for the time and articles. Peg Thieman Post your thoughts in our discussion forum
|
|
||||
|
Dynamic Chiropractic March 9, 1998, Volume 16, Issue 06 |
Printer Friendly Version E-mail to a Friend |
|
To report inappropriate ads, 
|
