September 2000 • Volume 6 • Number 9
Chiropractic
From taboo to partner in care for some physicians
BY CINDY McCANSE
To say "You've come a long way, baby" isn't the half of it when you're talking chiropractic. Just ask family physician Carl Anzerillo, D.O., a solo practitioner at De Soto Family Practice in De Soto, Kan.
"At one time, it was totally taboo," said Anzerillo. "Now it's practically mainstream." Once maligned and discredited by the AMA, chiropractors now command a patient base of 12 percent to 15 percent of the U.S. population. They currently number about 60,000 and are licensed in all 50 states. Chiropractic services are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, workers' compensation programs and many private insurers.
Manipulative therapies have been around for millennia. Their early presence has been documented in such diverse locations as China, Babylon and Tibet. Hippocrates practiced spinal manipulation, as did Greek-born Roman physician Galen in the second century A.D.
The birth of modern chiropractic can be traced back to the turn of the 20th century, when Daniel David Palmer founded it on the premise that vertebral subluxation was the cause of virtually all disease. Chiropractic adjustment, he asserted, provided the sole cure.
Although few contemporary chiropractors would fully embrace Palmer's "one cause, one cure" philosophy, correction of spinal subluxations remains at the heart of today's chiropractic science.
Chiropractic is based on the tenet that an inseparable link exists between structure and function: Proper physiologic function requires balance among the bony structures of the body, particularly the spine.
Also integral to the chiropractic philosophy is a belief in the body's innate healing ability. Patient and practitioner work in concert to bring about a return to equilibrium and promote overall wellness.
That last part sounds familiar, no doubt. It's that very similarity between the missions of chiropractic and family medicine that led Anzerillo to team up with Ella Ladd, D.C., last January.
Anzerillo said he's been combining traditional and complementary practices for 25 years. "I find it to be a good marriage, if you will," Anzerillo said.
He said he's had success using manipulation -- whether his osteopathic version or Ladd's chiropractic rendition -- in combination with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to treat lower back pain. A certified acupuncturist, Anzerillo also incorporates some elements of Eastern medicine when treating patients with certain structural complaints, such as sinusitis.
His philosophy of healing? "We try to look at the whole patient," Anzerillo said.
He explained that the so-called Cartesian divide in Western medicine came about in medieval times, when philosophers such as René Descartes concerned themselves with the head, while scientists focused solely on the body. The church declared the head to be the seat of spirituality, and never the twain should meet.
"Eastern medicine has always incorporated mind, body and spirit," Anzerillo said. "It's what we should have been doing all along."
Now, he added, "We're seeing all of this re-engineered, and it's producing good results."
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2000 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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