RCS is proud to follow the ACC ‘Chiropractic Paradigm’

by David A. Jackson, DC

In the long history of our profession, I doubt whether any document has received the kind of  broad- based, almost unanimous support that the ACC's position paper on chiropractic has. The Association of Chiropractic College's "Chiropractic Paradigm," formulated in 1996, was signed by every chiropractic college president in North America. Subsequently, it was endorsed by the World Chiropractic Alliance, the International Chiropractors Association, the American Chiropractic Association, the World Federation of Chiropractic, and numerous other chiropractic organizations.

The reason it was so overwhelmingly approved is that it managed to create a definition of chiropractic that was inclusive rather than exclusive. It did not limit the profession to treatment of musculoskeletal conditions, nor did it prohibit that practice purpose.

In reading over the ACC Paradigm, as well as the ACC's mission, I was struck by how it mirrors the mission of RCS (Research & Clinical Science). Specifically, the ACC's mission (according to information on its website) is to:

**Enhance chiropractic education and scholarly activity.

**Organize, promote and sponsor research relevant to chiropractic education and practice.

**Develop and implement mechanisms to affect health care policy, related public opinion, and interdisciplinary relationships.

**Foster professionalism and ethical conduct.

**Increase public awareness and utilization of chiropractic education and care.

**Foster development of a multicultural and inclusive profession.

The mission of RCS is to “Educate, train and equip chiropractors with the latest objective health outcomes assessment tools and procedures, and link participants through the largest population, web-based health outcomes project in the history of the profession.”

In doing that, RCS will most certainly:

**Enhance chiropractic scholarly activity. In fact, it will create an entire community of clinical investigators -- all of whom will be approved by an independent Institutional Review Board and monitored to ensure they meet scientific and ethical standards.

**Promote research relevant to chiropractic education and practice. The research conducted by RCS will be the largest population-based clinical study on chiropractic and its impact on health and wellness ever conducted. It will produce the kind of scientific evidence we need to improve the quality of care we provide patients and prove the efficacy and safety of chiropractic.

**Develop and implement mechanisms to affect health care policy, related public opinion, and interdisciplinary relationships. Once we have irrefutable evidence about chiropractic's far-reaching benefits, that evidence will help shape health care policy, and create a positive image of chiropractic in the minds of the public and other health care providers.

**Foster professionalism and ethical conduct. As clinical investigators, RCS doctors will be guided by the highest standards use of evidence-based care. Their professionalism and ethics will be scrutinized by RCS and an independent IRB panel and be beyond reproach.

**Increase public awareness and utilization of chiropractic education and care. It’s not enough to say “trust me ...  chiropractic works.” We have to have the evidence to say “Here's the scientific proof that chiropractic can improve your life.” RCS will conduct an aggressive global campaign to make the research results accessible and understandable to the public.

**Foster development of a multicultural and inclusive profession. The RCS panel is a living model of the kind of multicultural and inclusive community that can be brought together to work for the good of chiropractic. RCS doctors will represent the largest possible array of nationalities, as well as techniques and practice purposes.

The parallels between RCS and the ACC doesn’t stop with our missions. They are reflected in the way in which both of us view chiropractic.

The ACC Paradigm states:

-- The purpose of chiropractic is to optimize health.

-- Chiropractic is concerned with the preservation and restoration of health, and focuses particular attention on the subluxation.

-- A subluxation is evaluated, diagnosed, and managed through the use of  chiropractic procedures based on the best available rational and empirical evidence.

-- Direct access chiropractic care is integral to everyone's health care regimen.

-- Doctors of chiropractic advise and educate patients and communities in structural and spinal hygiene and healthful living practices.

That is a very broad and far-reaching vision of chiropractic, one that is shared by RCS. Our research is aimed at proving the hypothesis that, as the ACC puts it, chiropractic can “optimize health” and “is integral to everyone’s health care regimen.” Our research is not limited to proving the ability of spinal manipulation to relieve back pain, or that chiropractic care costs less than medical treatment for musculoskeletal conditions.

Instead, we are looking at the large picture to determine exactly how subluxations affect key indicators of health and wellness; how adjustments to correct subluxation impact specific health issues (from asthma to hypertension); to what extent chiropractic care influences a person's quality of life.

Over the past two years, we at RCS have worked to put together the research infrastructure necessary to complete our lofty mission. We’ve designed a sophisticated Internet-based data collection system capable of compiling data from hundreds of thousands of subjects throughout the world -- yet it’s as easy for doctors to use as a pen and paper! It can correlate both subjective findings from the “Self Reported Quality of Life” study the volunteer completes, and objective data from the doctor's examination. Since each doctor is free to provide the same type of examination usually given new patients, the range of test results will be extensive, giving us numerous data points.

RCS has also put together an impressive International Scientific Advisory Panel that will analyze the data and prepare research papers for submission to major peer-reviewed journals.

We take our mission seriously, and we're proud that it’s so closely aligned with the ACC mission and Paradigm. We look forward to earning the same kind of widespread support from the profession and making an equally important contribution to the future of our profession.

(David A. Jackson, DC is chief executive officer of Research and Clinical Science -- RCS -- a private sector research program exploring issues of subluxation correction and chiropractic care as they relate to health and wellness. Previously, he served as president of the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance and Creating Wellness Alliance and was owner/operator of several private practice offices in California and Idaho that specialized in high-volume, family wellness-based care. For a free, no-obligation information packet about RCS, call 800-909-1354 or 480-303-1694, or visit the RCS website at www.rcsprogram.com. Doctors of chiropractic may log on to a special limited-access area of the site by using the username DC2 and password RESEARCH.)