What is the role of allopathic and holistic medicine in chiropractic medicine?
DePuydt:In my opinion, it is imperative that both allopathic and holistic practitioners develop a wellness format that addresses the total health and fitness of the patient, not just a presenting symptom, like low back pain. It would be, in my opinion, negligent for me to treat such a patient with just prescription medications and nothing else. The same is true of a chiropractor who treats with just adjustments or an acupuncturist who only uses acupuncture. A patient with low back pain has other issues than just pain that need to be evaluated. Why is the pain occurring? Does the patient need to be referred to a physical therapist to deal with the underlying instability of the low back muscles and posture issues or a chiropractor for adjustments and stabilization of the spine? If the patient is having radicular pain, an MRI, epidural injections and possibly massage and acupuncture need to be added. Does the patient smoke? Explaining to a patient that nicotine causes atherosclerotic vasc
