Dear Doctor:

Another popular medication has been yanked from the shelves because the risks outweighed the benefits – Bextra is no longer available, joining Vioxx on the banned list, having been linked to heart disease, stroke and severe skin disorders.

Plucking out particular drugs because they pass some imaginary threshold of risk is like trying to kill cockroaches one at a time – it works for the one you get, but it’s a futile task unless you address the underlying causes of their proliferation.

In the case of painkilling drugs with harsh and potentially fatal side effects, the truth is only too clear – we must re-direct health consumers’ attention away from the treatment of conditions and toward the establishment of healthy lifestyles, decreasing the need for medicine whenever possible, reducing the probability of iatrogenic injury.

Finding safe and natural means to get healthy and stay healthy is becoming a high priority in our society, and chiropractors can seize this opportunity to educate people, contribute to the paradigm shift that is already underway, and lead the field as proponents of wellness, a far superior model to the disease/treatment crisis intervention system that has failed so miserably over the last thirty years.

Many of these often-toxic agents are typically administered for problems with which chiropractors have traditionally achieved great successes, and while chiropractic is more than merely a way to relieve pain, it is unmistakable that it does just that for millions of people. The question is, who have you told about that recently?

When we stop to think about it, advising people that they can feel better and improve their quality of life with the chiropractic/wellness lifestyle is more than good business – it’s a responsibility that we who know the power and value of our services must accept. Tell your community, in no uncertain terms, about the magnitude of chiropractic care, and share the related wellness information they need – it will not only build your reputation and your practice, but it may just add the hundredth monkey required to push the public’s awareness over the top, for the betterment of our entire culture.

Dennis Perman DC, for The Masters Circle

PS “The Secrets of Exceptional Chiropractic Practices” seminar was a huge success in Chicago – in addition to the inspiration of Guy Riekeman, national coding expert John Davila explained how to give carriers exactly what they need to pay you fairly, ethically and expediently – for more information or to register for the California or metro-NY event, please call 800-451-4514, or go to