Dr. Allan Horowitz, published newspaper article, The Liberal, Copyright February 10, 1988
QUESTION: I have read your articles for many years in The Liberal. Some I have found to be very interesting, others quite boring. I don’t mean that in the negative sense. It’s just that I don’t find it interesting to read about things that don’t really pertain to me or my health.
I want to ask you a question that does pertain to me and everyone else who wants to be and stay healthy. Is it important to go to a chiropractor on a regular basis to have ‘spinal maintenance’ done?
My chiropractor says it is important. Yet I don’t recall you ever stressing it in your columns. I was told that having your spine ‘loosened’ periodically will prevent future problems. Can I please have your opinion?
ANSWER: I also believe that having your spine ‘loosened’ once in a while will prevent spinal-related disorders in some patients. I did not say that everyone should have it done. I did not say you will die without having it done.
I did say that some people should have a spinal mobilization treatment once in a while if they are interested in preventing certain types of spinal problems. Let me expand on this.
If you pull a muscle in your back and you have back pain for a week and then you heal fully and the pain is gone and all your motions are full again, and if you have not had a similar problem before, you would be considered a low risk for having a recurrence of this problem.
This type of patient would probably not benefit greatly from any ongoing chiropractic manipulations. If, however, you are the type who always complains of stiffness in your lower back, are stiff when getting out of bed in the mornings, stiff after sitting in the car for awhile etc., and just can’t seem to loosen your spine by doing exercises, and a chiropractic manipulation has worked previously to increase your spinal flexibility, then you might consider having that type of treatment done once every couple of months, just to keep things loose.
In this type of patient, the treatments will certainly keep the spine flexible, and will therefore lessen the chances of certain types of mechanical back injuries which are due to lack of full spinal motion.
The reason I don’t mention, or stress this philosophy in my columns is because this is not the place to attempt to convert people to the ‘chiropractic’ way of thinking.
Every dentist knows that if people brush their teeth three times a day, and floss after every meal, then their teeth will be a lot healthier. But, who wants to listen to that dentist continually spouting his dental knowledge and boring people with his recommendations?
Just as it makes perfectly good sense to brush and floss, so does it make good sense to ‘loosen’ your spinal joints. It is not absolutely necessary in order to maintain your health, and not even recommended for some people, but for others it has proved to be beneficial.
The Liberal newspaper has given me a good forum to discuss health issues of concern to many people. In my columns I often make recommendations, but reading about a chiropractor who advises people to have their spines manipulated a few times a year (just to be safe) is similar to reading an article written by a dentist who tells his readers to floss and brush several times a day to ensure healthy gums and teeth.
It is certainly the truth, but he is also writing with a bit of a bias because he sees first-hand the pros and cons of following that advice.
In my case, I prefer not to espouse the chiropractic philosophy in my columns, because even though everything I write is factual, how do you know I am not just trying to make everyone a ‘believer’?