Presenting the Alternatives

The recent death of Coretta Scott King—wife of Martin Luther King, Jr—has moved the mainstream media to give more coverage to natural health treatments. One week after King died this past February at an alternative medicine clinic in Mexico, where she was battling advanced ovarian cancer, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times ran separate lengthy feature articles about the public’s growing use of alternative and complementary medicines.

The February 2, 2006 New York Times article, “When Trust in Doctors Erodes, Other Treatments Fill the Void” highlighted actual patients who have used natural-medicine specialists as their primary-care doctors. One patient visited 20 medical doctors for complaints such as blurred vision and balance problems, but none of the doctors could help her. She then visited a naturopath, who found that metal exposure was a possible cause of the symptoms. The patient’s health improved greatly after she took vitamins, herbs, and a drug to treat lead poisoning.

Two days after The New York Times article appeared, the Los Angeles Times published, “Life and Death on the Fringes of Medicine.” The article featured patients who had success with alternative therapies, and some who did not.

It is always good to see the mainstream media cover the benefits of alternative medicine. But neither of these articles mentioned chiropractic, showing that we still have work to do in spreading positive messages about the profession. Programs such as the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress’ print and radio ads promoting chiropractic are a great start, but we still have a ways to go.

Besides not mentioning chiropractic, portions of the articles unfortunately depicted alternative health care in an unflattering light. The Los Angeles Times article featured a cancer patient who saw a “nutrition consultant without a degree.” This consultant instructed the patient to hold various bottles of pills while the consultant swirled a “dowsing rod” around the patient. The consultant said the movement of the rod determined how well each different treatment would work.

It is disappointing that the articles chose to highlight such unlicensed individuals as the representatives for alternative health care, when plenty of licensed professionals such as chiropractors, acupuncturists, and nutritionists—and their success stories—could have been featured.

But on a positive note, the articles mentioned that people are moving away from conventional medicine, are using more alternative therapies, and are taking their health into their own hands by eating better and exercising more.

So although the articles could have presented a more flattering picture of alternative therapies, it is good to see people thinking about better alternatives for their health care. I hope more chiropractors get involved with their state and national associations to continue spreading the good message of chiropractic. CP

Daryl Lubinsky
dlubinsky@ascendmedia.com