The trend toward wellness in chiropractic is going strong. At the Parker Seminars in Las Vegas last month, I attended a Wellness Revolution Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Among the inductees were three chiropractic leaders: Fabrizio Mancini, DC, president of Parker College of Chiropractic and Parker Seminars; Bob Hoffman, DC, CEO of The Masters Circle; and Patrick Gentempo, DC, cofounder of the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance. Paul Zane Pilzer, author of The Wellness Revolution and The New Wellness Revolution (Wiley Press), founded this Hall of Fame to honor those who have made significant contributions in this area.

Any discussion of this topic should begin by defining the term, "wellness." In Hoffman's book, Discover Wellness (Center Path Publishing), Gentempo defines the term as "the degree to which an individual experiences health and vitality in any dimension of life." I spoke to another DC who says that for his definition, he thinks of "health" as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), which describes it as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." I especially like the WHO definition, because it implies that rather than being content with the absence of disease, people should take an active role in pursuing wellness.

More people are doing exactly that, which means a great opportunity exists for you to be the wellness authority in your community. The fact that chiropractic is so well represented in what is the inaugural class of 15 members of the Hall of Fame reinforces my belief that the wellness craze in chiropractic is here to stay. Pilzer says that wellness is now a $500 billion industry. Get a piece of this pie by taking steps to focus your practice more in this area. You should be the professional that the residents of your community turn to in their quest for overall good health. That means looking into expanding your practice into areas where you can help patients take a more active role in their health, such as rehab and nutrition. This will expand the types of patients that come to your practice, and of course, will result in more revenue.

Continuing negative stories that you see in broadcast and print media about conventional medicine will also result in more people looking for help in their pursuit of wellness. For example, one recent news item reported that drug makers have failed to begin more than 70% of promised studies on products already approved for market.¹ According to the news item, the FDA approves some drugs with outstanding safety concerns on the promise that the maker will conduct postmarket studies to determine if the medication causes any side effects. When I see an article like that, I wonder how consumers can feel safe using many of these prescription drugs when the FDA can't even get safety studies completed on the drugs.

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News items like that—and other factors such as the fact that people are living longer because they are taking better care of themselves—mean you are in a prime position to help people take an active role in staying healthy without drugs or surgery. This magazine and events like the Parker Seminars will help you choose the top wellness products.

Another Hall of Fame inductee was Frank Yanowitz, MD, a cardiologist who founded a health and fitness institute to help people prevent disease. Even the Western medical profession is beginning to embrace the wellness concept. Most importantly, members of the public are catching on. Be there for them as they join the revolution.

Daryl Lubinsky

Reference

1. Health Highlights: Feb. 1, 2007. Available at: http://health.yahoo.com/news/171542. Accessed February 9, 2007.