Seeking an alternative healthcare provider.

Hello, my name is Dr. Aaron Humberston, I am a chiropractor at West Linn Chiropractic in West Linn, Oregon and serve as adjunct faculty at Western States Chiropractic College.

There are many health care providers to choose from these days. With the relatively increased demand and expansion of alternative health care services into mainstream medicine, it can be a daunting task to find out which provider and which service is right for you. My goal is to inform the public the truth about alternative and traditional medicine to allow them to make well informed choices regarding their care. I believe co-existence of both approaches are in the best interest of the patient. I offer a few tips on what and what not to look for in a provider below:

1) Find a good doctor before you are in pain! You wouldn't wait for toothache before you find a reputable dentist, would you? Do not wait until you get neck or back pain to find a reputable chiropractor. Being in pain puts you in a more vulnerable position physically, financially, and emotionally. When you are in pain, you want to get better as soon as possible and so you should know the right person to go to right away. Have these relationships established before you are injured. Websites like Yelp.com, wellness.com, and Chirohub.com can help you find reputable doctors. People use these websites to discuss their experiences with certain doctors. Also, talk to you friends, neighbors, and relatives and see whom they recommend.

2) Seek service from an alternative provider that works with traditional medicine, not against it, and vice-versa. There is a long complicated history of competition between these two groups and your health care should not be compromised by old rivalries, biases, ego's, or doctors' unwillingness to work together.

3) Be skeptical of anyone who offers or promotes a "cure" especially without the standardized process of differential diagnosis, interviewing, and examination. While many conditions typically resolve with treatment over a standard period of time, each patient's response to treatment varies. No one provider can honestly predict if there will be an absolute recovery from an ailment or if an ailment will return in the future.

4) Though multiple treatments may be necessary, it is advisable to stay away from those who offer discounted pricing for purchasing multiple treatments in advance. Again, if your body recovers quicker than usual, you can be stuck into paying for services not needed and/or retroactively billed higher fees or penalties for services rendered when you withdrawal from participation in the "plan". In addition, you could be continually billed once those pre-purchased treatments are used, all while assuming you still have treatment credits left!

5) Beware of scare tactics. Unfortunately, some believe you must scare the public to get them to take their health seriously! This includes taking x-rays, pointing out "pinched nerves" and claiming they affect some vital organ. The nervous system interconnects in many ways and neurophysiological stress can contribute to adverse effects on internal organs (i.e. stress induced irritable bowel syndrome) However, there is little evidence to show a direct cause of any particular disease on any particular organ through mild neurological compression, impairment, or "subluxation" nor is there proof that the practitioner can resolve them of a specific nerve interference.

Much alternative medicine relies on philosophical principles, anecdotal evidence, and a long history of patient satisfaction rather than concrete scientific studies. There is a HUGE difference between discussing a negative health possibility versus promoting it as absolute fact with dire consequences. I have seen many amazing yet unexplainable results from treatment and I hope someday the science catches up to the things we already experience and perhaps already know.

Medicine is always changing (that is why it is called the "practice" of medicine) and sometimes as practitioners we need to think outside the box to find a cure for an ailment even though it strays from exact science. I just believe a patient should be aware when that is, especially when it is a service that they are paying for from a person whom they trust.

Unfortunately, research in alternative health care is behind due to organizational and political rivalries and monopolization of the health care market that shut out alternative medicine from receiving federal funding for research. The first federal research grant went to a chiropractic college less than seven years ago!

6) Watch out for fancy gimmicks. Some practitioners use machinery and scanning devices at health fairs, jog-a-thons, or other events. These devices merely provide a visual for patients as many are unfamiliar with medical lingo. They are not intended to diagnose any specific disease or malfunction. Any practitioner that utilizes such devices and touts it as evidence of any condition without doing a thorough orthopedic examination, physical, or health history, is merely speculating.

Some practitioners offer different forms of therapy and products to buy such as oxygen therapy, special drinking water, healing magnets, or fancy exercise machines. Many of these gimmicks show little to no evidence of having any health improving effect on the human body. Even for the little effect they might have, they are simply not worth the money. If you feel skeptical about the product or therapy, chances are your gut is right.

7) Just like politics and religion, people have many different opinions on the subject matter and want to be right. Doctors are no different regarding health care and the human body regardless of how many or what initials come after their name! Never be afraid to pursue or persuaded against getting a second opinion, and discussing those opinions with different providers. A good physician is one who is not afraid to admit they could be wrong. But most of all, don't be afraid to ask questions about your care!

I hope this information is helpful in your search.

Yours in health,

Dr. Aaron Humberston D.C.