Journal of the American Medical Association 5/20/98: the study's author, Stanford University researcher John A. Astin, Ph.D., surveyed more than 1,000 randomly selected people throughout the United States and found that 40% of the respondents reported using some form of alternative health care during the past year, including chiropractic. Those using alternative medicine were no more dissatisfied with or distrustful of conventional medicine than nonusers. Among all respondents who reported being highly satisfied with their conventional practitioners, more than one-third also used alternative therapies. He also reported that users of alternative medicine tend to be better educated and have a more holistic approach to health than those who use only conventional medicine.

New England Journal of Medicine 1993;328(4):246-52: the study's author, Eisenberg, M.D., surveyed 1539 people with medical problems occurring in the previous year and found that there were more visits to unconventional providers than to general practice MD's in the year of 1990. For 5 of the 10 most commonly cited medical conditions, they were more likely to seek unconventional care than just traditional medical care. There were more visits to unconventional providers (such as chiropractors) in the entire year: 425 million vs 388 million. 1 out of 3 Americans used some unconventional care and spent $14 billion on it. (The highest use was by non-African-American persons aged 25 to 49 with college educations and incomes greater than $35,000 per year).

Annals of Internal Medicine 1997;127(1):61-69: the study's author, Eisenberg, M.D., noted that more than 70% of the patients who use alternative treatments never mention them to their medical doctors. He goes on say to his medical colleagues that they must address the challenge of discussing alternative treatments with patients because patients are using alternative treatments whether traditional medicine likes it or not.

American Family Physician 1996; Nov 15: 2205-2212: the study's author, Gordon, M.D., reports that since Eisenberg's landmark article, the use of alternative medicine has... increased to more than 40% of the US population... It's important to integrate aspects of alternative medicine into family practice... in less than a generation the approach and techniques currently called "alternative" will be an integral part of practice of all family physicians.

American Medical News 1997; April 7: 13-18: the author, Shelton D., reports that the AMA recognizes the demand for alternative health care. This has been forced on them by the public's growing demand for access to alternative care options and the health care market's search for ways to reduce costs. This mainstreaming trend has allowed alternative medicine to lose much of its cult-fad status and forced the medical establishment to take it seriously. Chiropractic is the largest category of alternative care with 50,000 D.C.s in the US. The health care system of the 21^st century will have conventional and alternative providers working side by side.

Fundamentals of Complementary & Alternative Medicine: editor Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D. says "It's a tremendous consumer movement, a social phenomenon & a reality in health care today." (referring to alternative treatments, including chiropractic)

In other words... we have reached critical mass. We have become a tremendous consumer movement. The public's mind over what health care should be has been changing over the past five decades; people have realized that they can ask questions and demand answers, and that they can and should make their own health care choices.

I have borrowed the critical mass concept from some articles written by Gerard Clum, D.C., President of Life Chiropractic College West in San Lorenzo , California in 1997. I also heard him give a speech on Critical Mass at the Orange County Chiropractic Society. Here is a summary of the articles and speech:

Webster's Dictionary defines critical mass as the "minimum amount of fissile material that can sustain a nuclear chain reaction under a given set of conditions."

Everything in life requires a critical mass for change to occur. Like the changes in the civil rights movement and the women's movement. The reality is that the nation began to become uncomfortable with how we treated race and gender. When that was recognized, the public demanded changes and they happened.

In the 1970's, Ken Keyes wrote The Hundredth Monkey in which he detailed a study in the South Pacific about the habits of a species of monkey. It seems a given pod of monkeys began to develop a method of finding, cleaning and eating a form of sweet potato. As the behavior spread in the immediate area, it reached what Keyes called "the l00th Monkey." Keyes was referring to the point where there was a concentration of monkeys, a critical mass, which demonstrated a specific behavior. When this point was reached, monkeys that were removed from the original group began to demonstrate the same behavior, never having seen it performed before in any way.

Enough of the public has been exposed to what we do and why we do it to reach critical mass. As in the examples cited above, when critical mass is achieved, changes in attitudes will occur. We have achieved a level of market penetration and public acceptance that has translated to the entire population regardless of whether that population has ever had a direct experience with chiropractic care. The public appreciates the natural, non-drug approach of chiropractic. They have awakened to the concept that the body has a tremendous healing capacity. The simple logic of structure and function is obvious to the public.

Through my web page, and of course through my chiropractic practice, I strive to reach as many people as possible and educate them on the benefits of chiropractic. The conditions are right for a chiropractic chain reaction, and I believe that it is beginning to happen. I am enthusiastic about chiropractic as my life's work, and my way of helping people and enriching their lives; I hope that I have communicated that enthusiasm and excitement to you, the reader.

-Kevin G. Parker, D.C.