Marion Belote, age 91, drove her car into my clinic parking area and made known her presence to my receptionist for the umpteenth time since her first visit in 1952. She had come for her regular periodic adjustment. Under Medicare that means once per month.
At the time I first became interested in going to chiropractic college I heard the old adage, "Chiropractic adds years to life and life to years." But it took my experience with Marion and some others, and many years of practice to prove it to myself.
Marion was in apparent good health when she began her visits to my office over 38 years ago; she had already been under chiropractic care a long time before this, so she already knew the advantages of adjustments given on a preventative basis. She knew from past experience that prevention is the best approach to maintaining good health. She is right. During the 38 years I have had the pleasure of serving her, I have never known her to have any serious illnesses other than cataracts, which required surgery. Recent x-rays (required yearly by Medicare) show she has very little demineralization of the bones of her spine as seen in a great majority of females, even as young as age 50.
Marion is a widow of many years and lives alone, doing all her own cooking, house cleaning, and some outside work in the yard. She exhibits an excellent memory of her past experiences and local history of her hometown. She is a good conversationalist and can converse on a number of subjects, as well as current events. She never ceases to amaze me.
At present she is my oldest patient. Because of her past adjustments and the condition of her spine, I have no hesitancy in giving her a regular chiropractic adjustment from cervicals through lumbars.
Marion was not born into a family of longevity; her mother died at age 66 and her father at age 42.
Marion believes in chiropractic maintenance and says, "When I hurt my back in 1948 it resulted in a slight permanent injury. I went to the chiropractor and he got me going again. Dr. Waddell came to Bainbridge, Georgia, in 1952. I went to him on several occasions when I had trouble with my back and shoulders.
"After several years of frequent visits, Dr. Waddell suggested that I begin seeing him on a monthly basis. I don't remember exactly when I started on this basis, but it has been a lot of years. I am 91-years-old, probably Dr. Waddell's oldest patient, and I am sure the one who has been going to him the longest. My blood pressure is always good, usually about 140/70 (most say I look like I am in my 60s). I don't have to see a medical doctor very often; I saw one twice last year. I believe my regular adjustments with Dr. Waddell is the reason my health is so good and I have lived so long, even living longer than all of my immediate family.
"I would highly recommend chiropractic adjustments to anyone."
Joseph P. Waddell, D.C.
Bainbridge, Georgia
Many relevant diagnostic signs are not performed deliberately by the examiner or by the patient at the examiner’s direction. They are observed as the patient reacts to their condition. Fortin’s finger sign, Minor’s sign, and Vanzetti’s sign are three examples of this principle.
On Feb. 1, 2024, two more legislators – John R. Carter (R-Texas) and Robert “Bob” Good (R-Va.) – co-sponsored the Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act of 2023, bringing the co-sponsor total to 155, two more than the total achieved over the entire two-year congressional cycle in which identical legislation last appeared (2021-22).
While working at the Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, N.M., one of the primary care physicians stated that imaging every patient prior to receiving chiropractic was not medically necessary. It was at that point I reconsidered the need for the imaging of every patient to avoid malpractice.
