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I was honored to write the foreword to Todd Waters’ children’s book, “Tell the Chiropractic Story!”; for it is a story that needs to be told. It MUST be told… again and again and again.

Below is a copy of my message. – TL

A Note to Grownups

It’s been said that Chiropractic started from “simple beginnings.” It did. The beauty is that it has remained “simple” for over 121 years, because at its core Chiropractic is not about a healing profession, but a healing principle.

The human body is more complex than we will ever know, yet caring for it needn’t be. It’s simple.

We all have within us an innate intelligence that knows how to beat our heart, digest our food, eliminate our waste, and heal our cuts and scrapes — all without one thought on our part. The simplicity in caring for it is to sustain and encourage an environment in which it can flourish, unimpeded.

Unfortunately, our health care culture with all of its technological advances and gadgetry has loftily supplanted itself over this beautiful simplicity. When the body is sick, hurting, or exhibiting disease, medicine intervenes and overrides the innate intelligence by chemically manipulating the body’s physiology or selectively removing its anatomy. The problem with this approach is that it misses the mark.

Our country spends more money on medicine than any other nation, yet it still ranks as one of the sickest. Politicians may debate over health care reform, but true “reform” must shift the conversation from “WHO is going to pay for it” to “what are we going to pay FOR?”

Chiropractic offers an approach that respects and allows for the full expression of innate intelligence. Together with healthy lifestyle choices, Chiropractic works to keep the body in a state of “normal operations” — a state of thriving and strengthening, not surviving and weakening. And while medicine will always have its place to rescue when injury and disease overcome the body’s limitations, it is wrong to rely on it to make or keep us healthy.

Even though Chiropractic is the second largest health care profession in the world, it remains underutilized. Why? Follow the money. The pharmaceutical industry has vaults of financial resources at its disposal. Their ability to influence and shape public perception of health and healing runs deep. And so while Chiropractors may not have the funds to buy the minds of people, we can educate them, one at a time. This is why I am so excited about Todd Waters’ Tell the Chiropractic Story. Not only do the illustrations and easy language stir within me my love for children’s storybooks, but the message ignites my passion for educating the public — both young and old — about a truth they need to reconnect with.

As a father of eight children, it’s safe to say that I’ve read many children’s books. Some again and again and again. I’m certain this book will find a place in my family’s favorites, and those of my patients’, to be read for years to come. It’s time to “tell the story,” because as Chiropractic’s developer, Dr. B.J. Palmer, used to assert, “It’s as simple as that!”

Thomas R. Lamar, D.C.
host of Spinal Column Radio