In this post, we are featuring another ChiroSecure Live Event by Dr. Stu Hoffman, with his guest Dr. Susan Roecker, who has completed at Options for Animals College of Animal Chiropractic, and who is currently working at the Animal Medical Center of Mid-America, which is part of the Humane Society of Missouri.
This live event was pretty unique as they discussed primarily about animal chiropractic – the benefits of chiropractic treatment to animals, the limitations, the future of the profession, among others.
Why ChiroSecure Live Event featured a discussion on animal chiropractic? Dr. Stu Hoffman said, “I wanted to get that out to our audience today because, at Chiro Secure, we do get a lot of calls from doctors wanting to know number one, can I adjust animals? If I adjust animals am I covered? Do I need separate coverage? Do I need certification?”
In essence, this particular live event discussion tries to address those questions.
So, without further ado, here’s the gist of that live event:
The history of animal adjusting
Dr. Susan said it all started by two influential individuals in the history of chiropractic namely D.D. Palmer and B.J. Palmer, who were also doing animal chiropractic at the same time. In fact, she said, “they had put up a school until the end of World War II, but they lost funding and lost interest in that so they went ahead and closed the schools.”
“Then, it wasn’t until Doctor Sharon Willoughby had graduated from Palmer and she wanted to start her own school. So, she developed her own school in, I think, 1988. It was the ABCA at that point, American Veterinary Chiropractic Association. They rebranded that a little later to be Options for Animals,” she added.
The approach applied in animal chiropractic
When asked about the chiropractic approach for animals, Dr. Susan said, “I would say predominantly it’s more of a straight chiropractic as far as what we’re taught in the schools just because with our scope being an issue in different states we have to curtail it to chiropractic itself.”
“I’m sure if the scope was expanded to cover all the other services that chiropractors are used to using in the animal world, then we would probably pursue that more than just straight chiropractic,” she added.
The challenges of animal adjusting
From the discussion, they tackled also about a number of challenges that chiropractic adjustment face, including:
- The legal limitations as there are currently different rules and regulations across different states in the U.S. For instance, Iowa and Arkansas do not allow animal adjustments;
- Other states require chiropractors who adjust animals to be under the supervision of a veterinarian whether it’s direct or indirect;
- And then, there are other states where there’s no limitations or guidelines for animal chiropractors
Addressing the challenges and the future of animal chiropractic
So, what future that lies ahead for animal chiropractors? How to address those challenges mentioned? Here are some important insights from the discussion:
- Educating chiropractors about the issues with the laws and the issues that their fellow chiropractors are facing when trying to treat animals is a big part of that.
- Organizations like the Missouri Chiropractic Physicians Association can play a big role for the advancement in this field. The MCPA for instance, Dr. Susan explained, provides support “as long as we’re treating animals by the law, then they’re going to support us whether it’s if we need legal support or financial and all that stuff.”
- For chiropractors who call ChiroSecure asking for coverage to take care of animals, here’s a good news: ChiroSecure have it. Dr. Stu said, “ChiroSecure offers the most that’s available that I’m aware of at 100,000/300,000.”
Important thing to note about the insurance coverage at ChiroSecure
Dr. Stu emphasized that chiropractors should “have an understanding that just because you buy something, it’s not blanket coverage. People have led us for this very issue because we tell them, “Okay, you’re in Illinois. There are certain provisions I can’t guarantee you that what you’re doing is legal. You have to go to your state board and make sure you’re following the rules and regulations set forth by them.” Well, I’m going to go to a company that doesn’t care. Well, they don’t get that that company will tell you they don’t care, but you’re still only covered. You’ve got to read your policy with what’s legal and inside your scope or practice.”
Watch the whole live event video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlPUKITcoSc
For more questions about chiropractic for animals, contact ChiroSecure at: (866) 802-4476