When the Beijing Olympics was held in 2008, the U.S. Olympic health care team sent 62 medical and allied health professionals to look after their Olympic delegates. Part of the 62-man team was four chiropractors. It is also reported that other Western countries included chiropractors and therapists on their medical teams. Will the arrival of these Western chiropractors see more Chinese people embrace this form of treatment?
Currently, there are a few chiropractors that can be traced at key Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Their number is quite few considering that the billion-people nation is a good market for chiro practice.
Chiropractic Care One Step at a Time
With only a handful of licensed chiropractors working in China, the country presents a great opportunity for chiropractors. In order to bring the practice to the country, Dr. Corey Rodnick decided to start small. He first introduced chiropractic in Zigong, Sichuan. With over 6 million people, Zigong is teeming with industrial facilities, mining operations, learning institutions and vast enterprises. With the population growing at an expeditious rate, the city’s hospitals are in need of health care providers and professionals. In response to this demand, Dr. Rodnick proposed to the Chinese government that chiropractic be included in the services that hospitals in Zigong provide. After eight years, his efforts paid off. The city is now looking for chiropractors who will work in their hospitals.
Like Dr. Rodnick, Dr. Lee Atkinson also felt that China should be introduced to chiropractic care. After working for 30 years in Michigan, Dr. Atkinson went to Sichuan to start her chiropractic care practice. The opportunity allowed her to present the wonders of natural and drugless healing to Chinese doctors who had no idea about chiropractic care and what it does to our bodies. Her takeaways in this experience are the fulfillments chiropractic care brings when rendering services that will help alleviate the pain of patients without unnecessary surgeries and harmful drugs.
For those who wish to bring chiropractic care to countries where it isn’t accessible yet, Dr. Atkinson suggests to know more about the culture of the country or place, look into the living conditions, study the language and assess yourselves whether or not you can live with the food or climate.
As chiropractic care starts to become available in some parts of China, everyone, regardless of social status, can now manage their pain without heavily relying on drugs or surgeries.