The power of the chiropractic adjustment for the specific purpose of removal of vertebral subluxation is something sacred and unique to our profession. The specificity applied and the care taken by the chiropractor when delivering this adjustment, as well as the possibility for the human body to accept this adjustment for the appropriation of self-healing is something that has decreased in value more and more every year. This is partly due to the practices of certain operations in the chiropractic profession. Operations such as The Joint® have been lowering the perception of the value of the adjustment since 1999. For example, they currently offer a monthly plan that gives a patient the right to 4 adjustments for a total payment of $50, for a price of $12 per adjustment.
On Tuesday July 28, 2015, Life University hosted a doctor from the “$20 Chiropractic” chain of clinics in our cafeteria. This chain currently operates 5 clinics in the greater Atlanta area. This clinic was in Life University cafeteria to recruit 14 quarters worth of unsuspecting students to expand their chain and open their own clinic under the umbrella of “$20 Chiropractic”.
When a member of the Board of Trustees for Life University was asked in a public discussion about this tolerance for the practice of decreasing the value of the chiropractic adjustment, she was either unable to address the claims due to ignorance or was unwilling to address them. Both possibilities are unacceptable. All administrators, faculty and staff - as well as the alumni and students - represent Life University. It is also true that Life University represents the administration, faculty, staff, alumni and students.
While we recognize that we cannot control how a chiropractor practices or charges for this specific adjustment, we contain enough integrity, congruency and conviction in our philosophy to point out something that devalues our profession and state our objection to such practices being represented by our institution.
The students and alumni no longer wish to be represented in a way that further devalues the chiropractic profession.
We believe that this practice of further devaluing the chiropractic adjustment for the specific purpose of removal of vertebral subluxation is severely hindering the potential growth of the chiropractic profession as a whole as well as the public perception of the adjustment’s true value. If this practice of devaluation is allowed to continue without objection, the value will simply be lowered over time until there is no value at all.
Therefore, it is the desire of the students and alumni of Life University and chiropractic institutions across the country that Life University and its administrators, faculty and staff to halt the promotion - within Life University - of all chiropractic organizations which devalue the chiropractic profession and the potentially vast positive effects of the chiropractic adjustment.
Life University is founded on Eight Core Proficiencies, the first two being Integrity and Leadership. “Integrity provides the underpinning for the responsible exercise of our rights and responsibilities as human beings. Integrity leads to empowerment and excellence, while a lack of integrity results in mediocrity. Life University teaches students how to manage personal integrity and function as valued citizens within the academic, healthcare and larger communities.” Life University and its administration need to be congruent with the organizations and companies it allows to infiltrate the walls of this campus and come near its students. Life University needs to hold itself to the same standards it holds each and every student, or it becomes hypocrisy in itself, not to be taken seriously.
Therefore, we believe it essential to the advancement of the chiropractic profession that we take necessary measures to ensure that the inherent value of our adjustments is not undervalued.
UPDATE: 24 hours after the release of this petition, we received the following from the President of Life University:
"Please post the following on my behalf.
To all concerned TORs:
I just learned of the presence of a group on campus advocating $20 adjustments. I am trying to run down how they were allowed to have a booth at Vendor's Day, but I can absolutely tell you this is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Life U. Anyone who knows me at all or has been in any of my classes and lectures knows that I am 100% opposed to this form of Chiropractic and believe it is an abomination to our profession. Many of these groups have tried to make appointments to meet me and plead their cases....I have refused to meet with them and will continue to speak out against anyone who devalues what we hold so dear.
You may sign a petition, but it won't make much difference as I will, with or without a petition, stop this whenever possible.
I must add that as students, you should not just stand up against this type of practice, but also commit to stop devaluing what we do by cracking joints and performing gross manipulations on friends in apartments and at parties, etc. Let's all use this experience to commit ourselves to the highest level of professionalism and expertise when it comes to the analysis and correction of subluxation and the impact we have on the nervous system.
Dr. Riekeman
President"
THEREFORE, it is the further purpose of this petition to request that The Joint® Midtown office be removed from the list of PEAK offices. We believe that in order for Life University to be congruent with the beliefs of its President (as well as the administration and students) and our strong opposition to The Joint®, its style of practice and its role in the devaluation of the chiropractic profession, there should be no opportunity for unsuspecting students to be participants in this organization.
The Level III - PEAK experience is arguably the single most important phase of a student's education. If the student is exposed to this abomination of the chiropractic profession, it is because the administration and clinic directors afforded them the opportunity to become a part of this franchise.
This petition is conducted by:
Matthew Blackmon and Steve Lako, December 2015 Doctor of Chiropractic graduating class.
Updates
August 4, 2015
We just hit 100 signatures and the message is clear. The Joint and these low-cost chains are dismantling the dignity of our profession while administration at Life University stares at their feet. Keep pushing because we refuse to let these corporate vultures turn our sacred work into a bargain bin service.
August 3, 2015
We hit 250 signatures and the rot at the heart of our profession is finally being exposed. The Joint and these predatory chains are treating our life-saving work like a cheap commodity while institutions turn a blind eye.
Reached 250 supporters
August 3, 2015
August 1, 2015
The momentum behind this movement proves that the profession is finally fed up with corporations like The Joint turning sacred care into a cheap commodity. We have sent a clear message to the Board of Trustees that their silence while predatory chains recruit our students is a disgrace that will no longer be ignored.
Reached 100 supporters
August 1, 2015
32 Comments
If a Joint opens up next to my office charging $19 an adjustment compared to my $50, then I'm changing my price to $65. Because patients will then see that one chiropractor is clearly devaluing what they offer!
For those of us who understand the impact of the nervous system on our day to day life, the impact a vertebral subluxation has on the nervous system and the time and effort to detect and correct vertebral subluxation, these kinds of practices are an insult to our founders and to ourselves. We will not eliminate this kind of nonsense if the schools enable it.
I whole heartedly back up this petition and every word stated under it's contents. Life University is supposed to be leading the way for the profession and is instead has continuing worsening board failure scores, practice management companies controlling their "business classes", professors not teaching and using their classrooms as marketing schemes for their own clinics, and now having $20 chiropractors recruiting recent grads. Where has the "integrity" the school was built on gone?
Our service is worth much more than the price of a large pizza. Enough is enough!
It saddens me that life university is promoting this when I have heard most of the professors and faculty condemn this behavior and blatant disregard for the power and quality of chiropractic.
9/23/15 Open Letter to the President of Life University Dr. Guy Riekeman President Life University Dr. Riekeman, First and foremost I would like to commend you on your leadership in becoming the largest chiropractic college in the world. That is an extraordinary accomplishment. Life has produced many fantastic chiropractors over the years and I am thrilled to have gotten to know several of your outstanding graduates through the years. I’m writing because I recently reviewed a petition posted by a few Life University students where comments were made referencing $20 type chiropractic adjustment facilities as devaluing the chiropractic adjustment and the profession. I also noticed the comments you made posted on that petition in support stating “I am 100% opposed to this form of Chiropractic and believe it is an abomination to our profession”. Further your comments “Many of these groups have tried to make appointments to meet me and plead their cases….I have refused to meet with them and will continue to speak out against anyone who devalues what we hold so dear.” Wow. After reading those comments I had to visit the Life University website and read your vision and mission statements. I have to say, I could not find anything on your website that I disagree with. I agree in principle based chiropractic best described by you as a “vitalistic partnership approach to health and wellness”. I agree and acknowledge the three interferences to the nervous system as you do including physical, chemical and emotional stress and the role of the Chiropractor to focus on and correct the vertebral subluxation allowing the body to function as innately intended. I did a bit more research and found several estimates that somewhere between 22-30 million people in the U.S. visit a Chiropractor at some point every year. At best estimates, that means less than 5% of the U.S population. Really? Chiropractic adjustment has been around in the U.S. for 120 years and still only
$20 adjustments are joke , as Kevin O'Leary would probably say "stop this madness "
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The power of the chiropractic adjustment for the specific purpose of removal of vertebral subluxation is something sacred and unique to our profession. The specificity applied and the care taken by the chiropractor when delivering this adjustment, as well as the possibility for the human body to accept this adjustment for the appropriation of self-healing is something that has decreased in value more and more every year. This is partly due to the practices of certain operations in the chiropractic profession. Operations such as The Joint® have been lowering the perception of the value of the adjustment since 1999. For example, they currently offer a monthly plan that gives a patient the right to 4 adjustments for a total payment of $50, for a price of $12 per adjustment.
On Tuesday July 28, 2015, Life University hosted a doctor from the “$20 Chiropractic” chain of clinics in our cafeteria. This chain currently operates 5 clinics in the greater Atlanta area. This clinic was in Life University cafeteria to recruit 14 quarters worth of unsuspecting students to expand their chain and open their own clinic under the umbrella of “$20 Chiropractic”.
When a member of the Board of Trustees for Life University was asked in a public discussion about this tolerance for the practice of decreasing the value of the chiropractic adjustment, she was either unable to address the claims due to ignorance or was unwilling to address them. Both possibilities are unacceptable. All administrators, faculty and staff - as well as the alumni and students - represent Life University. It is also true that Life University represents the administration, faculty, staff, alumni and students.
While we recognize that we cannot control how a chiropractor practices or charges for this specific adjustment, we contain enough integrity, congruency and conviction in our philosophy to point out something that devalues our profession and state our objection to such practices being represented by our institution.
The students and alumni no longer wish to be represented in a way that further devalues the chiropractic profession.
We believe that this practice of further devaluing the chiropractic adjustment for the specific purpose of removal of vertebral subluxation is severely hindering the potential growth of the chiropractic profession as a whole as well as the public perception of the adjustment’s true value. If this practice of devaluation is allowed to continue without objection, the value will simply be lowered over time until there is no value at all.
Therefore, it is the desire of the students and alumni of Life University and chiropractic institutions across the country that Life University and its administrators, faculty and staff to halt the promotion - within Life University - of all chiropractic organizations which devalue the chiropractic profession and the potentially vast positive effects of the chiropractic adjustment.
Life University is founded on Eight Core Proficiencies, the first two being Integrity and Leadership. “Integrity provides the underpinning for the responsible exercise of our rights and responsibilities as human beings. Integrity leads to empowerment and excellence, while a lack of integrity results in mediocrity. Life University teaches students how to manage personal integrity and function as valued citizens within the academic, healthcare and larger communities.” Life University and its administration need to be congruent with the organizations and companies it allows to infiltrate the walls of this campus and come near its students. Life University needs to hold itself to the same standards it holds each and every student, or it becomes hypocrisy in itself, not to be taken seriously.
Therefore, we believe it essential to the advancement of the chiropractic profession that we take necessary measures to ensure that the inherent value of our adjustments is not undervalued.
UPDATE: 24 hours after the release of this petition, we received the following from the President of Life University:
"Please post the following on my behalf.
To all concerned TORs:
I just learned of the presence of a group on campus advocating $20 adjustments. I am trying to run down how they were allowed to have a booth at Vendor's Day, but I can absolutely tell you this is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Life U. Anyone who knows me at all or has been in any of my classes and lectures knows that I am 100% opposed to this form of Chiropractic and believe it is an abomination to our profession. Many of these groups have tried to make appointments to meet me and plead their cases....I have refused to meet with them and will continue to speak out against anyone who devalues what we hold so dear.
You may sign a petition, but it won't make much difference as I will, with or without a petition, stop this whenever possible.
I must add that as students, you should not just stand up against this type of practice, but also commit to stop devaluing what we do by cracking joints and performing gross manipulations on friends in apartments and at parties, etc. Let's all use this experience to commit ourselves to the highest level of professionalism and expertise when it comes to the analysis and correction of subluxation and the impact we have on the nervous system.
Dr. Riekeman
President"
THEREFORE, it is the further purpose of this petition to request that The Joint® Midtown office be removed from the list of PEAK offices. We believe that in order for Life University to be congruent with the beliefs of its President (as well as the administration and students) and our strong opposition to The Joint®, its style of practice and its role in the devaluation of the chiropractic profession, there should be no opportunity for unsuspecting students to be participants in this organization.
The Level III - PEAK experience is arguably the single most important phase of a student's education. If the student is exposed to this abomination of the chiropractic profession, it is because the administration and clinic directors afforded them the opportunity to become a part of this franchise.
This petition is conducted by:
Matthew Blackmon and Steve Lako, December 2015 Doctor of Chiropractic graduating class.
Updates
August 4, 2015
We just hit 100 signatures and the message is clear. The Joint and these low-cost chains are dismantling the dignity of our profession while administration at Life University stares at their feet. Keep pushing because we refuse to let these corporate vultures turn our sacred work into a bargain bin service.
August 3, 2015
We hit 250 signatures and the rot at the heart of our profession is finally being exposed. The Joint and these predatory chains are treating our life-saving work like a cheap commodity while institutions turn a blind eye.
Reached 250 supporters
August 3, 2015
August 1, 2015
The momentum behind this movement proves that the profession is finally fed up with corporations like The Joint turning sacred care into a cheap commodity. We have sent a clear message to the Board of Trustees that their silence while predatory chains recruit our students is a disgrace that will no longer be ignored.
Reached 100 supporters
August 1, 2015
32 Comments
I worked for the joint for about a year after graduating. The group I worked for was pretty bad, and only cared about the bottom line. To be honest from an new grad associate perspective, you get more hands on, and get paid more from them than most. Now that I have my own practice, I do not like that model at all. Their rates are way to low, the docs are punishing their bodies. I felt I had great bragging rights the first time I adjusted 50+ patients in a day. Now at 10 patient day I make more than 3 times what that 50 patient day paid. I have way lower stress levels, and have much higher patient satisfaction. I actually love being a chiropractor. I hope this petition has serious impact.
If a Joint opens up next to my office charging $19 an adjustment compared to my $50, then I'm changing my price to $65. Because patients will then see that one chiropractor is clearly devaluing what they offer!
For those of us who understand the impact of the nervous system on our day to day life, the impact a vertebral subluxation has on the nervous system and the time and effort to detect and correct vertebral subluxation, these kinds of practices are an insult to our founders and to ourselves. We will not eliminate this kind of nonsense if the schools enable it.
I whole heartedly back up this petition and every word stated under it's contents. Life University is supposed to be leading the way for the profession and is instead has continuing worsening board failure scores, practice management companies controlling their "business classes", professors not teaching and using their classrooms as marketing schemes for their own clinics, and now having $20 chiropractors recruiting recent grads. Where has the "integrity" the school was built on gone?
Our service is worth much more than the price of a large pizza. Enough is enough!
It saddens me that life university is promoting this when I have heard most of the professors and faculty condemn this behavior and blatant disregard for the power and quality of chiropractic.
9/23/15 Open Letter to the President of Life University Dr. Guy Riekeman President Life University Dr. Riekeman, First and foremost I would like to commend you on your leadership in becoming the largest chiropractic college in the world. That is an extraordinary accomplishment. Life has produced many fantastic chiropractors over the years and I am thrilled to have gotten to know several of your outstanding graduates through the years. I’m writing because I recently reviewed a petition posted by a few Life University students where comments were made referencing $20 type chiropractic adjustment facilities as devaluing the chiropractic adjustment and the profession. I also noticed the comments you made posted on that petition in support stating “I am 100% opposed to this form of Chiropractic and believe it is an abomination to our profession”. Further your comments “Many of these groups have tried to make appointments to meet me and plead their cases….I have refused to meet with them and will continue to speak out against anyone who devalues what we hold so dear.” Wow. After reading those comments I had to visit the Life University website and read your vision and mission statements. I have to say, I could not find anything on your website that I disagree with. I agree in principle based chiropractic best described by you as a “vitalistic partnership approach to health and wellness”. I agree and acknowledge the three interferences to the nervous system as you do including physical, chemical and emotional stress and the role of the Chiropractor to focus on and correct the vertebral subluxation allowing the body to function as innately intended. I did a bit more research and found several estimates that somewhere between 22-30 million people in the U.S. visit a Chiropractor at some point every year. At best estimates, that means less than 5% of the U.S population. Really? Chiropractic adjustment has been around in the U.S. for 120 years and still only
$20 adjustments are joke , as Kevin O'Leary would probably say "stop this madness "
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I worked for the joint for about a year after graduating. The group I worked for was pretty bad, and only cared about the bottom line. To be honest from an new grad associate perspective, you get more hands on, and get paid more from them than most. Now that I have my own practice, I do not like that model at all. Their rates are way to low, the docs are punishing their bodies. I felt I had great bragging rights the first time I adjusted 50+ patients in a day. Now at 10 patient day I make more than 3 times what that 50 patient day paid. I have way lower stress levels, and have much higher patient satisfaction. I actually love being a chiropractor. I hope this petition has serious impact.