A student stands over a patient, needle poised. They have a “perfect” prescription: a textbook combination of points harvested from a lecture slide on chronic lower back pain. But as the needle meets the skin, the student hesitates - the symptom of a quiet habit that has taken hold of our profession. We routinely say we “prescribe” points. It sounds efficient. It echoes the authority of biomedical culture and fits neatly into the insurance field. But vocabulary is never neutral; repeated long enough, it dictates behavior.
David Seaman, DC, MS, DABCN
Dr. David Seaman is the author of Clinical Nutrition for Pain, Inflammation and Tissue Healing and his latest book, The DeFlame Diet. For more information including an extended biography, a printable version of this article and a link to previous articles, please visit his columnist page.