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.
Mathew DiMond, DC, DACRB
Dr. Mathew DiMond, a 2010 graduate of New York Chiropractic College, is assistant professor of clinical services at the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic and an adjunct instructor at NYCC. He also oversees student and community patient care at UB Clinics as a chiropractic physician and exercise & rehabilitation specialist; and serves as a chiropractic consultant at Allied Spine & Sport Chiropractic in Syracuse, N.Y.