Integration's “Whys” and “Wherefores” Dr. Rosner on Integration ...

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Ergonomics: An Early Example of Multidisciplinary Healthcare
While the concept of fitting a person to
a comfortable chair or table goes back hundreds
of years, ergonomics took on great
importance as a formal science in the early
1940’s. Obviously World War II was a turbulent
time, particularly for the British, who
were literally in a life <strong>and</strong> death struggle for
survival. Each fighting man had to have every
advantage in battle, <strong>and</strong> the efficiency of
newly created, sophisticated military equipment
was often compromised by poor design.
The British government (followed very
soon by the Americans) brought researchers together from
many disciplines to work on the problem.
Among the researchers were anthropologists, medical doctors,
engineers, research scientists, psychiatrists, <strong>and</strong> a number
of others. Each of these varied disciplines had brought
its own professional experiences <strong>and</strong> perspectives, some of
which were contradictory. (Does this sound familiar?) These
Dennis M. J. Homack, D.C., CCSP
<strong>Dr</strong>. Dennis Homack
purpose-minded professionals b<strong>and</strong>ed together
to solve a specific health-related issue
<strong>and</strong> had tremendous success at that. In
fact, each profession still considers ergonomics
to be part of the scope that defines
its profession today.
Today, healthcare is being revolutionized
once again – this time by a number of
forces that might not have been imagined
in years gone by. Diseases such as AIDS,
new forms of health insurance (HMOs, for
example), high lawsuit-settlement awards,
high costs <strong>and</strong> an aging population have created many new
challenges for us to meet. As the medical community, psychology,
chiropractic, Oriental medicine, <strong>and</strong> other healthcare
professions learn more about each other, it seems intuitive
that our patients can benefit more from our working together,
with each professional contributing his or her own separate
<strong>and</strong> unique abilities.
Selected Sources of Information on the Integration of Allopathic <strong>and</strong> Complementary <strong>and</strong> Alternative Medicine
American Journal of Natural Medicine. Vol. 3-5 (1996-1998). After
Vol. 5, see: International journal of Integrative Medicine.
International Journal of Integrative Medicine. Vol. 1-4 (1999-2002).
Before Vol. 1, see: The American Journal of Natural Medicine.
Diagnosis <strong>and</strong> Treatment of the Spine: Nonoperative Orthopaedic Medicine
<strong>and</strong> Manual Therapy, by Dos Winkel. Aspen Publishers, 1996.
Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines, by Mark Blumenthal. Integrative
Medicine Communications, 1998.
Evidence-Based Medicine: A Framework for Clinical Practice, by Daniel
J.Friedl<strong>and</strong>. Appleton & Lange, 1998.
Complementary & Alternative Therapies: An Implementation Guide to
Integrative Health Care, by Doris Milton. AHA Press, 1999.
Integrative Medicine: Integrating Conventional <strong>and</strong> Alternative Medicine.
Vols. 1-2, No. 2/3 (1998-1999).
“<strong>Dr</strong>. Andrew Weil’s Integrative Medicine,” by Andrew Weil.
Three audiocassettes. Sounds True, 2000.
(Continued from previous page)
“Nutrition <strong>and</strong> Natural Medicine in the Prevention <strong>and</strong> Management
of Degenerative Diseases,” by Jim Meschino. Eleven
videocassettes. CMCC, 2001.
“Complementary <strong>and</strong> Integrative Health Care [Abridged Lecture]:
An Overview <strong>and</strong> Update,” by David M. Eisenberg.
One videocassette. 2001.
“Complementary <strong>and</strong> Integrative Health Care: An Overview
<strong>and</strong> Update,” by David M. Eisenberg. One videocassette. 2001.
“Trends in Chiropractic Education: Preparing Doctors of Chiropractic
for Integration Into Mainstream Healthcare,” by Frank
J. Nicchi. A Conference on Chiropractic <strong>and</strong> Allopathic Integration.
New York Chiropractic College, 2003. 37 p.
Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine [Zhongguo Zhong xi yi jie
he xue hui]. Vol. 9 (2003).
Biomedical Acupuncture for Pain Management: An Integrative Approach,
by Yun-tao Ma. Elsevier Churchill-Livingstone, c2005 [2004].
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