Scope of Practice

In Illinois Chiropractors are licensed under the Medical Practices Act, which also includes Medical Doctors and Osteopaths.  Illinois does not define chiropractic by statute except to state that Chiropractors are physicians licensed "to treat human ailments without the use of drugs and without the use of operative surgery".

The Illinois Prairie State Chiropractic Association (IPSCA) has accepted the Scope of Practice as put forth by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC).

"Since human function is neurologically integrated, Doctors of Chiropractic evaluate and facilitate biomechanical and neuro-biological function and integrity through the use of appropriate conservative, diagnostic and chiropractic care procedures.

Therefore, direct access chiropractic care is integral to everyone's health regimen."

The IPSCA believes that the current scope of practice in Illinois is too wide open.  The only limits on Chiropractors in Illinois, according to the Medical Practices Act, are that they "may treat human ailments without the use of drugs or operative surgery".  This is incongruent with the philosophy, science and art of Chiropractic as espoused by Drs. D.D. & B.J. Palmer.  Chiropractic is not a variety of therapies but rather the detection and correction of vertebral subluxations.  If we wish to keep other professions from encroaching upon our turf then we must be willing to be specific in what we do and delineate such.