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A Cultural Awakening in ZiGong
By David Bellin, D.C.

I am not the first chiropractor in China, and I certainly will not be the last. I am a bridge between two uniquely different countries, with different cultures, customs and concepts about healthcare and life in general. I am here in the right place, at the right time, with the right intention and mission; to firmly establish and build our chiropractic profession, and I am not alone. I have the support of Life University and the best interpreters and support staff one could ever hope to work with. My staff is well trained, knowledgeable about chiropractic and vertebral subluxation, and eager to learn more. In fact, three of my interpreters are headed off to Life University soon to enter the DC program.

We live in ZiGong, the number three city in the most populous province in China, SiChuan. My interpreters are all university-trained in English, and they are as well spoken in English as the general public is not. You can wander around this ancient city and not hear a word of English for blocks and blocks. Without some survival language skills you have to rely on the kindness of strangers, and as luck would have it, you are in the right place. I have traveled to many places in China and never have I met such a nice group of people. The people of ZiGong warmly welcome foreigners with open arms and truly make you feel comfortable. They go out of their way to treat you well and make you feel welcomed. They will offer their seat on the bus to you, offer you the fairest price when you shop, and find the freshest fruit for you to buy. Many times I have had strangers approach me in public and strike up a conversation to practice the few words of English they may know; they are curious to see if you can explain yourself in Chinese or they just want to toast you with beer or wine in a restaurant.

I love ZiGong—the people, the history, the food and the customs. It’s a vibrant city, with luxury high-rise apartments, and gritty, old streets to explore and shop on. This is the perfect location to experience China. ZiGong is a city of 3.2 million people, a few hours away from ChengDu, the provincial capital. It’s close enough to ChengDu that, if you want to have a big-city experience and spend time with other foreigners, you can, and it’s far enough away to enjoy the real China. ZiGong is a cultural time capsule; many residents have never traveled to ChengDu, to the countryside, and some have never even been outside of the city limits. This sets the ideal conditions to experience authentic food, culture, language and customs. ZiGong has several places of interest and historical significance, but it is not a true tourist city as some others are in China. SiChuan is known for being the province with the spiciest food in China, and ZiGong is the spiciest city in SiChuan. If you want to eat water buffalo throat, frog stomach, duck blood and pig colon, you are in for a treat here.

bringing hope to the people
Our clinic is located in ZiGong, Number One People’s Hospital, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The clinic is old, as is the furniture, but it’s alive and vibrant with excitement. We have a great cooperative relationship with the MD’s and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) here. However, ZiGong and China have a little problem with their health care system. Some hospitals have cutting edge technology, while others are way behind. Either way, many people are dissatisfied with either their care or their personal treatment in a hospital or doctor’s office. Many times the patients complain that they are treated callously, and that there exists a barrier between the doctor and patient. I have not experienced this firsthand, but when we send patients out for referrals they refuse to leave, and we have to promise them that we will co-manage their case with either an MD or TCM. It’s funny how they arrive at our doorstep not knowing what we do, or how we do it, but they want what we have to offer. We bring them a fresh idea of health care and life; we bring them hope.

When I arrived at the clinic in late April of this year I came to assess the situation and see how Life University could best use the facility and adapt it for our future plans. What I found was a hardworking chiropractor who was doing rehabilitative chiropractic. While there is a need for that in America, we are the only chiropractic clinic I know of in SiChuan, so we have a responsibility to offer pure chiropractic. We work under the rehabilitation department, so why offer a similar service, I thought. We went back to basics and converted it into a true subluxation correction clinic consistent with the principles of Life University.

memorable patients
A hospital in China is an ideal place for a student to blossom into a confident chiropractor, and a chiropractor to have experiences that they can take with them for a lifetime. In a hospital setting you never know what the day will bring. You can have an existing patient refer someone for wellness care, a referral from the in-patient rehabilitation department for someone who has received Western medical care and TCM with no results and is in serious condition, or a walk-in who has serious underlying health problems that they either do not know about, or has not been successfully treated; you will sharpen your skills here for sure. We have picked up many undiagnosed diseases and have co-managed them with the medical side for fast, effective results; and they stay for corrective chiropractic care. Being in a hospital we have access to sick people, really sick people. Watching them get well and stay well under chiropractic care is a priceless experience for anyone in our profession.

In the time I have been here so far, we have seen almost every condition enter our clinic; some have run of the mill musculoskeletal complaints, while others are more difficult. We have patients with severe visceral dysfunction, scoliosis, digestive trouble that spans decades, you name it. They all have something in common—they have not been helped elsewhere and they want our help. It’s funny how patients come in clusters; you help one patient with a certain condition and then another patient will show up with the same problem.

A few weeks ago an older woman came in with her son. Her son said to us, we know about you, Life University, and what you are doing here. “On behalf of the people of China, we want to thank you.” He searched the Internet, and, honestly, he knows as much about chiropractic in China as I do, maybe more.

He brought his mother to see us because she was in grave condition, and no one could help her. She is a 68-year-old retired school teacher from ChongQing, the largest municipality in the world, a few hours drive from ZiGong. Her chief complaint was torticollis for five years with her head leaning and turned left. She wears a towel around her neck with a knot tied to the left to keep her head from resting on her shoulder. She also complained of dizziness and headaches for five years, high blood pressure for more than 40 years, coronary heart disease for nine years, diabetes for nine years, left leg pain and powerlessness for five years, renal insufficiency for eight years, and chronic superficial gastritis for 10 years.

She has had five visits so far, and the only thing she still complains about is some pain left in her leg. Her family has been renting an apartment in ZiGong for six months, and they are planning to become wellness patients at the clinic.

Sitting next to her in the waiting area is her mirror image, a 33-year-old factory assembler from ZiGong, who arrived at our clinic two days later with the same cervical complaints of neck pain and stiffness for two years with trapezius pain and chronic torticollis to the right side. She had surgery a while back where a doctor cut her sternocleidomastoid muscle on the right side to reduce spasm with no result. She has had huge postural and personality changes since the second visit.

Now these two women from different generations and different cities have a common passion, a passion for life and chiropractic. It is amazing to watch them interact with each other and with us. I cannot tell you how their lives have been changed, as well as ours.

The future for chiropractic here in ZiGong and China is bright. The medical community welcomes us with open minds and open hearts. In the near future we hope to have a fully functional chiropractic school here in China. I think this will be an amazing opportunity for the people of China and the rest of Asia to make a difference here and in their home country. I also believe that this current program is of priceless benefit to any chiropractic student who wishes to experience a different culture and gain invaluable experience and confidence. Lastly I believe that this program is of vital importance to our profession, and I hope that practicing chiropractors will see the benefit of our clinic and will want to share in our experience and contribute to ensure its success.