We commit to protect and advance the principles of vitalistic Chiropractic.
UCA Mission Statement
We aim to give Chiropractic a clear and individual identity unique to the profession and not other healthcare professions
We both respect and work alongside other healthcare disciplines as part of a team dedicated to our patients’ health and well being
We aim to continually improve our proficiency in detecting subluxations - a lesion or dysfunction in a joint or motion segment in which alignment, movement integrity and/or physiological function are altered, although contact between joint surfaces remains intact. It is essentially a functional entity, which may influence bio mechanical and neural integrity (1)
We strive to perfect the skill of adjusting subluxations to achieve a beneficial neurological response associated with optimum healing and well being of patients
We recognise the body displays many complex behaviours that do not require learning which in science is termed as innate
We aim to establish a unique environment for neuroscientists to understand the physiological mechanisms associated with complex innate behaviours
We support and promote research that aids in the development of a deeper understandingfor Chiropractic care and its improved patient outcomes
We strive to make every possible resource available to our members to help them achieve only the highest standards of care for their patients
We support and protect our members, helping them resolve any issues which may arise
We support all our student members, including providing assistance to help them through their degree.
Core Values:
We recognise and respect a universal intelligence in all matter and an innate intelligence within a living organism that drives to preserve life and, if uninhibited, will express optimal potential.
The nervous system has a central role in regulating, coordinating and integrating the functions of the entire organism.
We recognise that interference to innate intelligence (subluxation) diminishes healing capacity, with an alteration in the dynamic interrelationship between mental, physical and social aspects of the whole person.
The art of Chiropractic encourages optimal expression of health by the detection, removal (adjustment) and prevention of nervous system interference.
To use drug less, minimally invasive techniques to adjust identified subluxations throughout an individual’s lifetime.
We commit to assist the process of self-empowerment with compassion and care, whilst respecting each person’s dignity, uniqueness and freedom of choice.
Philosophical Constructs:
Vitalism – We ascribe to the idea that all living organisms are sustained by an innate intelligence, which is both different from and greater than physical and chemical forces. Further, we believe innate intelligence is an expression of universal intelligence.
Holism – The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
Neural – We ascribe to the concept that the nervous system is the major coordinator
Supremacy – and also that the nervous system regulates all our bodily systems.
Conservative – Our belief in the body’s ability to heal itself logically implies that the best care
Ethic – is the least invasive care.
Humanism – We ascribe to the belief that individuals have immutable rights.
UCA History
In 2000, the need for a new Chiropractic association that would represent the subluxation based wellness paradigm was evident.
The UCA was set up to represent chiropractors who believe that the principles on which chiropractic was founded are as important today as they were in the beginning.
We uphold the idea that health is the natural state for the human being and that the body is designed, or has evolved in such a way that it is always striving to return to a state of balanced health.
The UCA supports the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC) paradigm that the World Federation of Chiropractors adopted as its policy statement on 23 May 2001:
'Chiropractic is a healthcare discipline which emphasises the inherent recuperative power of the body to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery.'
The practice of chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health.
In addition, Chiropractors recognise the value and responsibility of working in cooperation with other health care practitioners when in the best interest of the patient.
There are obviously limitations to any practice and there are times when drugs or surgery may be appropriate.
The ACC continues to foster a unique, distinct chiropractic profession that serves as a healthcare discipline for all and advocates a profession that generates, develops, and utilises the highest level of evidence possible in the provision of effective, prudent, and cost-conscious patient evaluation and care.
Chiropractic is concerned with the preservation and restoration of health, and focuses particular attention on the subluxation.
A subluxation is a complex of functional and/or structural and/or pathological articular changes that compromise neural integrity and may influence organ system function and general health.
A subluxation is evaluated, diagnosed, and managed through the use of chiropractic procedures based on the best available rational and empirical evidence.
Subluxation is a fundamental axiom of the Chiropractic profession.
The World Federation of Chiropractors (WFC) policy statement reaffirms the use of the term vertebral subluxation and it is defined succinctly and accepted by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
