To say what you mean, and mean what you say, be mindful of these distinctions:

Diagnose – As in “to identify a disease from its signs and symptoms.”

This is classic medical terminology.

As the influence of third-party reimbursement has increased, this and other medical terms have crept their way into the profession. Diagnosis can be thought of as the recognition of a disease by observation or examination. Is vertebral subluxation a disease? Probably not. It’s more accurately a sign of dis-ease.

Assess – As in “to determine the presence or significance of something.” In other words, to make a critical appraisal of a patient’s condition.

In chiropractic, that would be an evaluation to determine the location and severity of vertebrae in an aberrant position or motion producing nervous system interference by compression, or more commonly, facilitation.

Assessing a patient’s spine and overall health can reveal the state we call vertebral subluxation.

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Bill Esteb has been a chiropractic patient and advocate since 1981. He is the creative director of Patient Media and the co-founder of Perfect Patients. He’s been a regular speaker at chiropractic gatherings since 1985. His 12 books explore the doctor/patient relationship from a patient's point of view. His chiropractic blog, coaching program, patient focus groups and consulting calls have helped hundreds of chiropractors around the world. Since 1999 Monday Morning Motivation has been emailed to over 10,000 subscribers each week.