The end of the millennium is a good time to step back, take a look at where we are and consider redirecting our efforts to the future, not unlike making New Year's resolutions, but on a much grander scale. Even though its title implies that this article will explore the future of research in chiropractic, we really have to look at chiropractic's research endeavors in the broader context of the profession and the society in which it operates to fully understand this issue. Hence, we'll take a broader view of professional chiropractic development in the future and how research can influence that development. If Newton was right about inertia, then objects at rest or in uniform motion will continue in that state, unless acted on by external forces.
Great examples come from our space program.
Actually, the space program's success depends on our ability to recognize the location and trajectory of a space craft in relation to other bodies in the solar system, and make course corrections using rockets burning at critical times in the correct directions. I think we can use this model to evaluate the position and course of the chiropractic profession. Our leaders and practitioners have developed the mission for the profession. Research contributes to the profession as the knowledge gathering process that we can use as we see fit to discover or create new tools that will help us accomplish the mission. Let's look at each of these contributions in turn to help us predict our future.