Mr. Rogers and His Chiropractor: A Story Is a Starting Point

Did Mr. Rogers have a chiropractor? He did. Jeffrey H. Cohen's obituary, published in January 2016, describes Cohen as a Pittsburgh chiropractor and Palmer graduate, and recounts a close relationship with Fred Rogers that included friendship and help with pain.

It's a lovely story, and a personal one. An obituary has no clinical record, comparison group or measured treatment outcome, so it can't say which treatment would suit someone else. Nothing in it endorses Source Chiropractic or ties Cohen to our practice.

Why does a story like Mr. Rogers' feel so persuasive?

In a 2015 review, Hoffman and colleagues looked at how celebrities can influence health-related behavior, drawing on research from several fields, and pointed to mechanisms including familiarity, trust and social influence. The published review is about why a message can be influential. It doesn't test the treatments those stories mention.

So a story can start the questions, but it can't carry the weight of a medical recommendation.

What matters more than a famous patient's story?

Your own problem does. Wherever you go, a decision about care should rest on four questions:

• What's causing it? Similar symptoms can have different causes, so we examine you and go over what we found before recommending anything.
• What are the options? Usually other kinds of care, plus what tends to happen with no treatment at all.
• What are the benefits and risks? The evidence that counts comes from people with a problem like yours, not general promises about health.
• How will you know it's working? A good plan names a concrete measure, like an activity you want back or a symptom you track, and when to rethink it.

No famous patient changes how a visit here works. We'll tell you what the exam shows, and if your symptoms or the exam point to something that isn't a muscle-and-joint problem, we'll say so and refer you for a medical evaluation.

Reading more before you choose a chiropractor

Our guide to what a chiropractor may help with covers the scope of care and questions to have ready. Our editorial policy explains how we separate research from practical advice and where we draw the line on a claim.

If a sore back or stiff neck has you reading about Mr. Rogers, phone the front desk in Clarksville and ask if an exam makes sense. Your symptoms, goals and the evidence that fits them are a better starting point than anyone's story, even his.