In this episode of Subluxation Squad, Steve and Pacha sit down with Dr. David Fletcher, longtime chiropractor and owner/CEO of Chiropractic Leadership Alliance (CLA), to talk about where chiropractic is really at and what’s holding it back.

Dr. Fletcher shares how he went from a busy practice to leading CLA. With tens of thousands of offices using CLA technology and millions of scans flowing through their systems, he has a unique vantage point on what’s working in chiropractic and where the cracks are showing.

He and Steve dig into what Fletcher sees as the profession’s biggest subluxations:

A confused brand: mixed messages about what chiropractic actually is.

A culture of fear: fear of using the word “subluxation,” fear around the cervical spine, fear of being “too chiropractic.”

A crisis of self-worth and small thinking inside many chiropractors themselves.

From there, they talk about how modern scanning and big data support the Big Idea showing changes in adaptability, coherence, and neuroplasticity over time and why exams and scans are the start of the journey, not the end. Fletcher lays out what separates thriving offices from struggling ones, why so many chiropractors underestimate how big they can actually be, and how often the real subluxation is in the doctor’s own mindset, not in the marketplace.

Dr. Jack Bourla joins Steve and Pacha to tackle a blunt question: how did chiropractic drift so far from the thing it was created to be? This conversation cuts straight to purpose, clarity, and the definition too many chiropractors were never actually taught. If you’ve ever wondered where the profession lost the plot and what it would take to bring it back, this is the episode to start with.

Steve and Pacha take on a question that always stirs the profession: what’s the best chiropractic technique? Instead of choosing sides, they use the debate to explore something deeper: what is the actual objective of an adjustment, and how do you know you achieved it?

They break down the major technique models, talk about how approaches evolve, and examine the real tension between tradition, innovation, and clinical outcomes. The conversation shifts to analysis and decision-making, the part many chiropractors were never fully taught: when to adjust, when not to, and how to verify change.

They close by looking ahead to future episodes with technique leaders across the profession and the bigger question they all need to answer: how do you know it’s working?