Question
I know your a chiropractor but even though I'm a massage student, I think you or anyone could relate to this question.  I'm asking because Its a school project.  On an intake form, why do we list some things that a client may have?  I think if were going to list some things that could be contraindicated, why not list them all?  So do you think the best thing would be to just ask the simple question, Do you have any medical non-medical condition?  no matter how small please list any and all problems?  I hope it's not too confusing, my assignment is to improve the massage intake form, and thats how I would improve it, by taking all questions out or adding every possible question in the world.

Answer
A Doctor of Chiropractic and a Licensed Massage Therapist are two completely different professions with two completely different responsibilities.  As a Primary Care Doctor, we have to a huge responsibility to all of our patients that we need to assess each person and make a decision if they need to be referred out to another health care provider or if we can keep and manage the patient on our own.  With that in mind, we have in our clinic, forms that cover all parts of the body as well as all systems of the body.  The patient will fill out the form, but we will sit down with them and spend some time in going over their answers and finding out if there is anything else that we need to know.
Since you have less responsibility, you may be able to have a form that asks it in a general way, but you will not get all of the answers that way, because people think that they are healthier than they are, and they also forget about a lot of things that if it were spelled out for them on a form, then they are more likely to think it through and remember it.
I guess this all comes down to what you are taught in school;  Do you need to know everything that is going on with the patient or not?  If you do, then I suggest a form that covers all parts of the body including the major organ systems.
Dr Robert A. Arnone