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2
Just as in the European Dark Ages, this was
a time when people who did not understand were politically
powerful. Out of fear, those in power forced students, doctors
and researchers not to look at information (before and after
treatment films) rather than have to deal with the unknown.
They imposed beliefs. They tried to destroy those who defied
them and were often successful. It has been a continuing
reign of terror over independent researchers in the profession.
Many schools still teach that the images seen
on the x-rays are not valid because there is often no change
or worse, a greater side-to-side curve after treatment even
though the patient feels better. The prohibition against
post-treatment x-ray makes sense to none who can think and
act independently but the CCE1 and ACA2 doctors currently
“in power” are still forcing it on the profession.
As indicated in the preface to his book The
Chiropractic Adjuster, if Dr. Palmer was alive today and
saw the low radiation, good quality x-ray (not to mention
the three dimensional abilities of MRI and CAT scan) and
the amount of computing power easily available for data
processing, he would have a fit about the lack of progress
in chiropractic and the lack of full spine, three dimensional
modeling coming from the chiropractic professional schools.
Many theories of how the spine works start
with doctors who want something better than to just be pushing
on a bone because it feels like it is out of position. That
is the way it should be. What those doctors have done is
on the right track i.e., try to figure out what happens
mechanically in the spine and develop theories of motion
on which methods of treatment to correct problems with bone
position and motion could be based. Successfully done it
would have/will improve the profession.
The theories presented to date both before
and after the imposition of the after treatment x-ray ban,
have two basic flaws: Either they are not based on full
spine measurement and thus depend on someone’s imagination
of what happens in the remainder of the spine rather than
actual observation of what happens and/or, they do not take
into account relativity, the effect of other parts of the
body on what is happening at a given joint.
Looking at the whole of something is not just
something for physicists, it must be applied to everything
in the physical universe to get it to work effectively.
Look at any effective action in sports, business or any
part of life and you will find more observation not less
has been made and taken into account. Businesses or sports
teams, and governments that fail even people with “great
talent” who fail, usually fail, because someone did
not take into account the entire picture of how the world
changes and figure out how to change the world to better
survive. (Note that we have to change the world to better
suit us not adapt to what the world is doing to us.)
1 CCE = Council on Chiropractic Education
2 ACA = American Chiropractic Association
The biggest failure of chiropractic is not taking into account
and relating motions of different parts of the spine. They
are not getting the entire picture. The biggest failure
in medicine is also not taking into account relative changes
in body chemistry and not getting the entire picture. At
this time, I am just working on improving chiropractic.
As far as we can tell almost every theory
presented in chiropractic has at least a grain of truth.
However, none of them has gone far enough. There are some
studies of motion out in the research but none are based
on the entire spine being in motion. There is a widely cited
mathematical model of the motion of the neck that is of
little use and is hardly used. The reason it is not used
is that it is based on a fixed thoracic spine (midback)
and does not take into account the stabilizing or destabilizing
effect of tension on the spinal cord and meninges as the
lower spine changes. It was a great deal of money spent
uselessly on someone’s imagination rather than complete
observation of what happens in the real world.
There are treatment theories and therapies
that speak of releasing the meningeal tension on the entire
spine. They also do not go far enough. They only look at
one or two parts of the spine without checking on the other
parts of the spine to which the meninges attach. Those theories
do not and cannot account for relative motions. They justify
not viewing the spine as a whole by claiming there is limited
motion in those areas not viewed that need not be taken
into account. It is a false supposition that hides the very
information the researchers need.
Those theorists are missing some of the most
important data on spinal biomechanics available. Full spine
standing and sitting x-ray before and after treatment would
give them information to change their methods of treatment
for the better but they avoid looking even after it has
been pointed out because it would affect the income and
prestige from their teaching.
Why are the doctors using those therapies
on patients and themselves having problems with patients
and themselves? Are they going in the right direction? Have
they gone far enough? They can’t tell because they
do not have a good enough measuring system.
That is the reason doctors at the “top”
of the chiropractic research community such as Doctors Triano
and McGreggor, are telling people in our profession and
in the medical and insurance communities that much of the
research done indicates chiropractic really doesn’t
work.
They do not have a system good enough to measure
what works and what doesn’t. If they did, they would
be talking in terms of specific therapies that do not work,
or therapies that only work with certain problems, or only
work up to a certain point and then need to be changed.
Chiropractic is being killed by researchers who look only
at parts of the spine and not the whole spine and by researchers
who look at the whole spine (full spine x-ray) but only
in one position without doing motion studies.
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