Chiropractic

“ While we acquire the knowledge of Chiropractic we acquire also a great responsibility for its320 use; we must utilize it wherever and whenever it is best for the patient, whenever our chances of effecting a cure are the best chances, without regard to ourselves or any personal risk.
By conviction is meant a firm and well-grounded belief in the greatness and efficiency of Chiropractic. Sincerity in one’s practice is a prime requisite for success. A belief grounded in knowledge girds the Chiropractor with an armor so strong that no adversity can pierce it. ”

“ Chiropractic is not a branch of medicine, never can be a branch of medicine because it is inherently and fundamentally antagonistic to the very basic principles of medicine, and no statute can change the fact of such antagonism. But unless we adhere strictly to the fundamental principles of our own practice and limit ourselves to the methods which grow from those principles Chiropractic may become a part of medicine. ”

“ The lay patient and the ignorant public are inclined to give credit for results obtained to the best known method used upon them. Thus in spite of the fact that Chiropractic alone obtains a far greater percentage of results than any other combination of methods, the patient is prone to believe that the change of diet or the massage effected a cure and to overlook entirely the least pleasant part of his “treatment,” the adjustment. He does not understand and cannot understand with a mind divided for the consideration of several methods, the connection of the spine with his disease. ”

“ Chiropractic is new. Its principles are yet unknown to the general public. Also this is an age of keen competition and it is our duty to our profession and to the world that instead of hiding our light under a bushel we proclaim our mission to all who will hear. We must be intelligently and wisely aggressive. We must bring ourselves into contact with the public in every legitimate way, compelling it by force of logic and personality to see the reasonableness and greatness of our work. ”

“ So it is in perfect accord with chiropractic philosophy that a proper dwelling be provided wherein the condition is such that there may be perfect adaptation to all the needs of the body. This is as much a part of the chiropractor’s work as is any other part of his duties and obligations to the sick. He need not be able to do all these things, but he should know what conditions are conducive to the expression of life in the body and why others are not. ”

“ They merely require explanation which will make clear their relation to the subluxation. That such explanation is abundantly at hand strengthens the position of Chiropractic more than would negation of all other causes save the one we concentrate upon.
The Mentalist who holds that all diseases exist in and are but figments of the mind is as far afield as the Physicist who holds that special nerve energy is nonexistent. ”

“ If the public could read what the hygienists have to say on the subject of immunology and could read it in the light of chiropractic philosophy they would realize that chiropractic adjustments will not only restore health to the sick, but will prevent the well from getting sick. ”

“ So far Chiropractic agrees with general knowledge of germ disease and its etiology, simply adding the explanation of susceptibility which all other modes of investigation have failed to afford. In one particular we find apparent disagreement. ”

“ In the class of beneficial adjuncts may be placed massage, hydrotherapy, spondylotherapy, dietetics, osteopathy, Christian Science, suggestive therapeutics, mechano-therapy, and many others. Each of these has its field of usefulness; each taken alone is productive of some good in some cases at least. Each might possibly augment the results of Chiropractic, or hasten them in some cases, if judiciously used. By judiciously used we mean the avoidance of any method which would in the least interfere with proper vertebral adjustment or its results or which might carelessly cause subluxation. ”

“ We know that when the subluxation is corrected the body naturally heals itself. Can we accelerate and aid that healing with stimulant or narcotic? Logic says no; experience says no: the use of any method which strikes at the disease beyond its primary cause and operates upon some of the effects of that cause without touching the cause itself is inconsistent with belief in Chiropractic. ”

“ Unfortunately it is not a fact that every movement of a vertebra is an adjustment. If this were true subluxations would not exist, because they could never have been produced. Too often the adjuster uses a move because it is easy, because its use has become habitual with him, rather than because it is indicated by the conditions of the case—then blames Chiropractic because his results are negative or bad. ”

“ Chiropractic, of all the sciences, lays great stress on hygiene and sanitation. Our greatest teacher in all things is Nature and if there is any one thing that Chiropractic insists upon more than any other, it is that we live according to the laws of Nature and the closer we live to Nature, the more normal will be our functions. When we study the laws of Nature, we find the secret of sanitation. Everywhere in Nature we find laws in operation which result in the destruction of waste material and in the purification of the environment. ”

“ It has been repeatedly proven that the Chiropractor who uses only Chiropractic becomes the better practitioner by necessity. It has also proven that the man who is expert in Chiropractic needs nothing else, providing only that he refuses those cases to which Chiropractic cannot apply at all. ”

“ But man himself has not been made immune by these methods. The procedure has been wrong for the cause of dis-ease is not in man’s environment, but within man himself. Chiropractic will accomplish the most desired end by restoring to normal the transmission of mental impulses to all parts of the body so there may be a complete adaptation to all environmental conditions that may arise. The body will then be protected from the supposedly deadly microörganisms that are accused of being responsible for human ills. ”

“ Avoid argumentative discussion with patients, seeking rather to enlighten them about those facts peculiar to Chiropractic and unknown to them than to antagonize them by contradicting their cherished beliefs. It is much wiser to begin with that knowledge of disease which you hold in common with the patient and advance with him, step by step, from that firm foundation to new truths than to begin by attempting to tear down his beliefs. ”

“ Osteopathic manipulation, intelligently applied, proves of great value at all times during the fast and thereafter. Chiropractic adjustment of spinal column brings relief and comfort. And each of these schools, with their limitations recognized, are yet to be reckoned as important adjuncts on curative lines. The differences that arise among members of the medical profession are such as cannot occur among those who reason with nature from cause to effect, nor is it necessary for the natural practitioner to wait until disease has reached an acute stage before making diagnosis. ”

“ Psychologists tell us there is a certain amount of reserve energy stored up in the body. Chiropractic maintains that it is not a matter of energy being stored up, but that this reserve energy is a question of increasing the functional current so as to increase the process of adaptation in the tissues. The degree of adaptation is represented by the difference in the current transmitted through a nerve under normal conditions, and that transmitted when the full carrying capacity of the nerve is taxed. ”

“ Chiropractic maintains that all the chemical and physical activities of the human organism are controlled, directly or indirectly, through a third form of energy transmitted through the Nerve System; that while all three forms of energy are interdependent and closely related in their ultimate expression, one of the three is the primary and most essential form, and especially indicative of life. ”

“ Some individuals are immune from certain so-called contagious dis-eases and we are told that this is because the vital resistance is greater in them than it is in others. This statement is true, but there should be some reason for this difference in resistance and Chiropractic gives us that reason. The possibility for adaptative action in the body is decreased by subluxations in the spine and its degree depends upon the combination of subluxations, the functions involved and the organs in which the functions are expressed abnormally. ”

“ With all due regard it must be said that up to the time of the introduction of chiropractic hygiene all the efforts were to clean the inside from the outside, but Chiropractic says the inside must be cleansed from the inside and this contention has been amply proven in the results obtained through chiropractic adjustments.
Advantages of a Proper Sanitary Environment
The body is capable of great possibilities in intellectual adaptation. It is possible for Innate Intelligence to maintain a degree of health in widely different conditions. ”

“ The word of a satisfied patient to his friend is the best advertisement. Beyond this, considerable diversity of opinion exists as to what constitutes proper, ethical, and wise advertising. I shall make no attempt to settle this question but shall simply suggest that while it is undoubtedly necessary often to explain to the public through various avenues what Chiropractic is and what it can do it is wise to be as reserved and dignified as possible and to avoid offense to any. ”

“ In these cases, if the child is provided with food having sufficient nourishment, most excellent results will be obtained from chiropractic adjustments. A very careful analysis must be made in order to determine all the facts in the case for the major differs in different individuals. ”

“ The practice of Chiropractic involves more than correct technic. It includes the use of a vast fund of knowledge; the constant study of diseases and of patients; the art of controlling and directing others sometimes in their very trivial acts. Successful practice requires a proper setting, proper business methods, and a knowledge of psychology. ”

“ Courage, not recklessness or carelessness but a fearless willingness to assume responsibility—the heavy responsibility of our profession—is indispensable. He who accepts the easy case or the chronic and slowly progressive one and refuses to face the appalling rush of a dangerous and acute malady; he who shrinks through fear for his reputation from a grave risk, has no right in Chiropractic. ”

“ Diabetes Mellitus.—Always necessitating grave and careful consideration, this metabolic disease is marvellously controlled by Chiropractic adjustment. Probably 90 per cent of all cases are curable, and only those presenting impossible problems of adjustment, or those in the very last stages, are hopeless. ”

“ One will be surprised, however, at the amount of force required to move the vertebrae of a very small infant. It should be remembered that the vertebrae must move if we expect to get results. It must also be remembered that the child is small and that it is necessary to adapt the amount of force used to the size of the patient. It is not possible to injure a child with a chiropractic adjustment, but it is possible to apply an awkward force, supposed to be a corrective force, in such a way that subluxations may be produced. ”

“ He who would succeed in Chiropractic must have, in addition to a thorough education in his profession, a proper personality. This is the medium through which his education becomes effective, the channel through which he reaches the public, gaining their confidence and approval that he may utilize his knowledge to their good. Many skillful and well-educated practitioners have failed because they lacked the proper personal qualities for attracting patients. ”

“ The use of specific adjustment demands of the Chiropractor an accurate diagnosis and compels him to get his mind into direct contact with the exact condition of the patient in order to select the proper vertebrae. Sometimes the less prominent subluxation causes a more acute or dangerous disease than the more pronounced. Specific adjusting tends to develop more discriminating and accurate palpation.
Specific adjusting weakens and shocks the weak or nervous patient less than general adjusting. ”

“ There is great need of every faculty that is employed in the analyzing and adjusting, especially if the child is seriously ill. Usually the parents are more or less excited and worried and are likely to keep urging the chiropractor to do something and thus unduly influence him unless he is accustomed to such cases. If the child is in pain and crying it is likely to get on the nerve of every one present and this will tend to make the chiropractor nervous. He must be careful that these things do not influence him to act too hastily before he has had time to make a careful analysis. ”

“ In this connection the author cannot forbear a reference to the use of other methods to relieve disease in combination with the Chiropractic adjustment. From the foregoing study of the laws governing the cause and cure of disease it will be seen that therapeutical methods have little direct bearing upon the removal of disease. The logical method of effecting the cure is the removal of the cause. The subluxation being always the primary cause, its correction is always the logical method of effecting a cure. ”