Published On:Tuesday, March 09, 2010

By SUSAN DONALD, D.C.

Today there are a growing numbers of doctors of chiropractic through out the world, including the Bahamas.

In the past 19 years, 5 Bahamians have returned to practice and more have entered chiropractic colleges. The growing number of chiropractors makes the profession much more visible and therefore more accessible to all Bahamians. But many Bahamians still do not know what chiropractic is or anything about its history.

Chiropractic champions a natural method of healing. Its theory holds that spinal mechanic, including the vertebra, corresponding nerves and surrounding soft tissue, play a primary role in the health of the body. Structural abnormalities in the spine, which causes pain, dysfunction and loss of mobility to thousands, can be treated successfully.

This treatment is a procedure known as a vertebral adjustment. An adjustment is a technique in which the chiropractor skillfully applies pressure to an area of the spine that is out of alignment causing nerve inflammation. The result is reduced pain and inflammation and restored function in the injured area.

Chiropractic since its birth has become well known for its successful treatment of back and neck pain. But in spite of its success, its future has had a rocky road to recognition and respect. The road began in 1895 when D.D. Palmer of Davenport, Iowa, gave the first chiropractic adjustment to a janitor who had became partially deaf suddenly after injuring his upper back.

After the adjustment the man's hearing returned and because of the success of Palmer's spinal adjustment, the recorded history of chiropractic began. Over the succeeding months, other patients came to Palmer with diverse problems, including sciatica, migraine headaches and stomach complaints. Palmer found each of these conditions responded well to the adjustments.

The medical communities, hearing of Palmer's success, were not happy about it and wrote letters to the local papers criticizing his methods. Even as years went by and chiropractic grew, the American Medical Association became more outraged at chiropractic success. Finally, in 1963 to 1975, the AMA implemented a well financed campaign to eliminate chiropractic as a health care alternative. Its tactics included blackballing doctors who associated professionally with chiropractors to sending it agents around the country to medical schools to teach doctors in training that chiropractors were unscientific cultist and quacks.

Finally, four chiropractors had enough and in 1976 filed suit against the AMA. The lawsuit lasted 14 years but in the end, the AMA was declared guilty of violating anti-trust laws by conspiring with it members to destroy the profession of chiropractic in the United States. The lawsuit filed against the AMA was extended to benefit not only chiropractors, but also all consumers. It gave them the freedom to pick the type of treatment they wanted.

No healing art has all the answers, but when medicine and chiropractic work together, greater results can happen. That will only benefit the patient, which I hope is what all doctors want.