Dr. Guy Riekeman explains that the latest research shows that the “bone out of place, putting pressure on nerve” model so often cited in chiropractic is not necessarily right. He goes on to explain that physical, chemical and emotional stresses (thoughts, traumas and toxins) traumatize the nerve system, causing the bones to immobilize around that area because of nerve system dysfunction. The chiropractic adjustment works by putting a force into the body which impacts the nerve system, counteracting the affect of the thought, trauma or toxin.

Or, as B.J. Palmer described it, the chiropractor introduces a force into the body, providing a universal force to be adapted by the innate intelligence of the body. If adapted, the innate intelligence moves the bone. This is exactly what our philosophy dictates.

This is particularly significant given the common (incorrect) reference to the 5 Component VSC model as the Riekeman/Flesia model, which was later refined by Kent/Gentempo into the most widely held, current 3 Component VSC model of:

1.Dyskinesia

2.Dysponesis

3.Dysautonomia.

As stated by Dr. Riekeman, this model is wrong (out of sequence). Current research shows it is Dysponesis, which causes Dyskinesia leading to Dysautonomia. This is exactly why we need to be using instrumentation that measure Dysponesis as the basis for care, rather than instrumentation that measures only Dyskinesia.

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One of the primary reasons behind the enduring rift between conventional medical science and chiropractic is the contrasting nature of their basic philosophies. Philosophical “truths” in Western civilization are validated through a process employing scientific methodology. “Truths” related to health science, until recently, have only been generated through research conducted by organismal, cellular and molecular biologists, biochemists, pharmacologists and medical doctors. Consequently, chiropractic has been at a distinct disadvantage in acquiring recognition as a valid healing art. However, the leading edge of cellular and molecular biology research is heralding a radical departure from its traditional theories and is in turn, creating a new philosophy.

The mission statement of Modern Science was defined by English philosopher Francis Bacon and adopted shortly after the Scientific Revolution (1543). Accordingly, science’s purpose was to “control and dominate Nature.” The primary purpose of scientific inquiry was to gain an understanding of the “natural laws” of bodily action. Through this process, it was expected that man would obtain mastery over Nature.

Before humans would be able to “control” Nature, it was first necessary to identify what “controls” the expression of a living organism. Western civilization has focused its attention on two mutually exclusive sources of this “control.” Control from without and control from within. These two discordant philosophies were first elaborated during the Golden Age of Greece. Plato divided humans into two parts: body and soul.

Soul is generally regarded as an entity related to but distinguishable from the body–the spiritual part of human beings that animates their physical existence and survives death. The soul, often referred to as the psyche, spirit, or life force, represents an externalized vitalizing force that activates the human body.

In contrast, followers of Democritus, called atomists, believed that living organisms were “machine-like” structures made out of atoms. The character and quality of life was thought to be controlled by the interaction of the physical atoms that comprised the body. Atomists were “materialists” that believed life was controlled by the chemistry within. Consequently, atomists rejected all supernatural sanctions of human behavior. Additionally, the atomist’s perception of a machine-like quality to life led to the concept of healing as representing a “mechanistic” process.

The debate over whether life is controlled by spiritual or material forces peaked in the 19th century. By this time, scientists endorsing “spiritual” control began to refer to themselves as “vitalists.” Vitalism, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the doctrine that the processes of life are not explainable by the laws of physics and chemistry alone and that life is in some part self-determining. Vitalists contended that some vital factor, as distinct from physiochemical factors, was involved with “controlling” the body’s structure and function. Since the definition of vitalism emphasizes that its character is beyond the laws of physics (measurement), vitalistic mechanisms were outside of the defined parameters of modern science. In spite of its metaphysical nature, vitalism was still endorsed by many traditional 19th century scientists.

The support for vitalism was soundly shaken in 1859 when Charles Darwin published his Origin of Species. In his treatise on evolution theory, Darwin emphasized that internalized “hereditary factors” (the existence of genes had not yet been recognized) were responsible for controlling the character of evolving species. Within a decade of its presentation, Darwinian theory was endorsed by the majority of conventional scientists. Darwin’s theory of evolution denied the role of spirit or life force in the unfoldment of life on this planet. Consequently, scientists myopically focused on the search for the internalized material elements that “controlled” biological organisms.

D. D. Palmer was very sensitive to scientists’ displeasure concerning concepts related to spirit and vital forces. In formulating the original science of Chiropractic, he coined the terms Universal Intelligence and Innate Intelligence to refer to the inherent organizing intelligence of the Universe and of life.

In the early years of Chiropractic I used the terms Innate (Spirit), Innate Intelligence (Spiritual Intellect), Universal Intelligence (God) because they were comprehensive, and the world was not prepared to receive the latter terms just mentioned in parentheses. It may be even now premature to use them. (page 542, The Science, Art and Philosophy of Chiropractic).

Since vitalism is at the heart of chiropractic philosophy, and vitalism is perceived as metaphysics, the philosophy of chiropractic is not recognized by conventional medical science. Though modern medicine considers chiropractic as “unscientific,” it has not been able to ignore the large number of their patients that have been increasingly satisfied with chiropractic care. The success of chiropractic in recent years has fueled the antagonism between conventional medical physicians and chiropractors. Biomedical research scientists are at a loss to explain the efficacy of chiropractic adjustment for it is in direct opposition to contemporary knowledge concerning biological “control” mechanisms.

Ever since the nature of DNA had been revealed, biomedical science has been grounded in the belief that the structure, function and health of an organism is directly or indirectly regulated by its genes. This has led to the concept of the Primacy of DNA, the belief that our physical and behavioral traits are controlled by genes. Scientists took a leap to the next level and subsequently evolved the idea of genetic determinism, the notion that our health and fate are “predetermined” in our heredity. Consequently, the fact that an “externalized” chiropractic adjustment can alter the expression of the system flies in the face of conventional medicine.

A principal source of dissension between practitioners of allopathic medicine and chiropractic is evident when one examines how each practice perceives the flow of information in living systems. The schema for allopathic medicine is as follows: Genes represent the internalized source of control; gene-mediated cell expression of peripheral tissues and organs is relayed internally to the spinal cord, that information is then sent up the cord to the brain. Essentially this path can be described as Outside>Inside>(from)Down>(to)Above (O-I-D-A).

In contrast, the basic philosophy of Chiropractic, as defined by D. D. Palmer (before its modification by B. J. Palmer), perceives the flow of information from an externalized source, Universal Intelligence. An eternal “metamerized” portion of that intelligence, referred to as Innate, is needed by each individualized being (pages 494 and 496, The Science, Art and Philosophy of Chiropractic). Although Innate is not localized, its seat of control is the brain. From the brain, Innate’s intelligence travels down the spinal cord, and from the spinal cord outward to the periphery, a pathway referred to as Above>Down>Inside>Out (A-D-I-O).

The crux of the controversy lies in the philosophical foundation of each practice. The A-D-I-O principle of Chiropractic is diametrically opposed to the O-I-D-A principle in medicine. By virtue of “might makes right,” the populous membership of conventional science acknowledges its certitude in its dogma and disavows the beliefs of the smaller group of chiropractors.

However, profound philosophical changes are in the air. Leading edge research in cellular and molecular biology is currently offering a radically new understanding of the mechanisms that “control” life and evolution. These new findings will inevitably integrate and unify the truths of both biomedical scientists and chiropractors.

Conventional medical research has emphasized that genes are the responsible elements “controlling” health and disease. It is implied in the Primacy of DNA dogma that genes function as self-regulatory elements. Fundamental to this assumed truth is the requirement that genes must be capable of “controlling” their own expression. By definition, genes must be able to switch themselves on and off, as suggested in the concept of a cancer gene “turning itself on.”

However, the notion of the Primacy of DNA has been soundly challenged by current research, which reveals that the existence of a self-regulatory property for genes is a patently incorrect assumption. An important article by H. F. Nijhout (Metaphors and the Role of Genes in Development, BioEssays 12:441, 1990) describes how concepts concerning genetic “controls” and “programs” were originally conceived as a metaphor to help define and direct avenues of research. Widespread repetition of this compelling hypothesis over time has resulted in the “metaphor of the model” becoming the “truth of the mechanism,” despite the absence of substantiative supporting evidence.

Nijhout elegantly and succinctly redefined the truth as follows, “When a gene product is needed, a signal from its environment, not a self-emergent property of the gene itself, activates expression of that gene (emphasis mine).” Simply stated, a gene cannot turn itself on or off, it is dependent upon a signal from its environment to control its expression. Genes are indeed involved with the structure and behavior of an organism, however they are not the source of “control.”

Gene expression is under the influence of specialized proteins referred to as regulatory proteins. Regulatory proteins bind to DNA and mask the activity of genes. In order to activate a specific gene, its regulatory proteins must be removed from the DNA strand. The binding and release of DNA regulatory proteins is controlled by “environmental” signals. Rather than recognizing the Primacy of DNA, it is more correct to acknowledge the Primacy of the Environment as causal in shaping biological expression.

The fact that the cell’s nucleus and its enclosed genes do not represent the controlling element or “brain” of the cell is easily verified in studies wherein the cell is structurally or functionally enucleated. Cells in such experiments continue to express complex behavioral repertoires and purposeful interactions with their environment and may survive for months despite the absence of functional genes. Consequently, genes can not be invoked to be the source of “control” in regulating cell behavior.

Even though genes are not self-regulating, they do encode the characteristics of our physical body. All of our genes are derived from parental DNA, therefore it could still be argued that our expression (physiology, health, behavior) is “predetermined” by our genetic heritage. Even that assumption has now gone by the wayside. In 1988, geneticist John Cairns published what has since become a revolutionary paper entitled On the Origin Of Mutants (Nature 335:142, 1988). Cairns recognized that gene mutations were not solely the result of random chemical events as is currently perceived.

Cairns placed bacteria, possessing a defective gene for the enzyme lactase, in Petri dishes that contained only lactose as a food source. The mutant bacteria were not able to metabolize the substrate. After a short period, the stressed, non-replicating bacteria began to thrive and proliferate. Upon examination, it was found that the bacteria specifically mutated the unresponsive lactase gene and repaired its function. Cairn’s research revealed that, in response to environmental stresses, organisms can actively induce genetic mutations in selected genes in an effort to survive. These mutations would represent mechanical “adaptations” that are induced by the organism’s response to life experiences.

Though Cairns’ results have been vehemently challenged by traditionalists, a molecular mechanism accounting for his observations was substantiated by Harris, et al., in a paper entitled Recombination in Adaptive Mutation (Science 264:258, 1994). This latter publication revealed that organisms, as primitive as bacteria, contain “genetic engineering genes.”

This newly identified class of genes can be actively accessed by the organism to selectively mutate existing genes. Through successful “adaptive” mutations of selected genes, organisms are able to create new proteins, whose altered structures or functions may afford a better opportunity in surviving stressful environments.

Based upon this new perspective, David Thaler published an important revisionist article entitled The Evolution of Genetic Intelligence (Science 264:224, 1994). Thaler’s new perspective recognizes that biological expression is actively defined by the individual’s perception of their life experiences. Thaler emphasizes the significance of perception, not only in its ability to regulate the body’s expression by dynamically switching gene programs, but also in its ability to induce the “rewriting” of existing gene programs in order to better adapt to environmental stresses.

When put into perspective, the newly emerging view of conventional biomedicine reveals a profound change in fundamental beliefs. The Primacy of DNA is giving way to the Primacy of the Environment. Essentially, conventional science has shifted the source of intelligent control from the internalized genes to the externalized environmental “signals.” These regulatory “environmental” signals appear to be, in part, related to D. D. Palmer’s concept of Universal and Innate Intelligence.

In addition, it has been demonstrated that in response to life experiences, the organism may actively alter “Innate” gene programs as a means of mechanical adaptation to perceived environmental conditions. When perception of the environment is biased by the “educated” brain, then “educated” may bother or worry Innate by selecting inappropriate gene programs and producing disease. Conventional medicine is now recognizing that “educated” may also induce a rewriting (mutation) of Innate programs. Consequently, a perceptual bias by “educated” may lead to genetic dysfunction and cancer.

There is clearly an upheaval of conventional thought brewing in the allopathic ranks. The interesting nature of these new considerations is that it is bringing conventional biomedicine into closer alliance with D. D. Palmer’s original Chiropractic Philosophy. The uniqueness of chiropractic is that it has a vitalistic foundation. Leading edge cellular and molecular research is now proving that Chiropractic should embrace and promote its vitalistic roots.

The chiropractic philosophy of D. D. Palmer provided an understanding of the principles employed in his healing art. Palmer declared that life’s vital functions were “controlled” by Innate Intelligence, which was under the guidance of an eternal Innate (spirit). He further defined Educated as an “intelligence” that is acquired through one’s life experiences. Educated provides Innate with an awareness of the body’s environment and in the process it serves to “keep, fix, and adjust the skeletal frame …” in an ever changing environment.1A

The perceptions acquired by Educated represent one’s “beliefs,” and these beliefs guide the behavior of Innate. According to Palmer, “The Educated impresses its thoughts upon Innate, directing its functions more or less.”1B If learning experiences are fraught with errors and misperceptions, then Educated would inadvertently misdirect the activities of all-knowing Innate. Palmer stated that “Educated bothers and worries Innate when trying to direct that of which Innate knows far more of than Educated will ever know.” 1C He was referring to the fact that misperceptions in the Educated mind would cause dis-ease if they misinformed the Innate. Palmer further asserted that Auto-suggestion, the process of “self-talk” by Educated, represented one of the primary causes of disease. 1D

D. D. Palmer was expelled from the Palmer School of Chiropractic 11 years after he founded the science. His chiropractic philosophy was subsequently altered, removing the concept of “spirit” from Innate and eliminating Auto-suggestion, the role of mind over matter, as a cause of disease. These notions, considered too metaphysical or religious, were eliminated in an effort to make Chiropractic more “scientific,” more acceptable to the “conventional” world.

Over the last 80 years, the profession has experienced an undercurrent effort to align chiropractic with allopathic science, for biologists have obviously made great strides in understanding the mechanisms of life. Currently, conventional biology recognizes that the physical character and behavior of an organism is defined by its protein building blocks. Since the nature of proteins is “programmed” in DNA, medical science recognizes the following hierarchy in regard to information flow in living systems: DNA>RNA>Protein.

Based upon this flow, contemporary biomedical thought is preoccupied with the concept of genetic determinism, the belief that an organism’s expression is primarily under the “control” of its genes.

As we approach the new millennium, leading edge cell research now reveals a profoundly different story. The primary difference concerns the fact that genes are not self-emergent.2 This means that genes are unable to turn “themselves” on and off, genes cannot “control” their own expression. Obviously, this challenges the concept that genes “determine” our character.

How then are genes controlled? Within the cell’s nucleus, DNA (gene) molecules are sheathed within a layer of regulatory proteins. Concealed (i.e., protein-encased) genes are inactive. Removing the protein “sleeve” exposes the gene and allows for its activation. The binding and release of regulatory protein is controlled by “environmental signals.”3,4 Consequently, active “control” of cell expression is in the hands of the environment and is not in the domain of the genes.

In contrast to genetic regulation, the “revised” version of information flow reveals that environment represents the prime source of control: 2 Environment>Regulatory Protein>DNA>RNA>Protein

The processing of environmental information and its translation into biological behavior is carried out by the cell membrane, the “skin” of the cell.5,6 The membrane separates the external non-self environment from the internal self, the cytoplasm. For the following discussion refer to the illustration below.

The cell’s INPUT devices are the protein receptors, which extend from both of the cell membrane’s surfaces. Receptors facing inward “read” the status of the cytoplasm’s environmental conditions. These receptors receive information concerning cytoplasmic pH, salt balance, membrane potential, the availability of metabolites and energy molecules and other parameters related to the cell’s physiology.

Protein receptors displayed on the outer surface of the membrane provide the cell with awareness of the external environment. Cells use information derived from external receptors to “navigate” through their world. Internal membrane receptors are concerned with visceral needs, externally deployed receptors primarily regulate somatic behaviors. Consequently, information of the external environmental profoundly influences the cell’s cytoskeleton and behavior.

To PROCESS the environmental information (i.e., convert signals into biological responses), “activated” receptors couple with complementary effector proteins. The activity of membrane effector proteins, which include ion channels, enzymes and components of the cytoskeleton, is controlled by receptor proteins. 6

The OUPTUT behavior is mediated by activated effector proteins. Effector proteins primarily serve as “switches” or “second messengers” that turn on or off more complex protein pathways deployed within the cell. Effector proteins regulate cytoplasmic pathways, which include motility, digestion, excretion, and respiration among others.

The MEMORY system of the cell, the genes, are also controlled by the membrane. Sometimes cells receive environmental signals necessitating specific responses, however, the cell may not have the necessary proteins in the cytoplasm to enact the required behavior. In this case, activated receptor-effector protein complexes are able to target the regulatory proteins that mask specific genes. These membrane “messengers,” known as transcription factors, alter the binding of regulatory proteins causing them to detach from the DNA, exposing specific genes that need to be read. 3,4

This is how “environmental signals” control gene expression. As the cell experiences new environments, it is capable of dynamically adjusting its genetic readout to accommodate any environmental exigencies. Consequently, the structural and behavioral expression of the cell is a reflection of the organism’s environment.

The primal role of “environment” in controlling gene expression is revealed in recent studies of newly discovered stem cells. Stem cells, akin to multipotential embryonic cells, proliferate forming large colonies of undifferentiated cells. The developmental destiny of stem cell progeny can be experimentally “controlled” by regulating their environment. Environmental signals activate stem cell transcription factors, which in turn select specific gene programs controlling the differentiation of these cells.7,8

Genes are coded “programs” that enable the organism as an individual, and the species as a whole, to survive. Gene programs can be subdivided into two functional groups. One group, representing “growth” mechanisms, is expressly designed to provide for the physical construction and physiologic maintenance of the body. However, an organism possessing only “growth” mechanisms would most likely be called “food,” and would soon become extinct. Environmental threats are managed by the second group of genes, which code for “protection” programs. These genes provide for physical mechanisms and behaviors that are deployed in life-threatening situations. 9

Survival = Growth Programs + Protection Programs

Protection behaviors do not provide growth, and visa-versa. Both growth and protection behaviors require an energy expenditure on the part of the organism. An individual’s ability to grow and reproduce is ultimately based upon the amount of energy available to support those processes. However, their ability to protect themselves is also dependent upon the same energy source.

Organisms engaging in protection behaviors utilize energy from their reserves, leaving less energy for growth processes. Under extreme environmental stress, protection demands may deplete the energy budget to the extent that the organism dies from an inability to sustain normal metabolic functions. In simple economics, survival is inversely related to the need for protection. More protection equates to less growth.

Survival = Growth/Protection

Growth behaviors are associated with the character of attraction. Organisms are “attracted” toward elements of the environment that support their life (e.g., food, water, air and mates). In contrast, protective behaviors are most frequently associated with repulsion. Protection responses to threatening stimuli are characterized by a “posture” that reflects an avoidance reaction.

Growth and protective behaviors can readily be distinguished by observing the cell’s motility. Cells expressing growth move toward (attraction) life-sustaining environmental stimuli. In contrast, cells expressing protection move away from (repulsion) life-threatening stimuli. The behavior of single-celled organisms appears “digital,” they either move toward positive (+) stimuli or away from negative (-) stimuli.

Recent studies on molecular control mechanisms support this “digital” nature of regulating behavior. It has been recognized that cells possess “gang” switches, which collectively shunt growth pathways into protection behaviors in response to environmental stress. 10,11,12 Growth and protection appear to be mutually exclusive behaviors in single cells; a cell cannot be in growth and protection at the same time. Simply, a cell cannot move forward and backward simultaneously.

The dynamic interaction between environmental signals and growth-protection genes evolved an “Innate Intelligence,” which enabled cells to “read” environmental signals and invoke appropriate survival mechanisms. For the first 3 billion years of life, the Earth was inhabited by unicellular organisms that survived by employing individualized Innate Intelligence. Five hundred million years ago, single cells came together forming “colonies,” wherein cells could collectively share awareness of their environment. More awareness increases an organism’s chance at survival.

The first communities were just “loose associations” of cells with all individuals expressing the same functions. At any time, a single cell could leave the colony, divide and start a new one on its own. Original cell colonies contained as few as four and up to several hundred participating cells. Multicellular communities necessitated a language of communication, for survival depends upon organization and coordination of community activities. In small groups of cells, coordinating communications consisted of the first neurotransmitters, as well as vibrational frequencies, that were freely exchanged among the close knit cells.13

As communal intelligence mechanisms evolved, successful colonies could support larger cell populations. A point came wherein colonies were so physically large that it was inefficient for all cells to do the same “work.” Larger communities began to subdivide survival-related labors among their population. This resulted in differentiation, a process wherein cells began to express specialized functions such as skin, bone, and nerve.

In physically large cell communities, most of the constituent cells are not in direct contact with the environment. Out of necessity, a subset of the cellular population became specialized in reading the environment and relaying their “perceptions” to cells internalized within the community. These information handling cells became the organism’s nervous system.

Today, individual cellular communities may be comprised of trillions of cells. For example, human beings represent a social community of from 50 trillion to 70 trillion cellular citizens. Each human cell, like an amoeba, is a free-living entity, possessing Innate Intelligence and capable of appropriately responding to its “local” (i.e., tissue-specific) environment.

Through the action of the nervous system, each individual cell is also influenced by a much larger environment, that experienced by the whole organism.9 Your liver cell knows what’s going on in your liver, but through the nervous system, it also aware of what’s going on in your job or in your relationships.

As illustrated here, the cells receive environmental signals via the central nervous system. In truth, the cells receive a “perception” of the environment as interpreted by the Educated brain.

Our nervous system tabulates approximately 4 billion environmental signals per second. Its primary role is to “read” the environment and make appropriate adjustments of growth and protection behaviors in order to ensure survival. Memory systems evolved to facilitate information handling by storing previously “learned” experiences. Memories, which represent perceptions, are scored on the basis of whether they support growth or require a protection response. In chiropractic philosophy, these learned perceptions constitute the Educated Intellect, which is by evolutionary design, a derivative of the collective Innate Intelligence.

As described above, the switch between growth and protection behaviors in unicellular organisms is “digital.” An individual cell moves either forward or backward. In organisms comprised of large numbers of cells, environmental signals can elicit a graded, “analog” response, wherein some cells are in growth and others are in protection.

The more relevant a stimulus is to the organism’s survival, the more polarized (either + or -) the resulting response. In humans, the extremes of the two polarities might appropriately be described as LOVE (+) and FEAR (-). Love fuels growth. In contrast, fear stunts growth. In fact, someone can literally be “scared to death.”

Perception of environmental threats suppress a cell’s growth activities and cause it to modify its cytoskeletal in adopting a protection “posture.” 9,14 Suppressing growth mechanisms conserves valuable energy needed in exercising life-saving protection behaviors.

In humans, a similar systemic switch functions to shut down our growth processes and prepares us for launching a protection response.15,16,17 This switching mechanism is represented by the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. The brain’s hypothalamus is instrumental in perceiving and assessing environmental signals. The perception of stress causes the hypothalamus to secrete corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), which in turn, activates certain pituitary cells to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) into the blood.
ACTH stimulates the adrenal gland to secrete adrenal hormones.

These hormones constitute a “master switch” that regulates the systems growth-protection activity and routes vascular flow in preparation for “fight or flight” reactions. Firstly, adrenal hormones shunt blood from the viscera and redirect it toward the body’s somatic tissues, which adopt a protective posture. Reduced blood flow to the viscera, by definition, implies a suppression of growth-related behaviors.

Secondly, adrenal hormones directly inhibit the action of the immune system, the internal “protection” mechanism.18 The adrenal system’s function is to protect the body from threats it perceives in the external environment. Adrenal suppression of the high budget immune system makes more energy available to the somatic system. Consequently, the more stress one experiences, the more susceptible they will be to disease.

Adrenal hormones also reroute brain blood flow by constricting forebrain blood vessels and dilating hindbrain vessels. Fight or flight situations are more successfully handled using hindbrain-mediated reflex behaviors. Constriction of forebrain blood flow suppresses “logic” or “executive reasoning,” since slower thinking responses ultimately jeopardize fight-flight reactions.19 Have you ever experienced a loss of intelligence in response to adrenal-mediated “exam stress?”

Collectively, HPA stress suppresses visceral-mediated growth, inhibits the immune system and stunts intelligence. The degree of expression of these influences is directly related to the level of perceived stress. The more stress, the less growth. The interference with growth due to chronic stress leads to disease, since the body is unable to adequately maintain its metabolic vitality.

In conclusion, conventional allopathic medicine is now beginning to realize that genetic expression, which influences the character of the body, is under the control of the environment. However, the growth or protection posture of an individual’s tissues and organs is mediated by the nervous system’s perception of its environment. Perceptions are beliefs. Misperceptions can inappropriately increase or decrease physiologic mechanisms and produce disease. The role of perception and mind is now becoming a point of focus in allopathic healthcare, as they try to unravel the mysteries of the placebo effect and the role of pyschosomatic stress.20

The power of perceptions or beliefs in promoting health or disease was originally recognized by D. D. Palmer. In chiropractic, perceptions constitute the Educated, and it is this Educated that so worries and bothers Innate. He wrote, “The determining cause of disease are traumatism, poison and auto-suggestion.”1D Auto-suggestion (personal beliefs, self-talk) produces “auto-traumatic action directed to any organ or portion of the body, thereby modifying bodily functions, exciting or relieving morbid conditions by mental processes independently of external influence.” 1E

When Educated perceives an environmental stress, it will signal the requirement for a protection response. Protection behaviors, mediated by the somatic nervous system will adjust the spine to provide a defensive posture. Consider the relationship between a powerful alpha-male dog and a dog of lesser rank. The latter will acquire a protective submissive posture, lowered head and body, in order to avoid inciting the wrath of the alpha-male. After holding this posture for a long time (i.e., a chronic protection response), the dog’s spine will acquire obvious subluxations that would adversely impact its health.

A spinal adjustment would alleviate these subluxations. However, if the dog returns to the same environment, it will continue to perceive a need for a protection posture. Under such circumstances, the dog’s Educated mind will employ auto-suggestion mechanisms that will return the spine to its subluxated condition. In addition to the adjustment, the dog will need to either alter its environment or alter its perceptions, in order to remain free of disease.

As Palmer suggests, the chiropractor needs to seriously consider the role of auto-suggestion in the healing process. While adjustments alone can alleviate subluxations, problems generated by an erring Educated may require the need for “reeducation” as a means of reversing disease-producing beliefs.

In 1907, chiropractors rejected D. D. Palmer’s philosophy as being too religious or metaphysical. In an effort to present themselves in a more “scientific” light, the profession has been gradually moving toward allopathic science for the last 90 years. Interestingly, allopaths have now begun to realize Palmer’s truths. If things continue as they are, allopaths may soon be more “chiropractic” than chiropractors!

Dr. Bruce Lipton

1. Palmer, D. D., The Science, Art and Philosophy of Chiropractic 1910 Portland Printing House Co., Portland, OR, A) page 753, B) page 681, C) page 97, D) pages 359 and 674, and E) page 360
2. Nijhout, H. F., “Metaphors and the Role of Genes in Development,” BioEssays 12 (9):441-446, 1990.
3. Lipton, B. H., “The Evolving Science of Chiropractic Philosophy,” Today’s Chiropractic pp.16-19, Sept/Oct 1998
4. Graves, B. J., “Inner Workings of a Transcription Factor Partnership,” Science 279:1000-1002, 1998. (How proteins turn on genes)
5. Unwin, N. and Henderson, R., “The Structure of Proteins in Biological Membranes,” Scientific American pp. 56-66, Oct. 1985.
6. Cornell, B. A., et al., “A Biosensor That uses Ion-Channel Switches,” Nature 387:580-584, 1997.
7. Pittenger, M. F., et al., “Multilineage potential of Adult Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells,” Science 284:143-147, 1999.
8. Bjornson, C. R. R., et al., “Turning Brain into Blood: A Hematopoetic Fate Adopted by Adult Neural Stem Cells In Vivo,” Science 283:534-537, 1999.
9. Lipton, B. H., Bensch, K. G., and Karasek, M., “Histamine-modulated transdifferentiation of dermal microvascular endothelial cells,” Experimental Cell Research 199:279-291, 1992.
10. Hannun, Y. A., “Functions of Ceramide in Coordinating Cellular Responses to Stress,” Science 274:1855-1859, 1996.
11. Hemmings, B. A., “Akt Signaling: Linking Membrane Events to Life and Death Decisions,” Science 275:628-630, 1997.
12. Raloff, J., “Sphinx of Fats,” Science News 151:342-343, 1997
13. Tsong, T. Y., “Deciphering the Language of Cells,” Trends in Biochemical Sciences 14:89-92, 1989.
14. Lipton, B., Bensch, K. G., and Karasek, M., “Microvessel endothelial cell transdifferentiation: Phenotypic characterization,” Differentiation 46:117-133, 1991.
15. Leutwyler, K., “Don’t Stress,” Scientific American pp. 29-30, Jan. 1998.
16. Mlot, C., “Probing the Biology of Emotion,” Science 280:1005-1007, 1998.
17. Sandman, C. A., et al., “Psychological Influences of Stress and HPA Regulation on the Human Fetus and Infant Birth Outcomes,” Annals of the NY Acad. of Sciences 739:198-210, 1994.
18. Pennis, E., “Tracing Molecules That Make The Brain-Body Connection,” Science 275: 930-931, 1997. (Regulation of immune system by stress)
19. Arnsten, A. F. T., “The Biology of Being Frazzled,” Science 280:1711, 1998.
20. Brown, W. A., “The Placebo Effect,” Scientific American pp. 90-95, January 1998

As chiropractors, I wonder if we are completely aware of the magnificent intelligence that dwells within all living things that we call innate intelligence. There is no compromise when it comes to what innate can do and does do when you realize that the balance of the blood, the balance of the body, the harmony of all the tissue cells, along with the re-creation of new tissue cells is all the result of a magnificence that dwells within each tissue cell called innate,

When you understand the energy flow, when you understand the vibration, when you understand that which is created from foodstuffs put in your body that are not exactly the best, when you realize that the body is capable of creating all of the various building blocks it needs from something other, that it takes in one substance (which has not in its makeup and composition what the body needs) and builds something inside of this body that is alien to that which it took in- because of the magnificence and wisdom that dwells within that body.

When I compare what we do as chiropractors, if we truly believe in what we do, if we truly believe in the intelligence that’s in us, if we truly believe in the intelligence all around us that we walk through and live through called universal intelligence and we have an understanding that universal intelligence is in fact a supreme intelligence or supreme being, a supreme knowledge or as some would say, God and  that same intelligence has entered into a primitive brain and is then converted to an intelligence for the use of the organic materials that are going to be put together by this intelligence, making a body that you and I dwell in- that is now going to sustain itself through that intelligence in it, over a period of years be it 10 years, 100 years, or more and I look at these preachers and how much they truly understand that which they present to millions of people and how they go to God on a continuum and how they seem to have their lives wrapped around this Jesus Christ or their particular opinion of God nearly 24 hours a day, write about in copious amounts of books and writings, maintain television shows one after another, teaching what it is that they say they believe.

Then I look at the chiropractor of whom I’m not sure really believe in the trueness and the philosophical tenets of chiropractic, who in fact do not perhaps believe in a universal intelligence as a whole that balances the universe 24 hours a day seven days a week 365 days a year and so it’s difficult for the majority of chiropractors who were taught primarily physical medicine and therapy excluding the philosophy, excluding the importance of innate intelligence, excluding the universal principles that make up this profession of ours to succeed.

We seem to be more concerned about what therapeutic device we can purchase for large amounts of money, so we can apply it to a person from the outside in, which is the practice of medicine, so that we can charge and make more money.

From a principled philosophical viewpoint we want to be able to educate as many people as is humanly possible, bringing people in through a common and simple procedure that allows us to have a flow that will incorporate the passing of hundreds of people per day to receive that all important adjustment, which is the art form of chiropractic, to release the power of life in that body, to allow a greater expression of innate intelligence which is universal intelligence in living entities. And to then be able to have a re-creation of that body over a period of time from that which it is, to perhaps that which it could be.

It is my opinion that we as chiropractors should be joining hands and spreading ourselves across the world to aggressively teach that world what chiropractic is and aggressively teach the world what chiropractic is not, so that we would have many, many more people coming into chiropractic offices to learn what chiropractic is, to receive that specific, magnificent, adjustment, that releases the power of life within that body, to allow that body to reach its potential so that intelligence might better express through matter for the benefit of all the rest of the world.

To do so we need to employ better methods to enhance the profession and share that information with all for the sole purpose of having more people enter into chiropractic offices that teach the philosophical tenets of chiropractic based upon the principle. The object of which he is to make an adjustment, get out of the way and let innate do what it’s going to do ,what it needs to do ,what it wants to do for the benefit of that body without your encroachment of what you think. What you think is wrong and why you think you are to compare your educated intelligence to the innate intelligence is like an infant comparing its educated intelligence with that of a  well schooled parent,  It’s time for you, in my opinion, to attend Gatherings, join the Systems, go to seminars that teach philosophy: at segments of Parker, DE, New Beginnings, Focus, CORE, EPOC, the European philosophy meetings, and make an absolute decision to fill your mind with the knowledge of the philosophy of chiropractic and then go out and win the world’s hearts and minds, aggressively.

The end of the war had brought home the youth of the country and they had filled the colleges. Chiropractic schools shared in the avalanche of new students, who sought to take up a career.

In the summer of 1923, when the Chiropractors assembled in Davenport for the annual Lyceum and convention, the atmosphere just radiated prosperity and good times among the chiropractors.

Destiny had come to favor Chiropractic and it was evident in many ways.

It was one of the most colorful events that had taken place in nearly all of Chiropractic history up to that time. It marked a new milestone for the profession.

The Chiropractors who had come to Davenport looked the part of successful practitioners. They were all exceedingly well-dressed and their pockets were full of money. It was the time when the country was heading for its era of prosperity and the people were for the most part rather well off. In addition to looking well-dressed and having pockets full of money, many had come with their automobiles.

Then, to add further to the scene of good times, nearly all of the Chiropractors appeared to be well and happy.

It should be remembered that these Chiropractors had been mostly ill at one time. They were former patients, who had been given up to die, or had been suffering with illness and disease over a long period of time. Their funds had been very meager in those days, when they sought to study for a career in Chiropractic.

B.J. was the great leader of the profession; the genius of Chiropractic — but he was hopelessly insolvent financially. He was in debt for several hundred thousand dollars.

The money, which the school had made during the previous years, B.J. had squandered, largely on objects of art and travel.

As he looked at the men and women, who had come back to Davenport to rejoice at their prosperity and talk over old times, B.J. compared his status with those of his former students.

They had become well and they had become rich in their practices. He had become poor and practically bankrupt in his work of teaching the science, art and philosophy of Chiropractic.

According to Dr. Frank Elliott’s confidential records of the events that actually took place at that time, shortly thereafter Dossa Evins first came to B.J. to tell him about the Neurocalometer he was working on.

B.J. turned it down flatly and in a single moment.

He did not even stop to consider it. He made up his mind in an instant. It meant nothing to him — and he could not see any value in it.

B.J. told Evins to see Dr. Elliott and maybe he would try and help him do something with it.

Evins went to Elliott and Dr. Elliott saw the value in what Evins was trying to perfect.

But, the next year, when it looked like the Dossa Evins patent would be granted, B.J. suddenly saw that his one opportunity to make money again, to pay off his debts and the chance to build up a new fund so that he too could continue the important work be had begun had been missed.

Fate Intervenes

The following year, when the patent counsel had reported that the Neurocalometer was approved by the patent office as a new invention, Dossa Evins went to B.J. and told him about it.

To B.J., the files show, it meant the end of his life; the end of his career. He said that he had been a fool to turn down the chance that Evins gave him the year before to get in on one of the most important developments in Chiropractic history up to that time. He pointed out that he was broke and hopelessly in debt.

He said to Dossa Evins and to Frank Elliott that they would be the ones now to capture all of the laurels in Chiropractic and that they would not only become famous, but would reap a fortune out of it.

He was now licked, he said.

But, Dossa Evins and Frank Elliott replied that they had come to offer it to him — not merely to show it to him. That he could obtain all of the patent rights and go forward to bring it to the profession — giving them only a share of the profits.

B.J. was absolutely stunned by their behavior. He got in touch with Tom Morris and a demonstration was arranged. The test was performed on Tom Morris, as B.J. looked on.

The demonstration was a success and steps were taken to prepare the necessary agreements.

The files of Dr. Elliott offer a record of the exact conversations that took place. The circumstances are carefully described and reported by him.

Shortly thereafter, the attitude of B.J. toward his fellow-Chiropractors appeared to change. The man, who had no love for money all the previous years, and who delegated to others the task of attending to financial affairs for him, suddenly took on the outward appearance that he was greedy for wealth.

He was accused of blackmailing the members of his profession. He stated that anyone, who did not purchase a Neurocalometer would find himself without a profession to follow. He said it would be impossible for anyone thereafter to practice Chiropractic, if he did not own such an instrument.

What followed was the beginning of the end of B.J.’s role as leader of the chiropractic profession, based partly on the events that followed the introduction of the Neurocalometer.

But the Neurocalometer forever impacted the future of the chiropractic profession in another way that is known to very few, even those that are fully aware of the impact of its introduction on B.J.’s leadership role.

The AMA Campaign to Contain and Eliminate Chiropractic

The most violent crusade ever launched against the profession in all of its history was started by the American Medical Association (AMA), which had its offices in Chicago.

Morris Fishbein had just become the editor of its Journal. Fishbein took to the road to lecture to mass audiences all through the Midwest in a campaign to cripple the Chiropractic profession and to wreck the other remaining separate sciences that were flourishing.

A wave of hate and prejudice began to sweep across the country. Chiropractic had been denounced not only as “unscientific”; it was about to be denounced as “dangerous”.

To see how this came about, let us look at what was filed with the Examiner in the United States Patent Office in 1924.

When Dossa Evins filed his application in 1924 for a process patent covering a method of ascertaining pathological conditions by a difference in body surface temperatures, the patent examiner had interposed objections to the claim.

The briefs filed by the Patent Office asserted that the “methods or modes of treatment by physicians of certain diseases are not patentable.”

An “office rule” had been established in the patent office. They had arbitrarily ruled that they would no longer allow patents covering medical discoveries.

They had become aware of the changing ideas about the healing properties of the body, and had tried to stop anyone trying to obtain a monopoly on “curing the body” by a special method.

The following from their brief will show you how they applied the rule:

“The methods of modes of treatment by physicians is not patentable.

“They are discoveries, which may in the majority of cases, under certain conditions, accomplish certain results, but no particular method or mode of treatment under all circumstances and under all conditions will produce upon all persons, the same results; and, hence, to grant a patent for a particular mode of treatment, would have a tendency to deceive the public by leading them to believe that the method therein described and claimed will produce the desired results in all cases.

“I do not think that the statue providing for the issuance of patents was ever intended to cover cases of this kind.

“It should be reasonably certain in every case that the intervention sought to be patented will produce a certain result; this cannot be said of any mode of treatment used by physicians in curing diseases.

“The mode of treatment resorted to by the applicant must be treated solely as a discovery.”

To answer the objections of the Patent Examiner, Dossa Evins reported to his patent attorneys in Chicago that it was imperative to have his application favorably considered, because there had arisen a serious situation within the profession. Dossa Evins pointed out that many had come to have grave concern over the conventional thrust and the force applied to adjust patients. He reported that many Chiropractors had injured their patients, causing them great harm. His patent attorneys probably had come to learn of the famous Nellie Revell case the year before.

To prevent Chiropractors hurting their patients, to help them make their adjustments accurately, to even prevent a Chiropractor producing a new subluxation by the force of his thrust, Dossa Evins had pointed out that his “discovery and invention” was of the highest importance to the profession.

B.J. had at first refused to consider the ideas presented to him by Dossa Evins and B.J. had referred him to Dr. Frank Elliott.

Consequently, B.J. knew nothing of what was being done in the patent office and what statements were being made in support of the patent application.

Patent counsel for Dossa Evins did not realize at the time that the profession had to be protected in its public relations. All they were concerned about was to get a patent for their client.

They advised Frank Elliott to appear before the Examiner in the Patent Office and to tell him that if he did not waive the office rule, which they had established, and if they rejected the application of Dossa Evins, that steps would be taken to appeal to the Supreme Court for an adjudication of the right of the patent office to fix such limitations without having the right to do so under the patent laws.

Then, a supplemental brief was filed by the attorneys for Dossa Evins and the statements in that brief are of the greatest importance to us as we study the historical events that transpired shortly thereafter.

Without realizing that the medical profession would be receiving its most powerful weapon against Chiropractic, the following revelations were disclosed in the reply brief:-

“Heretofore, attempted correction of subluxations or nerve impingements has been guesswork, due to the fact that it was impossible to accurately locate the point of impingement — that is, the point where the nerve along the spine was subjected to pressure.

“Prior to applicant’s process, an adjustment of the spine was very likely to produce the very condition, which the adjustment was supposed to remedy, due to two facts: first, because there was no way of accurately locating the point where the nerve was compressed and hence an adjustment was liable to be made at the wrong point, and thus produce a compression of a nerve, where it did not previously exist.

“Second, even though there was a proper location of the nerve impingement, it was impossible to know when a correct adjustment had been made, and the chances were that too much of an adjustment would be made and the nerve on the other side of the spinal column thus be compressed.

“It will be seen, therefore, that prior to applicant’s process, the adjustment was uncertain, unscientific, and liable to cause injury rather than to correct the abnormal condition presented for correction.

“Applicant’s process has entirely obviated all these difficulties, and has changed that which has heretofore been uncertain, unscientific — in fact, guess-work — and even dangerous — and has now made it possible to produce scientifically correct and accurate adjustments of the spine.”

Imagine a brief filed in the United States Patent Office setting forth that the science of Chiropractic is “uncertain”; that it is “unscientific”; that it is just “guess-work”; and that it is “dangerous”?

The patent office granted Dossa Evins a patent covering his “new discovery and invention”, but Dossa Evins had given to the medical profession the most devastating arguments they could now assert against Chiropractic.

For, no sooner had the profession started to quarrel about the sales program of the Neurocalometer, and no sooner had the news reached the public that even the Neurocalometer was not what was claimed for it, history shows that the greatest explosion was touched off by the medical profession. They actually went to war against the Chiropractic profession. Brigades got into action and Chiropractors everywhere across the nation were now being arrested in wholesale lots.

The entire profession was thrown into turmoil by an AMA smear campaign whose effects linger to this very day by one of our own providing the AMA its most powerful weapon against Chiropractic.

Source: The Lerner Report

He received his degree from Texas Chiropractic College in 1969 and began his career in Houston, where he built one of the most successful practices in Texas. He left his practice in 1976 to join his father, the legendary Dr. James W. Parker, as executive vice president of Parker Chiropractic Resource Foundation in Fort Worth.

Together they conducted the largest seminar series in the profession. To date, the 300th Parker Seminar in January 1989 — with an attendance of more than 8,300 doctors, spouses, and staff — was the largest gathering in its history.

With his son by his side, Dr. Jim Parker was able to expand their vision by starting Parker College of Chiropractic in 1982, so future doctors could be exposed to the Parker principles for life and practice success while going through school.  He ultimately assumed the presidency of both Parker Seminars and Parker College in 1996.

In order to continue his and his father’s vision and legacy, he began the Karl Parker Seminars in 1999. Through incredible odds, and debilitating disease, he persevered for the betterment of the profession he dearly loved.

Parker died peacefully at home with his family in prayer around him.  He will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers donations are being accepted for the Karl Parker Memorial Fund.  Please make checks payable to the executor of the estate, Robert Parker and mail to:  Parker Health Solutions, 6210 N. Beltline Road, Suite 155, Irving, TX 75063.

Source: Parker Health Solutions, www.parkerhealthsolutions.com

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that about 119 million, or 64.5%, of US adults are either overweight or obese. According to projections, this number is expected to increase to 73% by 2008. Young Americans today now face a lower life expectancy rate than their parents, thanks largely to the effects of poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyles.

The AP reported on May 14, 2008 that for the first time, it appears that more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems. The most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol — problems often linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes, all of which are nearly 100% preventable with lifestyle modification.

The data shows that last year, 51 percent of American children and adults were taking one or more prescription drugs for a chronic condition, up from 50 percent the previous four years and 47 percent in 2001. Most of these drugs are taken daily.

Medication use for chronic problems (read taken daily for life) was seen in all demographic groups. Almost two-thirds of women 20 and older, one in four children and teenagers, 52 percent of adult men and three out of four people 65 or older take one or more prescription drugs regularly.

Most horrific is that among seniors, 28 percent of women and nearly 22 percent of men take five or more medicines regularly. All of which carry side effects too numerous to list, up to and including death. The estimated total number of iatrogenic deaths—that is, deaths induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures— in the U.S. annually is estimated to be approaching 1,000,000.

The current state of affairs in the U.S. with respect to diet is too bleak to even discuss in detail in this article, but here are some highlights:

The U.S. Census bureau data indicate that Americans drink a significant number of their calories. Americans drink about a gallon of soda a week along with a half gallon each of milk, bottled water, coffee and beer.

The biggest single source of calories in America is not pizza or burgers, but soft drinks. Soft drinks containing High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) supply just over 7% of all the calories consumed in the U.S. every year. The consumption of HFCS increased by more than 1000% between 1970 and 1990, far exceeding the changes in intake of any other food or food group. A possibly toxic chemical sugar alternative made from genetically modified, government subsidized corn is the leading staple of the American diet.

Americans are exposed to thousands of different food chemicals including: food additives, preservatives, synthetic sweeteners, pesticide residues, environmental contaminants, mycotoxins, novel food ingredients, packaging-material migrants, flavoring substances and other added nutrients. Food chemicals make up only part of the 75,000 synthetic chemicals developed and released into the environment since World War II. Fewer than half have been tested for potential toxicity to human beings.

America is a nation of poorly nourished, overly sedentary, chemically exposed individuals. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle requires a diet of natural, healthy, nutrient rich food, reducing toxin exposure from foods and drugs, regular exercise, normal sleep, emotional, spiritual health, and a fully functioning nerve system.

These factors all contribute to sickness and disease because they interfere with the body’s ability to produce new healthy cells. The brain controls and regulates, through the nerve system, all cellular function in the body. Proper cellular function is the key factor which determines ones health. The human organism is a community of 70 trillion cells working together, in harmony. This symphony is conducted by the brain and orchestrated by and through the nerve system. Chiropractic adjustments remove any impediment to the communication between the conductor and the orchestra.

Any attempt to extricate one’s self from the current disease care system requires an individual to radically alter their lifestyle. To begin an exercise program, change one’s diet, reduce their exposure to toxins, or work on their emotional health all take a considerable amount of effort on the part of the health seeker.

To improve one’s health through chiropractic requires nothing more than scheduling an appointment. We have in our offices the best kept secret in healthcare. Isn’t it time you find out what regular chiropractic care has to offer you and your family? As the only passive method of altering one’s health and well-being, chiropractic offices around the country will be inundated with more clients than they can handle in the coming decade.

Spread the word that chiropractic care is the fastest, the easiest and the most effective way to start off 2010 on the path toward health, happiness and abundant life.

The following article appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle. Deepak Chopra very clearly articulates the major tenet of the chiropractic message: that the innate intelligence of the body is far superior to anything that can be added, from the outside in. I took the liberty of making a simple substitution of “innate intelligence” (a chiropractic concept) for Chopra’s term “healing system”. As Chopra clearly states below, Chiropractic’s fundamental concept of relying on the body’s own innate intelligence and ability to self regulate, adapt and heal IS the answer to the so-called “health care crisis”:

Do You Want a Health Care System or a Healing System?

The current debate over health care reform has been about politics and money. There is no escaping either factor. Huge vested interests are spending millions of dollars a day to pressure Congress into minimal reform. But even if the political system were pure as snow, an aging American population makes it inevitable that the health care system is going to grow more and more expensive. These external factors fill the news every day, obscuring a simple fact: Your health depends far more on the healing system your body’s own innate intelligence than the health care system. The healing system innate intelligence is inside your body. Its intricacies are just now being fully explored, but certain broad trends have become clear.

• The healing system Innate intelligence is more flexible and powerful than previously thought. For example, the brain can heal itself, a finding that seemed impossible a few decades ago.

• The healing system Innate intelligence is highly sensitive to outside conditions. Stress and emotional discomfort, for example, can severely compromise your ability to heal.

• Healing affects your genes and how they are expressed. An expressed gene is an active one, and this activity turns out to be far more responsive to your state of mind-body health than previously thought. The old image of fixed genes is rapidly changing to a conception in which the body’s genetic material is eavesdropping on all the experiences in your life. In short, a gene isn’t a thing; it’s a process.

• The healing system Innate intelligence is automatic, but your lifestyle choices make a huge difference in the efficiency of healing.

These factors hold true throughout your life, and if we simplify them to one sentence, this would be it: Change your life and you change your healing system. That may sound like the advice we get constantly about proper diet, exercise, and stress management. But with new evidence showing up every day that lifestyle affects an incurable disease like Alzheimer’s, for example, it’s becoming clear that your own healing system will always be the front-line defender of your well-being, not your doctor or the drug companies. So-called lifestyle diseases used to be restricted to conditions like heart disease, obesity, and type II diabetes, where a link with improper diet was easily demonstrated. Now a wider range of disorders is being linked to lifestyle choices, not by one-to-one correlations but through more general trends. That is, no one can predict exactly which disease you might contract due to poor lifestyle choices, but at the same time, reversing those poor choices has a broad effect in improving your power to heal.

Some recent statistics bring home how crucial it is to rely on the healing system your body’s own innate intelligence rather than the healthcare system:

• 58 million Americans are overweight; 40 million obese; 3 million morbidly obese

• Eight out of 10 people over 25 are overweight

• 78% of Americans don’t meet basic activity level recommendations

• 25% are completely sedentary

• 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 years old since 1990

The statistic that really jumps out has to do with sedentary lifestyles. We are addicted to sitting on the couch watching beautiful, slim, fit actors and athletes on television, with a steady increase in other sedentary activities like surfing the Internet and playing video games. In addition, these activities are reaching into younger age groups, making children less active and therefore more inclined to obesity. Yet the simple fact is that the alternative to being sedentary isn’t joining a gym. The greatest benefit of exercise occurs when you move from being sedentary to light activity like walking, doing housework, gardening, and climbing the stairs. Exercise at higher levels will bring increased benefits, certainly, but this first step brings the biggest single improvement in health. Being sedentary is more harmful to you than forgetting to jog three times a week. In addition, at least one study has shown that when overweight adults are put into groups that walk, jog, or run every day, the group that lost the most weight were the walkers.

Thrashing out health care reform is a defining issue for the coming decade and an inescapable duty. Having said that, I urge you to look inward rather than outward. The most perfect health care system can’t do as much for you, on a daily basis, or do it as cheaply as your own healing system innate intelligence. The evidence is there, waiting to be acted upon.

Authors Note: In the interest of maintaining the integrity of the original article, all occurrences were substituted equally.

The Georgia Council of Chiropractic, The Georgia Chiropractic Association and Life University, in order to develop a “Unity of Purpose” and a strong working relationship in the state of Georgia, embarked upon a project to develop a common, agreed upon definition of chiropractic.  The resulting document was signed by the Presidents of the organizations, and those members of the committee who had worked together to finalize the language.

The document reads as follows:

THE FOUNDATIONAL TENETS OF CHIROPRACTIC

We embrace the concept that chiropractic philosophy, chiropractic science, chiropractic art, chiropractic technique, chiropractic diagnosis and spinal subluxation complex denote areas of ongoing research, continuing intra- and inter-professional dialogue and growing understanding.

We embrace the philosophy that life is intelligent.  The human body possesses the inherent potential to maintain itself in a natural state of homeostasis through its innate, inborn intelligence.

We maintain that the science of chiropractic emphasizes the relationship between structure, primarily of the spinal column, and the nervous system, and how that relationship affects function and health. Implicit within this statement are the significance of the nervous system to health and the effect of the spinal subluxation complex upon the whole body.

We hold that all chiropractors should recognize the value of all phases of patient care, including condition-based care, health care and developmental care, as well as both therapeutic and non-therapeutic approaches to patient care.  Individual chiropractors may choose to focus on one phase of patient care, one demographic segment of the patient population or one area of chiropractic expertise.  They may also choose to become a certified specialist in one particular facet of chiropractic.  Such specialization should require advanced, post-graduate education.

We recognize that:
·         The primary clinical objective of chiropractic is the enhancement of human health through the adjustment of the subluxation, and that;
·         Diagnostic expertise in chiropractic should focus on differential diagnosis of spinal subluxation complex, with other conditions assessed at a level of diagnosis appropriate for chiropractic management, or intra- and inter-professional referral, (referential diagnosis), and that;
·         Spinal subluxation complex involves at the least biomechanical and related neurological dysfunction, and that;
·         “Adjustment” in chiropractic refers to a specific spinal manipulation directed toward the objective of the reduction or correction of spinal subluxation or extra-spinal subluxation complex .

We recognize that core chiropractic competencies include:
Patient assessment, diagnosis, adjustment, patient education, management, referral, and co-management.

We maintain that chiropractic care incorporates the use of diagnostic and adjustive procedures when indicated, including some or all of the following:

• Patient history
• Physical examination
• Examination for spinal or extra-spinal subluxation complex
• Biomechanical functional assessment
• Laboratory and imaging studies
• Spinal and/or extremity adjustment
• Chiropractic case management
• Spinal Hygiene
• Patient education
• Participation in coordinated care

We maintain that chiropractic care focuses primarily on the chiropractic adjustment.  Procedures ancillary to this and the other core chiropractic competencies are and should remain optional components of the practice of chiropractic.

These ancillary procedures may include some or all of the following:

• Physiotherapy
• Spinal/extremity manipulation
• Nutritional supplementation
• Exercise/rehabilitation

This list is not intended to be inclusive of all services ancillary to chiropractic that may fall within the scope of chiropractic licensure of a particular jurisdiction.

We hold that the conservative essence of the practice of chiropractic is not consistent with the performance of surgery or prescribing, administering, or dispensing of pharmaceuticals.

We further hold that the full spectrum of chiropractic practice from broad-scope to focused-scope will be defended equally, vigorously and pro-actively in order to protect the rights of all chiropractors to practice in the manner and method they deem appropriate within the law.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome and are very much appreciated.

Chiropractic as a brand has the potential to broadly appeal to a very wide segment of the population. Let’s look at what chiropractic represents. Chiropractors are a unique group of licensed health care professionals who look at health as the fullest expression of life within an individual.

Doesn’t that sound like something consumers want for themselves and their families, the fullest expression of life? Health, vitality and a life with less pain, sickness and disease without the use of dangerous drugs and surgery. Again, who would not be interested in that?

But sadly, we have never presented chiropractic to the public in this manner. Individually, in our offices, we make these assertions. And we should. We have the research to back it up.

You and I know that life is expressed though the mental impulses which originate in the brain. Since these mental impulses traverse our nerve system, this is where you focus your energy.

Our philosophy maintains that the innate intelligence that made the body can heal the body of any challenge that may arise, as long as we don’t physically, chemically or emotionally interrupt this natural process.

You find and correct any physical interference to this natural process, maintain that correction long enough for the body to replicate itself normally, building healthy cells instead of sick cells and healing is the natural, expected, inevitable result.

But chemical and emotion factors also interrupt normal, natural functioning of the body at the cellular level including: the American diet, heavy reliance on drugs to treat symptoms and the extreme stress that affects so many.

Chiropractic, the brand, needs to authoritatively address the chemical and emotional aspects of the subluxation in addition to the physical component. We need to speak up and be seen as the authority on all facets of the natural health care model called chiropractic.

We have witnessed first hand how this can thrust chiropractors into the media spotlight with the recent H1N1 vaccine issue. And all of this recent publicity has happened WITHOUT the benefit of professional representation in the media.

In addition to vaccine safety issues, we need to be speaking out on issues of dangerous chemical food additives, the overuse of drugs, the contamination of the water supply, genetically modified food, industrial farming and animal production. And we must speak out in favor of prayer, meditation, personal development, life-long learning and other health promoting lifestyle choices.

In other words, chiropractic needs to reclaim the components of our message which have been usurped by the natural/organic food industry, the supplement industry, the juice industry, the exercise industry, the self-help industry, the yoga industry, the Pilates industry and the diet industry.

And we need to proudly announce to the world that avoiding disease and infirmity by removing physical, chemical and emotional stressors that impede the fullest expression of life has been our message for the past 114 years. We salute these other health promoting industries. We can even support them and can advocate their use. But the big idea is ours.

Currently the “Wellness Revolution” is passing chiropractic by. Instead of leading the way, chiropractors sit on the sideline wondering how to get involved. Reflect back on the list and you will notice one thing. All of these industries have effective marketing and public relations initiatives. How about chiropractic?

The need for a professional Public Relations and Branding campaign like Chiropractic America’s www.YourSpine.com initiative and the associated public relations campaign directed by FK Health/Ogilvy PR Worldwide has never been greater.

The public will never know that the health of the nerve system impacts ever aspect of their life and health, unless you tell them. They will never know that the health of the spine matters, unless you tell them. They will never know that chiropractic is a highly effective method of restoring and maintaining health unless you tell them.

You can continue to do this one patient or small group at a time or we can come together as a group, with thousands of like-minded chiropractors and tell the masses about the amazing, life-enhancing benefits of a healthy spine and a fully functioning nerve system.

The vehicle to do this is built and ready. Beginning in April, 2010, we will be driving hundreds of thousands of Internet users with specific health challenges to the site each month, educating them on the benefits of chiropractic care. The only question is: Will you be the chiropractor that serves these patients in your community? I hope the answer is a resounding YES.