Where Did Chiropractic Go?

I am reminded of the dedication to principle I am only beginning to understand. Looking at old Palmer photographs, I am transported back to a time where DD Palmer took a buggy pulled by two pinto ponies named Nip and Tuck to work and would climb the stairs in the Ryan Building to apply his new principle to heal the sick. Where now we just walk outside and turn on our cars with a turn of the key and drive on well paved roads as we are protected by the elements, DD would get up early and feed, clean, brush his ponies as well as hook up the team and drive to work. As if this wasn’t enough he was writing books, performing anatomical dissections, postulating theories, starting a school, working to get licensure, while spending a few weeks in Jail now and again.

It’s overwhelming if you really think about it, but most of us don’t. We too often complain about how we are mistreated or misunderstood and try to work on the next gimmick to grow the practice for new patients.

After 20 years of practice and having adjusted over 600 people in one day I sit here looking at pictures of DD and BJ Palmer, and I tell you without hesitation, there is no Gimmick!

It was once said, “Stand for something or fall for anything”. As I become enchanted surrounded by images of our great fathers, I understand the depth of what it means to stand for something.

Knowing they had discovered a new principle to help cure human illness and developed a new philosophy to explain our existence, DD and BJ Palmer started writing volumes of books and went so far as to own and operate there own publishing company on campus. Now when our own chiropractic colleges are dropping the name chiropractic, I am reminded, BJ started a radio station calling it, WOC, World of Chiropractic.

Knowing Ronald Reagan was one of the first broadcasters for the new station which was originally situated on the forth floor of the college, I think about BJ Palmer speaking with the young broadcaster and having adjusted the soon to be president in one of the adjusting rooms before a broadcast.

Our history is truly deep and strong and almost unbelievable unless you see some pictures or here the words of BJ himself.

What happened?

BJ stuck to his principles while the rest of the world moved on to dilute the message and ignore the philosophy. Even early on, other chiropractic schools went on to teach other forms of healing and discussed other forms of disease and treatment.

As the years passed BJ became less significant along with his principles and philosophy passing into the hands of innate from which he came almost unnoticed, dying in Florida in 1961.

Today, as a profession, we are weak and divided with only a few knowing the foundation of our principles and philosophy.

Our identity, uniqueness, and specialty has been so watered down, the public and government view of chiropractic is often placed between a message therapist and physical therapist with a little witchcraft mixed in.

Why?

Out of our fear from lack of certainty and our precious need to be accepted, we committed mutiny!  We chose not to kill our leader, but worse we ignored him, making BJ Palmer insignificant, making the principle and philosophy insignificant, taking chiropractic on a course equal and parallel to that of osteopathy.

As we rub, run electricity, detoxify, exercise, and give nutritional advice we dilute chiropractic to a crack that might help your ache or pain and nothing more. It’s no wonder patient’s leave you and don’t want to pay anything, they can take an Advil for that!

So we are clear, I think exercise, nutrition, physical therapy, detoxification, and massage all help people and have a needed place for health and wellness, but they are NOT Chiropractic!

Add them if you will but place them careful on a foundation built of solid granite with chiropractic principal and philosophy. Only then will we remain a unique, separate, and powerful profession.

DD and Bj Palmer always knew believed and discussed other limitations, or interferences to innate BUT their job and the job of the chiropractor was first and always to remove interference to innate by the adjustment!

Good News!

DD and BJ Palmer are still alive living everyday in the words written by their own hand originating from that place of innate, the life source of health and healing. Do yourself and the profession a favor and spend some time with our father’s everyday. Learn more of their sacrifice and dedication as well as the hardships they endured for mankind. You might just find the courage and responsibility to defend the chiropractic principle and save some lives with your adjustment tomorrow.