What is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic was conceived in the late 1800's by its founder Daniel David (D.D.) Palmer, as an alternative health model to allopathic medicine. It is important to stress the concept of chiropractic as a method for general health care has many of its roots in the teachings and therapeutic practices of Hypocrites. The differences D.D. Palmer proposed between allopathic medicine (what are known as M.D.'s) and chiropractic consisted of: chiropractic would be both drugless and without the use of surgery; it would utilize natural therapies, primarily that of spinal manipulation; it would focus on causes rather than symptoms; and it would be holistic as opposed to reductionistic.

There were, and are, five distinct philosophies that provide the basis for chiropractic care.

The first is vitalism,a philosophy that assumes that a normally functioning body has inherent capabilities to heal itself. It is the chiropractor doctor's goal to facilitate the healing process. This process is often referred to as vis mediatrix naturae.

The second philosophy is naturalism. Since the body is constructed on nature's order, the preference is for natural therapies.

The third philosophy is holism - the belief that the patient should be the total individual and that health is the expression of spiritual, psychological, physical and environmental factors.

The fourth philosophy is therapeutic conservatism. Since the body has the capacity to heal itself, and because it is part of nature's order, it follows that the best care is the least care by the practitioner. Chiropractic, therefore, forms part of a group of conservative therapies.

Lastly, the fifth philosophy is critical rationalism - the assumption that the methods of science, and the bodies of scientific knowledge are applicable to chiropractic science and that the latter accepts them as the basis for understanding the body in health and illness.

Chiropractic healthcare is directed toward the restoration and enhancement of health by altering the neural regulations of body systems, primarily, but not exclusively, by adjustments of the spine and other articulations of the body. It has created a health encounter that emphasizes cooperation between the provider and the patient and promotes patient education. This care is holistic, humanistic, naturalistic, personalized, conservative, intelligible and equalitarian. It is care that is oriented towards health enhancement and disease/injury prevention.