Jack Kerouac has a quote regarding fads: “Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinions.” I find this quite appropriate for modern American. We, in general, are trend hopping, gimmick-chasing, fad mongers. We trade long term results for short term experiments. We chase the new, the fast, and the easy….almost always to our detriment.
The last 100 years and change has been filled with gimmicks and fads. Ranging from the insane (see bloodletting, heroin as a treatment for coughs) to the stupid (the Thighmaster, Pet Rock, and boy bands). Simply look at diets: in the 80’s fat was evil and now carbs are the enemy. Cigarettes used to considered safe. The point: things come and go and only the truly valuable stick. They may evolve, but the idea is kept because it is good and worthwhile.
I’m proud to say that chiropractic is one of these things. It has stood the test of time and is largely unchanged. This Thursday, September 18th, chiropractic turns 119 years old. It was birthed by D.D. Palmer in 1895 in Davenport, Iowa. Palmer then started the Palmer School of Chiropractic in 1897. Now, to be clear Palmer didn’t invent moving a bone in your spine (there are reports of that in other cultures thousands of years earlier). No, the brilliance he produced was a philosophy, a pattern of thinking. Palmer said; “Chiropractic embraces the science of life, the knowledge of how organisms act in health and disease, and also the art of adjusting the neuroskeleton.” See, it was just adjusting, but how we look at health. This is the basics: the Universe has an intelligence to it. He called this Universal Intelligence (God), this force is what keeps the planets in orbit, etc. When we look at humans, there is something that orders us: you don’t have to tell your heart to beat or your lungs to breath, this is done for you. Palmer named this thing that does these functions Innate Intelligence and stated that Innate was Universal Intelligence manifest in man. Innate is housed in your nervous system (since this is the structure that controls all bodily function and is made of the brain, spinal cord, and spinal nerves) and your spine is the protector of your nervous system. When a spinal bone deviates from its normal position, he called it subluxation. Subluxation put pressure on the nerve system and diminished Innate’s ability to do it’s job.
Thus, as chiropractors, we concern ourselves with the detection and correction of subluxation so that the Innate Intelligence of your body can fully function. We are not worried about any particular condition, pain, or ailment. These types of things are not problems, but indications of underlying issues. So, by this rationale, we correct subluxations so the body (via it’s own Innate Intelligence) can heal itself.
To this day, 119 years later, we utilize this same philosophy at Crossroads. It is the drive and belief that informs every aspect of our practices. Come and join us if you are tired of being sick, in pain, or just less than you should be. If you want a different path to wellness, chiropractic is here, the same as it has always been and God willing, it will be 119 years from now, as well.
Chiropractically, Dr. Graham
PS: come celebrate Chiropractic’s birthday with us September 18th! There will be cake and new patient specials!