﻿Welcome back to Bad Things in History, where sometimes the questionable past
drags on into the present. Back pain is a common and unfortunate
problem for people all over the world. Those who can simply endure it. Others
take medication to deal with the pain. A significant number of people who suffer
from back pain seek relief by visiting chiropractors.
Do they actually help the patients that medical science cannot? Or are they frauds?
Today we’re going to look at the strange and troubling history of chiropractic medicine.
Vitalism
Modern medicine uses the scientific method to diagnose and treat diseases. But in the distant
past the healing arts used a vastly different approach to explain the nature of life.
Ancient cultures observed that living things are very different from nonliving things. They decided
it was because living organisms contained a special force that simply didn’t exist
elsewhere. Life entered an organism because of a vital spark that brought it into existence.
Variations of this belief existed in ancient Egypt.
It was also present in Greece as well. Within the Roman Empire,
doctors thought that lungs inhaled life force which was then distributed by blood.
The belief in vital forces persisted beyond the lifetime of the Empire
and found its way to Medieval Europe as well. Over time, Isaac Newton’s discoveries inspired
those who believed in vitalism to find scientific explanations which supported their beliefs.
One of those who rose to the occasion was Carl Reichenbach.
Carl was from Stuttgart, Germany. From 1830 to 1834 he worked on distilling hydrocarbons,
which contributed to the creation of modern industrial chemicals. In 1839 he
moved on to a different type of research. Carl wanted to learn more about the human
nervous system. He studied people with mental illnesses and decided that he knew the source of
their troubles. They were simply too sensitive to the vital force that powered all living things.
Carl called this living energy the Odic Force and said that it was related to magnetism.
Thus, the life force which inhabited all organisms now had a scientific explanation.
Although scientists never took Carl’s theory seriously, the idea of vitalism never went away.
It would eventually serve as the philosophical basis for chiropractic medicine. But the practice
of treating patients had its roots in a more gruesome profession.
Bonesetter Life in the past was difficult and dangerous.
People suffered all kinds of injuries. Bones were broken, joints were dislocated,
and muscles were damaged beyond repair. Most people in the past were also poor.
When they needed help to treat injuries, they didn’t go to a hospital. Instead they looked
for a local professional known as a bonesetter. A bonesetter would examine a broken bone and push
it back into place. Then it would be supported with either a splint or a plaster cast. A very
well-trained bonesetter could also pop dislocated joints back into the correct position. More
skilled members of the profession were also able to manipulate damaged muscles and relieve pain.
The services provided by these professionals were so valuable that
a few of them became famous. Sally Mapp was born in Wiltshire, England
in 1706. Her father was a bonesetter, and Sally spent her childhood watching him treat patients.
As her father became too old to practice the craft,
Sally started taking care of patients herself. And it turned out she was really good at it.
Popping joints and bones back into place was a difficult task that required great strength.
Usually it had to be done by very strong men. But Sally was just as capable as any of them.
She was known for being able to pop the most stubborn bone back into place.
On October 21, 1736 a writer named James Caulfield described how Sally performed her duties:
________________ On Monday, Mrs. Mapp performed two extraordinary
cures; one on a young lady of the Temple, who had several bones out from the knees to her toes,
which she put in their proper places: and the other on a butcher, whose knee-pans were so
misplaced that he walked with his knees knocking one against another. Yesterday she performed
several other surprising cures; and about one set out for Epsom, and carried with her several
crutches, which she calls trophies of honour. Unfortunately, Sally was also a raging alcoholic.
Her fame and fortune evaporated, and Sally died in 1737 at the age of thirty.
By 1815, attitudes in England started to change.
Modern medicine gained in popularity and folk remedies soon fell out of favor.
Despite modern developments, bonesetters still exist today.
They practice mostly in developing countries where access to modern medicine is limited.
In the western world they are nearly extinct. One man would combine the concept of vitalism
with the practical nature of bonesetting to create the modern field of chiropractic medicine.
The Father of Chiropractic Medicine Daniel David Palmer was born in Port Perry,
Ontario on March 7th, 1845. He moved to the United States around 1865.
Daniel participated in several professions before discovering his true calling. First, he was a
beekeeper. Then Daniel worked as a schoolteacher. At one point he even owned a grocery store.
By 1870, he spent much of his time studying magnetic healing. It was a theory that claimed
using magnets could help unleash the body’s healing powers. Daniel would use this treatment on
paying customers for several years. But eventually his beliefs would expand into other areas.
In 1895 Daniel was treating patients in his office in Davenport, Iowa.
According to Daniel, the building’s janitor was hard of hearing.
Daniel thought it might be because of a lump in the back of the neck.
He moved some joints in the janitor’s back and claimed that the hearing problems were fixed.
The janitor’s daughter, many years later, said that this never happened.
Her father was never treated by Daniel, nor was lost hearing ever restored.
In 1896 Daniel combined techniques of joint manipulation with his spiritual beliefs.
He claimed that most illnesses were due to “subluxation”. This meant that parts of the
body were experiencing pain and inflammation because the spine was out of alignment.
He thought that physically manipulating the back could fix these problems.
More specifically, Daniel believed that the vital forces in the body were out of balance.
Physically moving joints in the back could therefore relieve most diseases.
He once described his approach to healing:
In 1886 I began as a business. Although I practiced under the name of magnetic,
I did not slap or rub, as others. I questioned many M.D.s as to the cause of disease.
I desired to know why such a person had asthma, rheumatism, or other afflictions. I wished to know
what differences there were in two persons that caused one to have certain symptoms called disease
which his neighbor living under the same conditions did not have...In my practice
of the first 10 years which I named magnetic, I treated nerves, followed and relieved them
of inflammation. I made many good cures, as many are doing today under a similar method.
His spiritual beliefs were often in direct contradiction with medical science.
Daniel completely rejected germ theory. He thought that vaccines were ridiculous
and nobody in their right mind should take them. At one point he said of vaccines:
It is the very height of absurdity to strive to 'protect' any person from smallpox or
any other malady by inoculating them with a filthy animal poison.
In 1897 Daniel created a school to help teach others about his approach to treating illness.
It became known as the Palmer College of Chiropractic.
One of the first students was Daniel’s son, B.J. Palmer.
Medical science had a low tolerance for Daniel and his new branch of medicine. They called
him a “quack” and said his treatments were dangerous. Soon laws were passed
which required those who treated patients to have a valid medical license.
In 1906, Daniel was prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license.
He decided to protest this unfair treatment by refusing to pay a fine and going to jail.
However, prison was not enjoyable. So, after several weeks he decided to pay the fine.
Daniel sold the school in Iowa to his son, B.J.
Then he left the state and established other schools in Oklahoma, Oregon, and California.
The relationship between Daniel and his son was very tense.
It would end in resentment and possibly violence. But the family business would continue to grow.
The Developer of Chiropractic Medicine B.J. Palmer was born on September 14th,
1882 in What Cheer, Iowa. During the first years of his childhood, the family lived in the back
of the grocery store that Daniel owned. In 1885, B. J.’s mother died after a brief illness.
Daniel remarried several times and had two more children with his various wives. According
to B.J., Daniel was so busy with creating Chiropractic treatments that he usually ignored
the children. And when he did pay attention to the children, it was to deliver beatings.
Despite their strained relationship, B.J. attended his father’s school and learned the profession of
Chiropractic medicine. After graduating, he worked as an instructor at Palmer College.
While there he met another instructor named Mabel Heath. They were married on May 30th, 1904.
B.J. ran his own research clinics. Through that work he became convinced that the upper cervical
spine was the key to managing health. He also decided to use more modern diagnostic tools.
B.J. began using imaging technologies, such as x-rays.
His desire to use tools from medical science caused a split in the chiropractic
community. Those who identified as “straight” practiced only the art of joint manipulation.
They refused to use any tools provided by science. The practitioners that believed
as B.J. did were called “mixers”, since they would use a variety of tools to treat patients.
Daniel and B.J. had a very argumentative relationship. Tensions flared after Daniel
sold the school to B.J. Reportedly the two did not agree on the future of chiropractic medicine.
On August 27th, 1913 it was alleged that B.J. ran over Daniel with a car during a parade.
Whether or not it did happen, Daniel passed away on October 20th.
That same year, B.J.’s efforts to legalize chiropractic medicine began to bear fruit.
Kansas decided it would use a different licensing system for chiropractic doctors.
Eventually it would spread to all fifty states.
B.J. continued doing his part to spread this special brand of medicine.
In 1922 he bought a radio station which broadcast news and promoted chiropractic treatments.
Fun fact: B.J. gave Ronald Reagan his first broadcast job at the station.
B.J. passed away from intestinal cancer on May 27th,
1961. But his teachings are still being used today.
Is It Safe? Medical doctors were against chiropractic medicine
from the moment it appeared. But their ability to eliminate it was always restricted by the courts.
In 1963 the American Medical Association created the Committee on Quackery
which had the goal of eliminating chiropractic medicine entirely. Instead,
it would have the opposite effect. In 1976 several chiropractors sued the American
Medical Association, as well as several physicians. They claimed that by trying
to eliminate chiropractors it was a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Ultimately the court
found in favor of the plaintiffs. Doctors were not going to eliminate chiropractic medicine.
Judge Susan Getzendanner, while rendering her decision, was careful to not
claim that chiropractic medicine was valid. She said during her ruling:
The plaintiffs clearly want more from the court. They want a judicial pronouncement
that chiropractic is a valid, efficacious, even scientific health care service. I believe that the
answer to that question can only be provided by a well designed, controlled, scientific study...
No such study has ever been done. In the absence of such a study, the court is left to decide
the issue on the basis of largely anecdotal evidence. I decline to pronounce chiropractic
valid or invalid on anecdotal evidence. The opinion doctors have concerning chiropractic
medicine is still mostly hostile. In 2020 one physician told the Skeptical Inquirer,
I think Spinal Manipulation Therapy (SMT) is a reasonable option for patients to try ... But
I could not in good conscience refer a patient to a chiropractor... When chiropractic is effective,
what is effective is not 'chiropractic': it is SMT. SMT is also offered by physical therapists,
DOs, and others. These are science-based providers ... If I thought a patient might
benefit from manipulation, I would rather refer him or her to a science-based provider.
As to whether doctors think chiropractors are safe, it mostly depends on what they’re doing.
The World Health Organization has claimed that chiropractic treatment is
safe when applied with proper skill. But there is the potential for
unfortunate side effects. And sometimes these side effects kill.
On November 8th, 2014 thirty-year-old Jeremy Youngblood walked into a chiropractor’s office.
After having his neck manipulated by the chiropractor, he suddenly died. An autopsy
discovered that the treatment had caused blood vessels to burst in Jeremy’s brain.
Katie May was a former Playboy Model. On February 1st, 2016,
she was thirty-four years old. She was suffering from a pinched nerve in her neck. Katie went to
visit her chiropractor. When he manipulated her neck, it caused Katie to have a fatal stroke.
Chiropractic doctors are also allowed to practice in other countries, such as the United Kingdom.
In August 2017, John Lawler was eighty years old. He was having pain from a leg injury and decided
to visit a chiropractor named Arleen Scholten. Moments after the session began John began yelling
out in pain. He could no longer feel his arms or legs or move any of his limbs. He died in
a hospital the next day from irreversible spinal damage. After an investigation by the Chiropractic
Committee Arleen was cleared of wrongdoing and allowed to continue treating patients.
Chiropractors are clearly here to stay. But their treatments are not without risk.
Do you think chiropractors provide a valuable service? Or are they frauds
who shouldn’t be allowed to treat patients? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
We really want to know how our viewers feel about this controversial profession.
There is much more history on this topic than we could cover in this episode. But if you think we
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