From Then to Now: The Evolution of Chiropractic Care for Patients

The other day, I had to get a special seal put on a document that we were selling in America. The lady at the office was very pleasant and helpful. However, I noticed that she had a heat pack beside her. I asked her if that was to keep warm during our colder-than-average winter in Perth, West Australia? She replied that it was because of a severe lower back problem.

The woman told me it was caused by a chiropractor some years ago. She had her spine twisted on a table as she described it; he 'cracked' her back. Within 24 hours, she was in excruciating pain. The result was two herniated discs in her lower spine and an inability to walk. Doctors told her that her spine was severely damaged and she'd have to live with it because surgery would not be effective. I told the woman that I was a chiropractor. She stated, to her credit, "I know there are some bad eggs in every profession." Whether the chiropractor caused the problem or it was already there, I wouldn't know. Still, she could disassociate her incident from labeling the whole profession in a bad light.

The technique that she described sounded like an old traditional technique that even I used many decades ago. However, chiropractic, while retaining its original philosophy, needs to evolve in how it delivers its corrective care. The 'why' or philosophy of why we do what we do is the same; the methodology, however, may change.

The biggest fear factor regarding chiropractic care is the fear of having one's neck 'cracked' and that it is presumed to be very painful. That is the perception that many have in the community.

Most professions evolve, mainly thanks to technology. Unfortunately, medicine in several areas has failed to evolve. An example is the obsession with mass vaccination rather than focusing on lifestyle changes to enhance health from within. The Covid debacle was a clear example. So, I've seen various changes in the past 51 years since I graduated. I'll describe some of these because they help to demystify what one might expect from chiropractic care. The changes allow chiropractors to provide safer and more effective spinal care. Some old techniques are effective; however, adding new ones does not detract from care but enhances it. Let's go through some of the evolution.