by Herman S. Schwartz, DC

Most of the authorities in the healing profession, including those in our own, generally agree that the “mind” of man is or can become involved as a causative as well as a curative factor in disease processes; and that at least every other patient that comes to the doctor has some kind of emotional difficulty.

While we must preserve our chiropractic healing art primarily to the adjustment of the vertebral column and its adjacent structures, it does not imply that we can, economically or ethically, afford to completely overlook our responsibility for the patient’s total health needs; nor must we overlook our latent capabilities of helping guide the patient with his general health problems.

When you are known in your community as a chiropractic family doctor, it broadens your field of usefulness to the public; whereas, to be known as a “spinal specialist” restricts your usefulness only to the adjustment of the spine. The vast majority of your patients will then only be those suffering from pain in the back.

Of course, the public has gradually become aware of the effectiveness of the spinal adjustment not only in relieving pain, but also in its influence upon the visceral and glandular systems. But we have not emphasized to our patients that the spinal adjustment can have a wholesome influence upon emotional disturbances; nor have we sufficiently prepared ourselves in our schooling to adequately cope psychologically with the minor emotional stresses of living that the patient may be subject to.

When we limit our theory and practice to the spine only, we overlook the patient as a person, we reduce the human being created in the image of God, when in distress, to merely a subluxated spine and our healing art merely to the adjustment of a mechanical structure.

Furthermore, a most devastating aspect of this concept, as far as our economic welfare is concerned, is that we deprive ourselves of at least one half of the potential patients suffering from emotional stress of nervousness. The latest figures issued by the Institute on Mental Health, Washington, D.C., show that 17.5 million people are suffering from mental disorders. Many of them could be helped by chiropractic and elementary psychotherapy.

Everyone knows by this time that mind and body are one; that emotional upsets can cause visceral disease; and that neurological, somatic or environmental irritations can cause emotional upsets. But do we consider this basic principle in our theory and practice?

We may ask ourselves the question: Would the theory and practice of chiropractic suffer if we would explain our basic premise and the necessity for the chiropractic adjustment for the emotional of physical disease processes in factual broad terms such as: “The elementary principles of our method of healing are based on the sound premise that the brain and nervous system are a complete, reciprocal, interdependent and integrated structure. The neurological mediations penetrate the psychic field as well as the physical field of the human being. The logical conclusion to be derived from the very existence of the afferent and efferent neural impulses is that disease can be brought about either from afferent or efferent brain and nerve irritations reacting to spinal nerve centers. If the irritations are severe enough they can cause neuromuscular tensions manifesting themselves as spinal subluxations, or those irritations can perpetuate already existing subluxations.”

Many examples can be given. For instance: If a patient suffers from indigestion, it can set up violent reactions to the fourth thoracic area. Emotional stress can cause or aggravate an antlantooccipital subluxation.

It should be thoroughly understood by the chiropractor as well as by the public that no matter what the cause of disease may be, the nervous system is bound to be involved to a greater or lesser degree. Thus, the chiropractic adjustment is always indicated. The patient’s health can always be improved by the adjustment, but we must not overlook the fact that the patient may also need some auxiliary health procedures.

Aids, such as basic nutrition, elementary principles of mental hygiene and psychology, can be used by the general practitioner in our ranks. When the patient does not readily respond, then he is in need of specialized help and referrals must be made.

When we tell our patients that all irritations from the body, from malnutrition, from the environment, from the stresses and strains of living and from adverse emotions and attitudes toward life, have their impact upon the brain and nervous system, thus causing nerve and muscle tension, especially upon the spinal column (subluxations), we place the adjustment of the spine in its true and important perspective as a vital healing force. The patient can then easily understand that the spinal adjustment will not only properly align his spine but will make it easier for him to cope with the stresses and strains that he is living under.

On the other hand, if we only use the usual explanation that the adjustment will merely realign a spinal segment to its normal position, we undersell the significance of chiropractic.

It is poor chiropractic economics when our patients come to us only for the adjustment of the spine but resort to tranquilizers, drugs, and other therapies for their difficulties, without giving chiropractic a full opportunity to help them.

It is particularly tragic that while many chiropractors need to enlarge their practices, they do not emphasize to their patients the comprehensive effect of chiropractic in coping with their stresses and strains of living.

We can be proud of our achievements but it will not help our professional and economic welfare if we retire into the ivory tower of spinal subluxation isolation. The public is in need of the chiropractic family doctor, and the chiropractor must recognize all the other forces that can and do contribute as causative and curative factors of health and disease.

Let us strive to develop a willing heart in caring for the emotionally distressed patient. With that divine attitude of healing we search for more psychological knowledge and mechanical skill, so that we can deal more comprehensively with the health needs of our patients. This is a way of gaining our proper status in our community.