| President
Richard M. Nixon
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Dear
Mr. President:
The
second annual report of the Health Advisory Council
to Congress dated October 23, 1970, is a matter of
grave concern to the democratic process. In my opinion,
this committee has exceeded their authorized responsibilities.
Chiropractic
is valid!
Chiropractors
have always known it. The medical profession knows
it, but won’t publicly admit it. I would like
to validate this claim as follows:
Journals
of the medical profession are replete with articles
reflecting increasing interest by the medical practitioner
in the chiropractic premise. Only this month a seminar
was held at the University of Iowa Medical School,
taught by a physiotherapist, on the art and technique
of spinal manipulation. The sad commentary is that
those techniques taught are characteristic of techniques
discarded by the chiropractic profession decades ago
as being obsolete. This is not an isolated instance
of the medial profession’s interest in the methods
of chiropractic. Many such similar projects are being
conducted currently in medical centers around the
world.
Isn’t
it ironic — the very profession castigating
chiropractic on the one hand is immersing itself in
chiropractic practices on the other, yet remaining
some 40 to 50 years behind our work in the self-same
field. I do not wish to make unvalidated statements
and so include herein supportive evidence of my claims.
1.
True Magazine, July, 1970, Vol. 51, No.
398. “Manipulation for Bad Backs?” “Can
medical manipulation of the spine help lumbago —
low back pain — when trouble stems from a ruptured
disc? Apparently yes, according to a study at St.
Thomas Hospital, London, England,” etc.
2.
Daily Intelligence Journal, Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
April 22, 1970. “Aching Back Cure Looms.”.
“Current non-surgical treatments for comparatively
less severe cases include bed rest, use of heat, muscle-relaxant,
pain-killing drugs and manipulation — the later
being mostly practiced by osteopathic physicians.”
3.
Chicago Tribune, May 7, 1970. “Neck
is Cause of Headache, Study Hints.” “They
all had recurring headaches of the adult type without
apparent cause. The scientists stretched their necks
with gentle traction and produced lasting cures in
97 of them.”
4.
In the New England Journal of Medicine as
far back as February 22, 1945, Vol. 232, we find the
following quote: “The best treatment for herniated
discs will remain a subject for debate for some years
to come. Conservative surgeons will continue to treat
patients much along the same lines they have treated
them in the past — physiotherapy, epidural injections,
manipulation and so on.”
5.
In February, 1952, James N. Wilson, MD, and
Frederick W. Illfield, MD, Los Angeles, California,
reported on a study of “Manipulation of the
Herniated Disc,” but using rotary manipulative
techniques that have not proven entirely satisfactory
to the chiropractic profession and have been replaced
by techniques proving to be more effective.
5.
In April, 1961, O. Donald Chusman, MD, and
associates reported on “A Study of the Results
Following Rotary Manipulation in the Lumbar Intervertabral
Disc Syndrome.” In this study, the effectiveness
of manipulation was noted but admittedly not understood.
The methods used were again those no longer approved
by the chiropractic profession.
The
point being made is that the chiropractic profession
has never been studied by any government committee
that had chiropractic representation on it. We have
not even had the courtesy of a “peer”
review by professional peers who were not hostile
to chiropractic. All members of so-called study committees
have been either medical personnel, paramedical personnel
or members of satellite medical organizations. We,
as a profession, resent the name-calling, the discourtesy
and the very unprofessional attitude that has been
the continuing diatribe against us for so long by
the medical majority.
The
second annual report of the Health Insurance Benefits
Advisory Council (HIBAC) to Elliot L. Richardson,
Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare has been
transmitted to Congress. The committee reaffirms the
claims of this letter that it is made-up of medical,
paramedical and medical satellite personnel, but no
chiropractic representatives. Some members of the
HIBAC Committee are already known for their biased
views of chiropractic without any real knowledge of
what chiropractic is. The AMA has published widely
their intent to destroy chiropractic. All members
of the AMA are expected to fulfill their obligations
to this parent organization. How can such people be
objective in coming to a proper conclusion when they
are already committed to actively eliminate chiropractic
from the America scene? They could not be free agents
even if they so desired.
We
are really concerned about the outcome of chiropractic
inclusion in the Social Security (Medicare) Bill and
hope that these viewpoints will be of assistance in
helping the Congress arrive at a fair, equitable and
just conclusion.
Thanks
for taking the time to read such a long letter. I
feel it is necessary in this instance of such great
injustice to a profession that has served the American
public for 75 years. If quackery, how could it possibly
have existed for so long and be acclaimed by so many
that have enjoyed its benefits?
Very
respectfully yours,
H. Ronald Forgley, DC, PhC
Vice President, Palmer College of Chiropractic
Davenport, Iowa. |
