How chiropractic saved lives during the 1918 flu pandemic  

A global crisis unfolds 

In the closing days of World War I, a deadly form of influenza appeared. The Spanish flu pandemic of 1917-1918 claimed more lives than the war. The 1918 Spanish flu infected 500 million people worldwide and killed anywhere from 50 million to 100 million people, making it one of the deadliest epidemics in human history.  

Medicine in its infancy 

Very little was known about prevention or treatment of the flu virus back then, and the world was very much at the mercy of the deadly disease, at least so they thought. To better reference this time, penicillin was discovered around 1926, and the first flu vaccine was used on soldiers in 1938. 

Chiropractic’s early philosophy 

Since science was still relatively in the dark ages in 1918, DCs relied on a philosophy of vitality, things natural and adjusting for the removal of nerve interference as a rule. Application of these principles with the chiropractic adjustment as its center piece, DCs witnessed a wide variety of health benefits, including recovering from respiratory infections, but the real test came during the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918. 

Chiropractic’s breakthrough moment 

Chiropractic is a profession that was really born by the 1918 flu. In 1918, chiropractic was brand-new. The first DC adjusted the first patient in the year 1895. Chiropractic was just 23 years old when the flu struck. From 1917 to 1918, the people who had the flu who were dying and received chiropractic, their chances of survival increased dramatically. If they were already under chiropractic care, they tended to not come down with the flu. What independent healthcare observers noted was that those who chose chiropractic care had only one 40th the death rate as compared to those who chose allopathic or drug-based management. 

Public health takes notice that chiropractic saved lives 

This did not go unnoticed by public health authorities, and the result was licensure for the chiropractic profession. Chiropractic was licensed in Iowa and Nebraska as a consequence of the observation that those under chiropractic care were not dying during the 1917-1918 flu epidemic in anywhere near the same proportion as compared to those who were under medical care. DCs got fantastic results with influenza patients while those under medical care died like flies. It is so interesting to note from a historical perspective that DCs were licensed because of their ability to treat people with an infection, the flu. Reminding you that this was in the pre-antibiotic and the pre-vaccination era of healthcare. 

Data that turned heads 

During the aftermath, scientists and officials got busy investigating the forensics to learn more about what had just happened. To the surprise of the scientific community, the little-known chiropractic profession performed amazingly well around the country. During the 1918 flu, researchers in Davenport, Iowa found that out of the 93,590 patients treated by medical doctors, there were 6,116 deaths; a loss of one patient out of every 15. DCs at the Palmer School of Chiropractic adjusted 1,635 cases, with only one death. Outside Davenport, DCs in Iowa cared for 4,735 cases with only six deaths; one out of 866. 

Oklahoma’s remarkable results 

The medical profession was seeing a majority of the worst of the worst; however, one of the greatest statistics backing chiropractic care came from Oklahoma. During the same epidemic, in Oklahoma, out of 3,490 flu patients under chiropractic care, there were only seven deaths. Furthermore, DCs were called in to treat 233 cases given up as lost after medical treatment and reportedly saved all but 25 lives. In another report covering 4,193 cases by 213 DCs, 4,104 showed complete recovery.  

House calls and healing in the pre-antibiotic era 

ML Stanphill, DC, recounted meeting an elderly DC in 1996 who told him his introduction to chiropractic was doing house calls with his father, who was a DC before him. The DC told Stanphill that those house calls were made specifically to treat people who were bedridden with infectious diseases, primarily pneumonia. “During the flu, we didn’t have an automobile. I went by horseback and drove a buggy day and night. I stayed overnight when the patients were really bad. When the rain and snow came. I just stayed it out. There wasn’t a member of my family that had the flu.” He told Stanphill  his father had a reputation of having never lost a pneumonia patient. This was the pre-antibiotic era of healthcare. These results are part of the proven, critical link between the body’s central nervous system and the immune system. 

In regard to the flu, attention should be directed to the upper thoracic region, especially the upper rib articulations. Appropriate manipulation of the rib cage can help increase ventilation to the lungs.  

Helen Mason, DC’s son, when only a year old, became very ill with bronchitis. In Mason’s words, “My husband and I took him to several medical specialists without any worthwhile results. We called a DC as a last resort and were amazed at the rapidity of his recovery. We discussed this amazing cure at length and came to the decision that if chiropractic could do as much for the health of other individuals as it had done for our son, we wanted to become chiropractors.”¹ 

Final thoughts 

Today we mostly look at DCs to  treat sore backs and sore necks. Historically, almost noone went to DCs with aches and pains. They primarily went to DCs with infectious diseases. By having more flexibility and ease in the spine and spinal tissues, the nervous system is allowed to function at its most effective and optimal way. This relationship influences the way our body can adapt to the environment and our immune systems can fight disease.  

 I don’t encourage you to do house calls with your patients with pneumonia or Covid. Instead, you can strengthen their immune systems prior to getting sick or help them after they recover.  

Modern applications of chiropractic for respiratory health

Fast forward to 2025, Rettner will be teaching the Chiropractic Respiratory Technique seminar for 12 hours of CE units at Life West November 8-9. The seminar focuses on improving breathing by adjusting a specific anterior rib, widening the nasal concha with endonasal technique and by stretching the fascia in the diaphragm. He will also teach intraoral atlas and intraoral cranial adjusting, which will turn your patient from the mouth breather to nose breather. This can help patients after they’ve recovered from the flu or Covid or those with asthma and sleep apnea to return to breathing normally.  

Raphael Rettner, DC, has been in practice for 43 years and has taught seminars across the US, Canada, Australia and England. For more information, call 925-962-9160 or email him at drrettnerdc@gmail.com.  

Reference 

1. Rhodes WR. The Official History of Chiropractic in Texas. Published by the Texas Chiropractic Association: 1978.