Chiropractic Principles and Philosophy

Some interesting articles have been printed lately on the issues listed as "Principles and Laws of Healing" and the "Wisdom of the Body". What is even more interesting is that these articles are being written by medical professionals. These two articles were written by Michael Loes, MD and Dr. Zajicek respectively, and printed in the "American Journal of Pain Management" and "Medical Hypothesis", again respectively.

The language of these two articles sounds familiar to chiropractors. For example Loes states in his Principles, "Life (the vital force) is God-given but not necessarily God-maintained; free choice exists. Build vital force and health ensues." He also states, "The Body will make every effort to preserve homeostasis and avoid stasis. Rid stasis and healing happens."

On the other hand, Dr Zajicek in his article states, "Modern medicine still fails to explain processes that operate in self-healing diseases. We may thus distinguish between two kinds of processes that operate in the body: explained and unexplained. The latter operate in self-healing diseases, and are either ignored by medicine or called placebos. The unexplained processes in physiology were defined by Starling and Cannon as Wisdom of the Body. The Wisdom of the Body is an attribute of live organisms. It directs growing plants toward sunshine, guides amebas away from noxious agents, and determines the behavior of higher animals. It is essential for individual survival and was molded by natural selection. During evolution the Wisdom of the Body encountered all diseases, knows how to heal itself, and anticipates all diseases. The main task of the Wisdom of the Body is to maintain health, and improve its quality. It controls processes in the body so as to make them healthier. The Wisdom of the Body has its own language and should be considered when examining patients."

Well said for a non-chiropractor! But to look back we can see that the founder of chiropractic, DD Palmer may have said it best when he said, "That which I named Innate is a segment of that Intelligence which fills the Universe. This portion of the whole never sleeps, nor tires, recognizes neither darkness nor distance, is not subject to material laws, bodily wants are not essential, substantial conditions are not needed for its existence. It continues to care for and direct the organic functions of the body as long as the soul holds the body and spirit together."

It is nice to know that the rest of the health care world is finally starting to understand the Principles and Philosophy that chiropractic has been based on for 100 years.