For over a century Chiropractic has faced conflict with the medical community. This opposition has ranged from subtle innuendos and late night talk show jokes to chiropractors being jailed for their beliefs and a federal trial which exposed the secretive committee on quackery run from the AMA headquarters in Chicago; the AMA’s goal was to eliminate chiropractic. Was this opposition motivated by fear of economic competition, power sharing or reallocation of research dollars? I don’t think so as the chiropractic profession is a minor part of these domains. Rather I believe it is the vitalistic philosophy of chiropractic that is so difficult for organized political medicine to comprehend. And most controversial of the principles of chiropractic is the notion that the human experience is not only physical, but spiritual and that this spiritual component is at the core of the healing process.
Dr. Simon Senzon goes to the source of the controversial foundation of the chiropractic profession in The Secret History of Chiropractic; D. D. Palmer’s Spiritual Writings. The tapestry of Chiropractic is full of charismatic individuals who researched, studied and developed the Chiropractic profession and none of them more so than its founder Dr. D. D. Palmer. This book may debunk some of the myths and legends about the profession or it may add to the controversy among those who wish to wash the profession clean of its spiritual underpinnings or the opposite camp which chooses to hold onto historical fables. But at its best and most complex, Dr. Senzon frames a dialogue that the profession must extend so as to engage the healthcare system. The end product of this dialogue will show us how to develop patient care that recognizes both the physical and spiritual needs of the individual.
These evolving healthcare models may take us to a vision on how to draw wisdom and well-being from some mysterious central source of universal power or to a more scientific understanding of quantum mechanics where we intersect reality and sub-atomic energy. Regardless of the mechanism, Simon prods us along with D. D. Palmer to ask the question, “What is the nature of a human being and secondly, how do we create a constructive and knowable interaction between the biology of the individual and ever changing external environment he/she lives in.” Can we really rely on the body’s innate capacity for self-development, self-adaptation and self-healing? And if so did D. D. Palmer lay-out a new and challenging philosophy for healing that would be culturalized in naturalism, holism, vitalism, humanistic patient systems and conservative therapeutic procedures?
Healthcare is at a crossroad as we transition from a Newtonian to Quantum world, a disease oriented victim to a well-being oriented consumer, from a technology driven to humanistic sensitive healthcare system and a demand for personal responsibility. Is there a roll for non-physical forces in healthcare? Palmer thought so and Dr. Senzon has written a book to entice us to rethink our values on health and healing.
Guy Riekeman, D.C.
President, Life University
Atlanta, Georgia
