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Column: Chiropractic treatment, a $15-billion industry, has its roots in a ghost story

Highlights

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Daniel David Palmer, the β€œfather” of chiropractic who performed the first chiropractic adjustment in 1895, was an avid spiritualist. He maintained that the notion and basic principles of chiropractic treatment were passed along to him during a seance by a long-dead doctor. πŸ”—

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β€œThe knowledge and philosophy given me by Dr. Jim Atkinson, an intelligent spiritual being ... appealed to my reason,” πŸ”—

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Before learning of spinal adjustments from a supernatural entity, Palmer spent nine years as a practitioner of what was known as β€œmagnetic healing,” in which he would diagnose and cure ailments by manipulating a magnetic field surrounding the patient’s body. πŸ”—

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My wife insisted that I go after my car was rear-ended while I was driving on the 101 from Hollywood to downtown. πŸ”—

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some chiropractors have sought to expand their practices by claiming expertise in diabetes, neuropathy and other chronic conditions. πŸ”—

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static surface electromyography device, a.k.a. surface EMG or static sEMG. What that means is that electrodes were held at specific spots along my spine. πŸ”—

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This produced an impressive-looking readout in which colored bars (green and blue good, red and black bad) were assigned to different parts of my neck and back. πŸ”—

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That readout, in turn, served as the basis of subsequent discussions with the chiropractor and his assistant, the crux of which was that I’d need at least 12 more sessions at a cost of nearly $800, with a modest discount available for paying the entire amount upfront. πŸ”—

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I was told at the chiropractor’s office no fewer than three times that the technology β€œis used by NASA,” πŸ”—

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β€œYou’ll have two different examiners and they’ll get two different results,” Lerner said. β€œThe findings aren’t reproducable.” πŸ”—

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NASA uses the technology only to test other diagnostic equipment, not the well-being of astronauts. πŸ”—

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β€œUnscrupulous chiropractors use it to scare people into becoming patients.” πŸ”—

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D.D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, described the practice as β€œan educational, scientific, religious system” that β€œimparts instruction relating both to this world and the one to come.” In his 1914 memoir, he made the case that chiropractors should be permitted to treat patients on religious-freedom grounds. πŸ”—

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β€œThe Constitution of the United States and the statutes personal of California confer upon me and all persons of chiropractic faith the inalienable right to practice our religion without restraint or hindrance,” Palmer wrote. πŸ”—