Tells the story of chiropractic's development from a European perspective, from its origins in United States in the last years of the 19th century. This book includes contributions from academics and from practising chiropractors, and gives an insight into chiropractic's past. It is complimented by more than 70 photographs.
Of all forms of alternative medicine, chiropractic is the one that is most generally accepted. In the UK, for instance, chiropractors are regulated by statute and even have their own ‘Royal College of Chiropractic’. In the US, chiropractic’s country of origin, most chiropractors carry the title ‘doctor’ and many consumers believe they are medically trained. Despite this high level of acceptance, chiropractic is wide open to criticism. The claims and assumptions made by chiropractors are far from evidence based. Chiropractic manipulations are of doubtful effectiveness and have regularly been associated with severe adverse effects, including multiple fatalities. The advice issued by chiropractors to patients and consumers is often less than responsible. The behaviour of chiropractors and their organisations is frequently less than professional. This book presents and discusses recent evidence in and around chiropractic in a factual and unemotional manner. It amounts to an evidence-based critique of this profession and discloses the often dangerously misleading information published for the lay audience. It thereby contributes to advancing public health and critical thinking.
Chiropractic is by far the most common form of alternative medicine in the United States today, but its fascinating origins stretch back to the battles between science and religion in the nineteenth century. At the center of the story are chiropractic's colorful founders, D. D. Palmer and his son, B. J. Palmer, of Davenport, Iowa, where in 1897 they established the Palmer College of Chiropractic. Holly Folk shows how the Palmers' system depicted chiropractic as a conduit for both material and spiritualized versions of a "vital principle," reflecting popular contemporary therapies and nineteenth-century metaphysical beliefs, including the idea that the spine was home to occult forces. The creation of chiropractic, and other Progressive-era versions of alternative medicine, happened at a time when the relationship between science and religion took on an urgent, increasingly competitive tinge. Many remarkable people, including the Palmers, undertook highly personal reinterpretations of their physical and spiritual worlds. In this context, Folk reframes alternative medicine and spirituality as a type of populist intellectual culture in which ideologies about the body comprise a highly appealing form of cultural resistance.
What does scientific research show about the effectiveness of chiropractic care? How are chiropractors trained and what do they do? When should one turn to chiropractic care, and how does one select a practitioner? This book answers all of these questions and more. Chiropractic is the most frequently used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practice in the United States, with nearly $4 billion spent out-of-pocket annually by chiropractic patients. In fact, as evidence for its effectiveness for common conditions such as back pain continues to mount and acceptance grows in a variety of health care settings, chiropractic could be considered more "mainstream" than many other forms of CAM. In this information-packed single-volume work, an expert team led by Cheryl Hawk—a well-known chiropractic researcher—explains chiropractic licensure, practice, and effectiveness to general readers researching chiropractic care options and to undergraduate students choosing a major or specialty. Readers will see the range of scientific evidence supporting the use of chiropractic health care for many common conditions, learn about the typical chiropractic clinical encounter and chiropractic procedures, and understand the criteria by which patients and other health professionals can use to select a chiropractic physician. This book also provides health care practitioners in other fields with current information that enables a greater understanding of the training and the roles of chiropractors in health care.
The Reality Check is about the effects of chiropractic care. It describes in easy to understand language what happens in the brain when a chiropractor adjusts dysfunctional segments in your spine. It is based on cutting edge research performed over the past two decades and was written by Dr Heidi Haavik, a pioneering scientist who has been instrumental in establishing the link between neuroscience and chiropractic. This book is a must read for anyone who is interested in what happens in the body when a chiropractor adjusts your spine, and is an essential resource for anyone in the chiropractic community.
Three noted chiropractic educators from contending camps achieve surprising concord on many issues. This book is an omen of chiropractic's maturation and forthcoming integration with the larger health care community.
This book provides potential students of a chiropractic career path, as well as other health care practitioners, with vital information regarding the training required to enter the chiropractic field and the roles of chiropractors in modern health care. Chiropractic is the second largest physician-level health profession in the United States, with chiropractors providing care to at least 20 million patients annually. As chiropractic health care has been proven to be both effective and cost effective for many musculoskeletal conditions, particularly back pain, the inclusion of Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs) in a variety of health care settings is likely to continue to increase. Surprisingly, there is little readily accessible information on chiropractic as a career path. This book provides concise yet comprehensive information about career paths, training, and professional roles in chiropractic for students considering chiropractic as well as health care practitioners in the field. Written in an easy-to-read style, Careers in Chiropractic Health Care: Exploring a Growing Field serves students, those in non-chiropractic health fields, and general readers considering chiropractic as a career change option. The chapters explain the training and specific licensure requirements for chiropractors in all 50 U.S. states and provide information useful to health care professionals for referrals and management of patients using chiropractic care.
Contributions from leaders in the field of sports chiropractic. Reprints from five years of Topics in Clinical Chiropractic updated with recent information Support documents for exercise testing, pre-test history and informed c