On March 20, 2002, the three major chiropractic components of New York's chiropractic profession united to honor those who died or were injured during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on New York, and the valiant contributions of numerous chiropractors in the relief efforts.

The New York Chiropractic Council, the New York Chiropractic State Association (NYSCA) and New York Chiropractic College (NYCC) put aside political differences and stood together as they dedicated a "Ground Zero chiropractic table" as a symbol of unity.

When the terror rained down on New York City September 11, 2001, the world changed. Chiropractors throughout the city grabbed their portables and literally hit the streets to serve the injured survivors.

Drs. Tom Musto, Gary Duetchman, Glenn Scarpelli, and Frank Coppolla were among the first to penetrate the security barriers. Many others, some whose names will never be known, set down their tables and got to work.

Within days, the emergency medical teams were completely gone, but the chiropractors stayed on. The recovery effort stretched from a week to a month and the chiropractors stayed on, providing valuable chiropractic care to rescue and relief workers at the site.

Chiropractic sites were set up at an extremely fast rate. New York Chiropractic Council President Dr. Ellen Coyne and Executive Assistant Barbara Contessa tirelessly worked with public officials at the national, state, and city levels to coordinate chiropractic efforts.

Chiropractic sites were set up at churches, hotels, St. John's University, a boat, hospitals, and street side centers.

A series of phone calls to Governor George Patacki, Mayor Rudy Guilliani, FEMA, and finally the American Red Cross helped integrate chiropractic into the tragedy site recovery effort.

Care was provided to the survivors and workers, including firefighters, police officers, and Port Authority workers who faced the grim task of searching for lost colleagues. They continually stopped by for chiropractic adjustments.

Pain was everywhere, inside and out. The underlying burning emotional torment would sometimes surface during or after an adjustment. A chiropractor's shoulder would be used to support that person and the tears. Chiropractic worked at so many levels. When nothing else could have worked, chiropractic worked.

All other health care services left Ground Zero, but chiropractic continues to this day adjusting the recovery workers. Of the five chiropractic sites, only one continues. It will continue to schedule chiropractors in shifts around the clock, until the last recovery workers leave the area.

Chiropractors stood shoulder-to-shoulder delivering thousands of adjustments at Ground Zero. When chiropractic site were filled to capacity at 3 a.m., when chiropractic adjusting sites had to be closed by the fire marshal for being too crowded, that's when we saw the true power of chiropractic.

There is no official count on how many people were touched by the chiropractic art born in Davenport, Iowa one hundred and six years ago and arrived at Ground Zero on "9-11."

The effort had a beneficial affect on the chiropractors involved, as well. As district president of the New York Council, I met with my counterpart from Northern and Western New York (NYSCA), Dr. David Ribakove and Dr. Mathieu Cote of NYCC's Buffalo Student Clinic about having a meeting.

Despite serious differences in the past, which have made cooperation nearly impossible, we all felt the great power of an idea whose time has come.

Dr. Frank Nicchi President of NYCC was asked to address the groups. State representatives from both NYSCA and the Council were in attendance.

During the meeting, a "Ground Zero" table was given as a surprise present to the school's Chiropractic Museum in Seneca Falls, New York, to serve as an example of New York's unity.

Dr. Jessica D'Amore a NY Alumnus and Ground Zero chiropractor presented the table to Dr. Nicchi. Two plaques permanently affixed to the table remind observers of the far-reaching power of the chiropractic action that occurred at Ground Zero. A large photograph display accompanies the table visually documenting the chiropractic story.