September 2003

Defending the chiropractor's rights and principles ‑‑ Part 4

The regulatory (functional) 'terrain' revisited

by David Prescott, J.D., D.C.

"The nervous system, as Blainville philosophically observed, creates a secret harmony between the different parts of the living frame, establishes a permanent connection between them, and renders them mutually dependent upon each other. " ‑‑ Claude Bernard, "Lectures on the Spinal Cord," published in the U. S. by Medical Times & Gazette, 1861, p. 183.

"So the autonomic nervous system and 'the arteriole, the capillary, the tissue space, the cell, the lymph capillary, which also lies in this same area, and we have a functional unit which is common to all tissue in the body.'" ‑‑ Martin R., "Dynamics of Correction of Abnormal Function" ... Terrence Bennett (California chiropractor), Lectures, 1977, p. 6.

"THE CAUSE OF DISEASE ‑‑ The Soil? or The Seed?" 'Illnesses hover constantly above us, their seeds blown by the wind, but they do not set in the terrain unless the terrain is ready to receive them.'" ‑‑ Claude Bernard (emphasis added); Barge, F.H., "It Is As Simple As That & More," Vol. VIII, 1996.

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 In Part 1, I emphasized that when "thinking about biology," the fact needs to be kept in mind that issues may be addressed on three levels: "macro," "meso" and "micro." I also addressed the macro‑level concept of "Universal Intelligence" and argued that the concept that life is a product of an intelligent process is worth fighting for to the nth degree.

In Parts 1 and 2, I also demonstrated that "innate intelligence" refers to the body's dynamic, functional, regulatory capacity and leads to a holistic viewpoint in biology and medicine. I further argued that this holistic viewpoint, or paradigm, is both philosophically defensible and a rational conclusion from the empirical data.

In Part 2, I considered the meso‑level proposition that a major factor in the onset of disease is a reduced functional capacity due to interference with the body's innate dynamic regulatory mechanisms. I would now like to return to the meso‑level concept of the biological terrain or, as Dr. F.H. Barge so eloquently put it ‑‑ the SOIL.

Two major meso‑level questions need to be raised. What, or where, is this soil? Does this soil serve its regulatory function only through chemistry or are other mechanisms involved? Other mechanisms are involved! (The second question will be addressed next time.)

The above quotation from the work of Claude Bernard is very important. As pointed out in Part 2, Claude Bernard is generally recognized as the leading medical physiologist of the 19th Century. Indeed, Bernard is considered to be one of the "patron saints" of allopathic medicine due to his proposal that animal experimentation should be used as a basis for the advancement of medicine.

However, allopathic medicine has totally ignored Bernard's pathophysiological model in favor of Virchow's theory that disease starts in the individual, autonomous cell, plus now the genes. That is, for the allopaths, the seed is also the soil. Of course, they currently include the immune cells/system.

The allopathic community is entitled to follow its concept that the organizing/regulatory capacity is limited to the cells (including immune cells) and genes. But its monopolistic practices need to be constantly challenged. How? By pointing out that the allopathic position is, at best, a partial truth. By fully articulating the "functional/regulatory" paradigm and by asserting the constitutional right of chiropractors to follow their own basic paradigm(s). (Of course, one should also assert the patient's right to choose.)

In addition, however, it's imperative to keep clearly in mind the levels at which these subjects are being addressed and to especially recognize where philosophy ends and science begins. That is, one should use the arguments that are appropriate to the level one is addressing ‑‑ using philosophical/historical arguments to defend macro‑level concepts and chiropractic principles, philosophical and empirical arguments and evidence at the meso‑level, and primarily empirical evidence at the micro‑level.

The soil/terrain

Any chiropractor worth the title should let out a war chant upon reading Bernard's 1861 statement that the "nervous system creates a secret harmony between the different parts of the living frame." But we must go further.

Bernard, in the same lecture in which the "secret harmony" quote was used, also stated: "[I]n short, the discovery of the vasomotor nerves is pregnant with deeply‑interesting results, both in Physiology and Medicine; it explains the singular phenomena of local circulation, from which the great majority of morbid symptoms are derived." I picture some chiropractors leaving me at this point, but hang on.

In 1895, D.D. Palmer wrote: "[W]e have given the study of this dreaded disease (cancer) special attention. We think that we have at last fully arrived at the cause... The cause is an obstruction to the blood circulation and an injury to the nerves (Keating, J., "B.J. of Davenport, The Early Years of Chiropractic," 1997, p. 13). Of course, the historical record is clear that D.D. subsequently narrowed his focus to the nervous system. But, we must now consider more contemporary knowledge of the body's holistic regulatory mechanisms ‑‑ the soil.

Terrence Bennett, a California chiropractor, started developing his understanding of the body's innate functional/regulatory capacity in the early 1920s and later used his concept of the "functional unit" (see above quotation) to develop his theory and practice of "neurovascular reflex" therapy. This therapy is presently practiced primarily by AK practitioners and is limited to the use of Bennett's neurovascular reflex points on the head. But, Bennett also identified points on the Torso that affect the function of the visceral organs.

For anybody interested in Bennett's Torso points, I suggest Leon Chaitow's book, "Soft‑Tissue Manipulation, A Practitioner's Guide to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Soft Tissue Dysfunction and Reflex Activity." The major point for our present purpose is that Bennett gave us an expanded definition and understanding of the soil.

One has to ponder why the chiropractic colleges have not further advanced the description, understanding and therapeutic use of the soil/terrain concept. Fortunately, the German functional medicine community has gone a long way towards doing this. Their bottom line is that the whole extracellular tissue serves a regulatory function and, as a unitary compartment, extends to every nook and cranny of the whole body.

A broadened understanding of the soil opens the door to micro‑level questions such as why, how and under what circumstances, does the soil fail to serve its functional/regulatory purpose. I leave you with two alternative but complimentary research perspectives. Allopathic cancer research focuses on this meso‑level question: "Why do cancer cells grow or become aberrant?" The functional paradigmatic meso‑level cancer question is: "What keeps a normal cell from growing or becoming aberrant?" (See former Parker Chiropractic College Prof. Dean Black's book, "Inner Wisdom, The Challenge of Contextual Healing," 1990, p. 90.)