February 2008

Sex appeal or substance: Where is the greater vision?

by Dr. Myron D. Brown

>>> Part 1 of 2

I'll always remember that silly slogan burned into a rustic wooden sign at camp. Although it wasn't particularly funny, it was one of many little quips found here and there in that vast wooded setting known as summer camp. "Clean mind, clean body...take your pick" was a witticism whose understood purpose was to produce a chuckle. It made light of some of the virtues that the camp organizers aimed to strengthen in the youths. Just below the surface was the certainty that the youths should learn both clean mind and clean body. Choice was never the intent, yet the idea of choice shifted the focus cleverly enough to echo the message differently. Its lighthearted slant just somehow got noticed and in the mind of at least one camper, was remembered.

It's fascinating to note what things catch the imagination and resonates with people. Just as dessert seems more attractive than healthier nourishment, the top 40 musical songs lack the timelessness and exquisite artistry of the classical, but are certainly more popular. Sometimes what resonates with 'the people' will quickly lose its appeal as well.

The hula hoop, the most popular American toy ever made ‑‑ becoming a fad with more than 100 million sold in 1958 ‑‑ wasn't even original. It had existed for thousands of years and circular hoops made of grape vines are known to have been a children's toy in ancient Egypt. [1] Clever marketing tying it to the Hawaiian dance, the hula and a unique promotional scheme resulted in the hoop mania of the '50s. The bright colored plastic used to manufacture those produced in 1958 alone, if straightened out end to end, could have circled the planet five times. Although there are still a few hula hoops sold, the fad seemed to have faded as suddenly as it appeared.

Today, such marketing gimmicks proliferate at an astounding rate, helped by the Internet's instantaneous global reach. It appears as though we truly do live in a time when the marketing itself often emerges as the objective, regardless of the substance. The old advertising slogan, "sell the sizzle, not the steak" just might have been supplanted by "sell the sizzle and worry about the steak later."

More than 200 years ago, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe made this statement about the principle embodied in taking action: "...that moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too...Whatever you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now." Nike made the idea glitzy with only three words, "Just Do It." Yes, there is magic in marketing, yet we also know that much more is actually done by those who take action than is suggested by all the promoters' hype.

Let's see how all this relates to chiropractic.

Chiropractic is an idea, more genuine than provocative, with a lofty vision of more substance than a great marketing scheme or a popular fad. Restoration of a person's hearing or sight, cure of a crippling disorder, or other miraculous occurrences are relatively easy to get excited about and chiropractors see miracles often enough that such events seem to lose their thrill. Chiropractors have been known to say, "we see miracles so often in chiropractic, that we are disappointed when we don't see one." But the greater vision of chiropractic holds credence even without the spectacular incident.

The greater vision of chiropractic could be described as crucial, yet non‑invigorating, grand but not glitzy. Like the "golden rule," the vision provides an invaluable framework and value of noble worth, but does not typically arouse excitement. The vertebral subluxation‑centered vision would appear to have less pizzazz, spice, curb appeal or however one might wish to label those things of drama that are easily marketable.

By contrast, when Harvey Lillard got his hearing back it must have been easy to pique the interest of all who knew him. And when Col. Allen's terminal cancer disappeared the drama must have been overwhelming and amazed those who knew his story. [2]

Pastor James Tomasi tells how he "canceled my plans to commit suicide in 1997." That was a moment of extraordinary drama because his plan had been lucidly established to finally bring an end to years of debilitating pain from which there was no hope of recovery. He had chosen the hour, which was to be late on Tuesday. When he learned that his wife had made an appointment with a new chiropractor, he mentally noted that it would fit in his schedule, because the appointment was for a few hours before James' infamous scheduled moment. [3] Little did James know that his chiropractic appointment was destined to be a life changing, no, a life saving event.

When Tiger Woods, Emmitt Smith, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Evander Holyfield, Tony Robbins, Jane Seymour, Joe Montana and scores of authors, politicians, superstars and actors say chiropractic gives them their edge in life, people tend to sit up and listen, perhaps because the sex appeal and pizzazz is already there in their names.

John (name changed) drove approximately four hours from his eastern Missouri home to West Liberty, Iowa to get checked because he valued chiropractic care. This seems peculiar considering so many licensed DCs practice in and around St. Louis, less than an hour from his home. John explained that he tried several times to find a chiropractor in his home area, but finding one who would carefully analyze and adjust his spine seemed to be a hopeless aim. So, he gave up trying and just determined that he would make the trip at regular intervals to get checked and adjusted.

Later, when widowed senior citizen John remarried, his new bride began to come along on his regular visits to Iowa. After many months of skeptical hesitation she began chiropractic care in West Liberty, too. In Mary's (name changed) case the skepticism came from an experience in which chiropractic had failed to meet her expectations and her opinion of the profession was adverse, to put it mildly. While John appreciated the benefits of living a life free of vertebral subluxations, Mary had sought care from a chiropractor 20 years before because a stubborn shoulder problem prevented her from lifting her right arm. She saw a Missouri chiropractor and received manipulations and therapy, which only made her condition much worse. She learned to live with the problem using pain drugs and became resigned to being able to lift her arm less than half way up.

Mary would watch carefully whenever John got checked. She remarked that it all looked much different than her previous experience in a chiropractic office. When asked what was so different about it she replied that it seemed to be done purposefully. She further stated that when she got manipulated in the past, "he didn't check anything; he just took my head in his hands and twisted one way, then the other." That was long before she met John and she had decided to never let a chiropractor twist her neck again. John told her that she needed to get adjusted the right way. After watching, and stewing about it all those months, Mary finally decided that this was so different it might be worth a try. I was an experienced chiropractor when Mary got her first adjustment after all those years, but what happened next scared me anyway.

We analyzed her spine, established patterns, determined that she had an atlas subluxation and x‑rayed her. What was for us a customary toggle‑recoil adjustment was a completely bewildering experience to her. Mary, normally gregarious and certainly not a quiet sort got completely silent for what seemed like a very long time. Then her eyes filled with tears and this elderly woman began to cry. As she regained her composure she told me that this was the first time in all those years that she wasn't in constant pain. She then began to raise and lower her arm with what seemed like reckless abandon.

Now, to portray this event seems to be a curious thing because the greater vision is not about curing painful shoulders. In fact, it's not about curing anything at all. Why should a vertebral subluxation‑ centered chiropractor be moved by or retell such a story? In crafting this article and thinking back on some of the dramatic things seen in practice, it's fitting to share the color and enthusiasm so frequently present in our practices. The emotions of these circumstances stir the imagination and something uniquely human is felt. But emotions aside, it's clear that a precise adjustment made a profound difference in Mary's experience.

In further conversation with Mary it was learned that on every visit to the Missouri chiropractor she was placed on machines to relax her first and then given a "general adjustment." She explained that the general adjustment was always the same. In the face down position he popped a couple of vertebrae between her shoulder blades, then had her turn on her side and twisted her hip until it popped, then had her turn on the other side and did the same. She would then be placed on her back for the dreaded neck manipulation. He would twist her head one way until it popped and then the other way until it popped. That phrase, 'general adjustment' sounded like fingernails making that horrible high pitched sound on a chalkboard.

At very best, general adjustment is an oxymoron since a chiropractic spinal adjustment is a precisely contrived force designed for a very specific corrective purpose ‑‑ there's nothing "general" about it! In these times when it is popular for DCs to declare that the profession has an identity problem, the use of careless terminology like this reveals a lot. What might have been the outcome had Mary received a precise chiropractic spinal adjustment all those years ago? One is left to wonder whether, if instead of treating her shoulder pain, what if she had had her subluxation adjusted?

Sources

1. The Great Idea Finder, http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/hulahoop.htm

2. Chiropractic Clinical Controlled Research, Palmer School of Chiropractic, B.J. Palmer, 1951, page 362

3. "What Time Tuesday?" James Tomasi, International Christian Servants, Inc. Harrisburg, PA, 2005

(Dr. Myron D. Brown is executive vice president/provost at Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic.)