Many members of the public view Chiropractors as professionals who simply deal with aches and pains of people with poor posture or sports injuries. Nicknames like “back-cracker” or “bone-cracker” causes people to derive a perception of chiropractors that is limiting and false. Chiropractic treatment goes beyond adjustments to bones, joints and muscles. True Chiropractic treatments comprehensively cover the entire patient’s body, not just the stereotypical neck crack or spine adjustment. Most do not realize that a small adjustment to a particular part of the body can do more than just improve motion or ease pain. A famous story of this exact misconception surrounding the work done by these amazing professionals can be found with the original founder of Chiropractic Care, using his skills to treat partial deafness.
Daniel David Palmer was one of the first practitioners to try hands-on treatments to adjust vertebra and manipulate the spine. One of his first patients to allow Palmer to perform these adjustments was Harvey Lillard, a janitor who worked in his building. For nearly a decade, Harvey had been hard of hearing after a neck injury he had suffered. Palmer inspected Harvey’s neck and after some gentle maneuvers, was able to find a misaligned vertebra and correct it. Harvey noticed almost immediately that he could hear the “ticking of clocks” inside Palmer’s office, something he had been unable to do for years following his injury.
This story has been passed around quite often to the point of being discredited and even ridiculed as Palmer peddling a miracle cure, yet his notes of that day verify the events. That is not to say it happened exactly as described, but modern Chiropractic Care has been shown to work remarkably well in fixing issues similar to Harvey’s. Distribution to the natural bodily process of drainage of certain areas of the head can cause pain, discomfort, sinus pressure and even hearing loss. Manual lymphatic drainage is a technique used today by Chiropractors to alleviate blockage and help the body return to normal. Though these are individual cases and not universally applicable, research is being conducted to explain exactly why adjustments like this have these affects on the body.
The point of this particular story is not to show that all problems can be solved by a Chiropractor, but rather to tech those of us that believe Chiropractic treatment is reserved exclusively for certain parts of the body. Before we jump to the conclusion that Chiropractic Care should only be called upon for things like arthritis and sciatica, ask your Chiropractor if a certain issue you are experiencing is something they have dealt with before. Chances are, patient have sought help from a Chiropractor for more than a simple neck ache or sore back. Consider Coffman Chiropractic Camarillo for your next Chiropractic Care appointment.
