The difference of opinion on frequency of care is an area not ordinarily discussed by straight chiropractors.
Perhaps that’s best. Although I think not. Maybe we need home discussion on the subject. We appear to be tolerant and
respectful of each other but I cannot help but think that the Upper Cervical (HIO) practitioner thinks that not most full-
spine practitioners are promiscuously pounding on unsubluxated spines too often and the full-spine practitioner
feels that the HIO chiropractor is allowing subluxated people to walk around with too many subluxations for too long a
period of time. I’m not sure there is a resolution but perhaps if we understand each others rationale it will help
solidify our position in our own minds. Some would argue that its a technique difference of opinion. The two groups
having different analytical criteria draw different clinical impressions as to when a patient is subluxated. I think that
the difference is more than one of technique. I believe it is based upon some deep chiropractic philosophical
differences.
The HIO chiropractor is a unique breed of chiropractor and sadly one that appears to be dying out. I surely hope
not because there is a focus that the technique gives to all of us whether we practice it or not. I will not go into all
the ramifications and applications of the techniques because many are not pertinent to our discussion. The HIO
practitioner’s emphasis is upon how fantastic the human body is and the capability of its innate intelligence to correct
subluxations (misalignments) throughout the spine once the Atlas or Axis has been corrected. It further, and here is
the part applicable to our discussion, has a fantastic ability to maintain the individual, subluxation free for long
periods of time. While placing great emphasis upon the abilities of the innate intelligence of the body with regard
to spinal integrity, the HIO practitioner apparently acknowledges great limitations upon the innate wisdom
relative to overall health and bodily function. Patients appear to get sick, develop colds, have low back problems and
develop diseases despite being clear. Further people under HIO care do not seem to live any longer than other
chiropractic patients despite spending months at a time being free of subluxation. An upper cervical practitioner once
explained that the damage that occurred prior to being under chiropractic care was a factor in the above problems.
Apparently they believe the innate intelligence is able to restore normal function to the vertebral column after one to
a few adjustments and maintain that organ (or at least the Atlas-Axis portion of it functioning properly for extended
periods of time). But they feel the innate intelligence is greatly limited in its ability to restore normal function to
certain organs and tissues and prolong life after the subluxation has been corrected.
The full-spine practitioner has a different perspective. He says the innate intelligence of the body is so great and
so powerful that it has fantastic ability to heal the body and that the apparent manifestations of lack of health in the
lives of so many people, even chiropractic patients is that they spend too much time in a subluxated state and not
sufficient time “clear.” Because of this problem they desire to see patients often and regular and if they should thrust
in a few areas from time to time that are not subluxated, it is a small price to pay for getting them adjusted as soon
after the subluxation occurs as possible. But as great as this body is from the full-spine frequent visit chiropractors
perspective, his philosophy maintains that the body has one great weakness, the ability to hold an adjustment. It would
seem from his actions that the greatest limitation of matter the innate intelligence has (Principle No. 23- innate
intelligence is limited by limitation of matter) <Strauss 1990> is its ability to maintain the spine in an unsubluxated
state.
I believe I have presented the positions of each school of thought as honestly as possible in spite of holding on to
only one myself. Since from my experience in the profession most of the criticism is directed toward the full-spine
practitioner and often takes the form of an attack on his ability to properly correct a subluxation, I would like to
try to defend that position.
First, if the subluxation is the great insult to the human body that we say it is, that it represents the physical
manifestation of DIS-EASE within the human organism, that it often occurs in childhood (as the HIO practitioner would
agree), then perhaps it is chronic, frequent, easily occurring, and easily reoccurring.
Second, if the body has the limitations so that a five year old who begins under upper cervical care for life and
stays clear still gets sick, and dies at 70, 80, or 90 rather than living to 120-150 years of age, then perhaps that
limitations of matter also exists in the vertebral column. Perhaps in fact that the organ of the human body with the
greatest limitation of matter, and greatest susceptibility to damage caused by universal forces is the spinal column.
If full-spine frequent adjusting chiropractors are correcting the subluxation on the first three or four visits
as the HIO chiropractor believes he does then the visits after that he is doing virtually nothing (except perhaps at
time creating a sublimitation). But if that were the case why would he not see fantastic, dramatic long term changes in
life and greater life-expectancy. The argument can be made by the HIO practitioner that perhaps the techniques of the
full-spine chiropractor is not correcting vertebral sublimations as well. But then that defeats his own argument
of how well the body can take a force on two or three occasions and make great and lasting subluxation changes. Is
innate intelligence only able to correct and hold adjustments with upper cervical specific thrusts? If that is the case
how did D.D. and the rest of our forefathers ever manage to accomplish all they did before the development of HIO. Don’t misunderstand I am not belittling the HIO adjustment, I am just bringing the others up to its level.
I hope this article has not offended anyone. Because frankly there is no technique in chiropractic good enough or
important enough to cause one chiropractor to belittle or denigrate another. I do not expect that this will convert
any upper cervical practitioner. It was not meant to. It was meant to hopefully enable the limited visit chiropractor
to understand a little better where the frequent visit chiropractor is coming from and for the frequent visit
chiropractor to feel comfortable and confident in what he is doing and not accept an undeserved guilt trip.
The frequent visit chiropractor like the limited visit chiropractor believes in the wonderful principle of innate
intelligence. The frequent visit chiropractor like the limited visit chiropractor believes in the fantastic ability
this body has in healing itself and maintaining itself and that it can do it better without vertebral subluxations.
Like the limited visit chiropractor, the frequent visit chiropractor believes that limitations of matter is as great
a hindrance to the body working as it should, as is nerve interferences, maybe more. The difference in the two
practitioners is that the frequent visit chiropractor believes that by far the greatest manifestation of
limitations of matter in the human body is manifested in the body’s inability to maintain the vertebral column subluxation free for long periods of time. v8n6
