One method in chiropractic medicine for the relief of back pain is spinal manipulation, a treatment that some find beneficial and effective and others find a form of quackery. Vernon (1998) states that in the state of Delaware, which is typical in this regard, chiropractic has been regulated since the 1930s, with a battle ongoing between medicine and chiropractic on both the political and clinical fronts. Chiropractic is defined in the dictionary as a therapeutic system based upon the premise that disease is caused by interference with nerve function, with the chiropractic method being to restore normal condition by adjusting the segments of the spinal column. According to chiropractic, the deviation of the body segments of the vertebral column from their normal juxtaposition that interferes with nerve transmission and expression is called subluxation, and spinal manipulation is used to readjust the body and to solve problems such as lower back pain.
The philosophy of chiropractic medicine is based upon the premise that disease or abnormal function are caused by interference with nerve transmission due to pressure, strain, or tension upon the spinal cord or spinal nerves, as a result of body segments of the vertebral column deviating from their normal position. The practice of chiropractic medicine consists of the analysis of such interference with normal nerve transmission and expression. This is then corrected with an adjustment with the hands of the "abnormal deviations of the bony articulations of the vertebral column" in order to restore health, without the use of drugs or surgery. The means of "analysis" includes the use of X ray and other analytical instruments generally used in the practice of chiropractic (Crelin, 1993).
Chiropractic medicine has not been able to achieve full acceptance as a clinical discipline among the medical professions. A study reported by Vernon (1998), though, notes that a number of primar...