Yet more division in chiropractic: chiropractors challenge their colleagues’ beliefs in a new review of subluxation theory

There are still many chiropractors who believe that spinal adjustment can cure nearly anything, including serious diseases. The deep divide between these “straight” chiropractors and more progressive chiropractors has always been important for consumers to know about, and it just got deeper: Chiropractic & Osteopathy published a surprising paper this month, in which three chiropractors and a PhD argued that the “Big Idea” of chiropractic does not exist, a strong indictment of a philosophical pillar of the profession.

Subluxation theory originally proposed that spinal joint dysfunctions have broad health significance — that a spine out of line causes not only pain, but visceral disease as well. Various degrees of this extraordinary belief are still common amongst chiropractors today — particularly those who adjust only the upper cervical spine (NUCCA). Subluxation has always been a major distinguishing feature of the profession, chiropractic’s biggest raison d’etre. Dr. Harriet Hall of Science-Based Medicine points out:

Without it, the whole rationale for chiropractic collapses, leaving chiropractors no justifiable place in modern medical care except as competitors of physical therapists in providing treatment of certain musculoskeletal conditions.

Although controversial for decades, surprisingly few chiropractors have publicly denounced subluxation theory (and those who do are met with a chorus of outrage from large numers of chiropractors who still believe in it). This new paper is a rare example. The authors analyze subluxation theory and dismiss it: “No supportive evidence is found for the chiropractic subluxation being associated with any disease process or of creating suboptimal health conditions … this leaves the subluxation construct in the realm of unsupported speculation.”

Dr. Harriet Hall explains the significance of the paper in an article for ScienceBasedMedicine.org, The End of Chiropractic. As with most of Dr. Hall’s writing about chiropractic, it inspired a larger number of comments: 170 at last count.