A Little History Lesson

If you had a back problem in ancient Egypt, two of your good friends grabbed you by the legs and (three if you were a rather large individual) tied both your ankles to the end of a ladder. Your friends would then cart you up to the top of a tall building and drop you off headfirst. This was in hopes that as the front part of the ladder hit first (protecting your head, less not forgetting safety is always fashionable even in ancient Egypt), the force of the rope pulling you back would jar something back into place. Effective? Well I believe there are more appropriate methods to accomplish the desired out come. This precarious Egyptian method indicates and historical records confirm the Egyptians viewed those with straight backs were stronger and healthier than their twisted counter parts. Such drastic measures to straighten the spine evidence at the very least that the ancient Egyptian were extremely concerned with correcting the spine. This procedure, by the way, was called succussion. This Egyptian technique was not however the first evidence of spinal manipulation. The first evidence of spinal manipulation was depicted in cave drawings discovered in France dating back to 17,500 B.C. The Chinese were getting into the act around 2700 B.C. and the ancient Greeks (who generally try to out do everyone) have papyruses dating to 1500 B.C. dictating the treatment and management of low back pain through manipulation. In addition, the ancient Japanese, Babylonians, Hindus, Tibetans, Syrians and Tahitians left evidence of utilizing spinal manipulation. The folks on the North American continent manipulated the spine through back walking (your friend would walk on your back for you). The Sioux, Winnebago, and Creek Indians related spinal manipulation and the healing of the body. In Central America, Mayan Aztec, Toltec, Tarascan, and Zoltec Indians routinely utilized spinal manipulation in the healing arts.

Now skipping back again, to the ancient Greeks. Hippocrates, a physician credited with over 70 books dedicated to the healing arts, was a big fan of spinal manipulation. Hippocrates wrote on an ancient papyrus, “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases.” Herodotus, a peer of Hippocrates, gained notoriety addressing ailments only through spinal correction and therapeutic exercise.

Later in Rome, Claudius Galen know as the “Prince of Physicians” during 2nd century A.D., taught the importance proper spinal alignment. Interestingly, Claudius Galen was crowned with the title “Prince of Physicians” manipulating the neck of a renown Roman scholar, restoring function to his once paralyzed hand - wagging tongues did the rest bestowing Galen with the title for all times.

Now fall the curtain of the Middle Ages or Dark Ages. The mind-body-spirit connection ceased to exist. The mind and spirit falling only under the direction of the theologians, the body exclusively given to the physician of the day one not having bearing on the other. During this time manipulation was handed down through families. Villages of both Eastern and Western cultures often boasted of “bonesetters”. Crude manipulation of various forms continued in many cultures all over the world.

Jumping forward a couple of some odd hundred years (1895). D.D. Palmer, the discoverer of modern day chiropractic, was working in Davenport, Iowa as a magnetic healer, a popular healing art of the time utilizing the body’s natural magnetic properties for healing purposes. A janitor in D.D.’s building was deaf relating that he was not always deaf, but “when exerting himself in a cramped, stooping position, he (the janitor) felt something give way in his back and immediately became deaf.” Upon examination D.D. found a “vertebra racked from its normal position. I (D.D.) reasoned that if that vertebra was replaced, the main’s hearing should be restored. With this objective in view, a half hour’s talk persuaded Mr. Lillard (the janitor) to allow me (D.D.) to replace it. I racked it back into position by using the spinous process (the bumps you feel as you go down your back) as a lever and soon the man could hear as before.” Next week I will continue with a little more chiropractic history. Whatever one’s particular view of chiropractic, one thing we ain’t is boring.