Chiropractic and the Flu of 1918
Massachusetts had been drained of physicians and nurses due to calls for military service, and no longer had enough personnel to meet the civilian demand for healthcare during the 1918 flu pandemic. Governor McCall asked every able-bodied person across the state with medical training to offer their aid in fighting the epidemic. Boston Red Cross volunteers assembled gauze influenza masks for use at hard-hit, Camp Devens in Massachusetts. (Image from the CDC Archive.)
Most of you know chiropractic as a treatment for musculoskeletal aches and pain. However, the real history of chiropractic was much more diverse than its current scope of practice. As it relates to the topic of the flu, we want to share some great information and statistics with you…
One hundred years ago, the world endured the largest flu epidemic of all recorded history. The flu pandemic of 1918 killed over 20 million people globally and half a million Americans perished in just 6 months. This is more deaths than had occurred during all wars of all time put together. During this epidemic, independent healthcare observers noted that those who chose chiropractic manipulation, had 1/40th the death rate of those who went the medical route. Simply put, the immune systems of people who had been getting adjusted worked better.
Influenza deaths rate under medical methods: 925 : 10,000
Influenza death rate under spinal manipulation: 25 : 10,000
As a result, chiropractors then became licensed as doctors. So you see historically, people didn’t go to the chiropractor for aches and pains…they went for infectious diseases. Remember that this was during the pre-antibiotic pre-vaccine era. Once antibiotics and vaccines were introduced in the 1950’s and 1960’s, chiropractors then began to emphasize treatment of musculoskeletal aches and pains.
How are these results achieved?
The reason for these results stems from the fact that the nervous system is the master controller of the body. The nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord and nerves. We live our lives through our nervous system. The healthier it is, the healthier we will be. As chiropractors, we detect imbalances in the spine (subluxations), which affect the nervous system and can have detrimental effects on your health and well-being.
How does chiropractic help your immune system and overall well-being?
In the January 1997 issue of the medical journal “Spine”, it was documented using genetic tracing that if you affect a spinal ligament, information is sent into your Spinal Cord which then prominently communicates with and influences your brain. Spinal manipulations of the upper cervical spine more specifically (i.e. the upper neck), affect the spinal ligaments. Information is then sent to the Nucleus Intermedius in the medulla of the brainstem. This directly communicates with the Nucleus Traptus Solaris which is a major relay for function of your Immune System as well as your heart, lungs and Gastrointestinal System.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, spinal subluxations (i.e. misalignments) suppress the immune system, and removing them via spinal manipulation (i.e. an adjustment) assists Immune function. Now newer research published in the “Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapeutics” shows that white blood cells increase with Chiropractic adjustments. So remember, a chiropractic adjustment is just what the doctor ordered.
SOURCE: Tagliarini Chiropractic