Chiropractic Helps the Body Fight Viral Infections
By Dr. Dan Sullivan, DC and International Speaker
Back in 1917-1918 there was a international flu epidemic. This was before vaccines were around so this is not a vaccine anti-vaccine post.
For another great article with references click here.
It is well documented that 20 million people died worldwide; 500,000 in the U.S. alone. At the same time of this epidemic, there was a new health field and rising science making its way onto the scene. Believe it or not, the flu epidemic helped put Chiropractic on the map!
These numbers will shock you:
In the state of Iowa, medical doctors treated 93,590 flu patients with 6,116 deaths; a loss of one patient out of every 15. Chiropractors saw 4,735 patients with the flu and only had 6 deaths. A loss of one patient out of every 789. National figures show that 1,142 Chiropractors treated 46,394 patients for influenza during 1918, with a loss of only 54 patients. (25 deaths per 10,000) Reports from New York City alone showed that 950 people died from the flu who sought out ONLY medical care out of every 10,000 cases treated.
Dr. D’s commentary…
Chiropractic’s recognition of being a legitimate healing profession earned the “DOCTOR” title and was granted state licensure began in most states because of these statistics not because we get great results for back and neck pain. They didn’t know how chiropractic adjusting helped the body but they figured 0ut it was different from medical approaches and needed by the American People.
Chiropractic has a statistical improvement on the body’s health and immune function. That’s why getting adjusted regularly for HEALTH REASONS is crucial to a top performing body.
Now back to Dr. Sullivan…
Chiropractic became less about improving immunity and visceral physiology and more about dealing with back pain when antibiotics were invented and introduced. Then along came vaccines and Chiropractic continued to take a back seat to the “scientific” breakthroughs in medicine.
But did human physiology change? Was there some sort of shift in human function that made chiropractic effective in the 1920‘s for increasing immunity and preventing infections but not effective in the 1940’s or after?
Dumb question? Good marketing is the answer! Marketing and promotion made the new “proven” and “accepted” drug therapy approach to increasing immunity and treating infection as the gold standard.
There are literally millions of testimonies each year from Chiropractors whose patients experience the same results from the flu and other infections as Chiropractic patients did in 1918. We have to accept the fact that our communities have not heard about this because of medicine’s marketing and promotion of drugs and surgeries…AND NOW WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
I could explain to you the results of the PhD Ron Pero study showing that people under Chiropractic care had 200% increased immunity compared to those not under care. Or I could show you the New England Journal of Medicine study from Aug. 23, 1991 showing that an increase in catecholamines suppress the immune system and had determined whether a person was more susceptible to colds and infections. And then I would combine that with the 2011 study showing how much a single spinal adjustment significantly reduces those catecholamines and increases secretory IgA by 139%, making a patient less susceptible because of the boosted immunity. Or I could talk about the awesome 2004 study that showed 98% of asthma, allergy, and dermatitis (all immune system related) sufferers had vertebral misalignments as a common finding. And when they were adjusted had massive improvements compared to the control group who did not get adjusted. And so on and so on and so on….
But….I won’t bore you with loads of studies and statistics! The evidence is clear and we can now surely stand up and speak boldly and proud in the Power of Chiropractic and its effect on immunity!