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It became a part of the early training of Osteopathy and Chiropractic sciences to assume that the "sole cause" of disease originated in "partial" or "complete luxation of bone or bones." The Osteopath taught that the "atlas," the "axis," the "hip joint" and the "ribs" were out of place, turned out or in, and were pressing on some blood-vessel, nerve or tissue, and it demanded special attention, or the lameness, sickness or pain would never get well. The Chiropractic came upon the stage with a great show of spines, all disjointed or "ankylosed," and with zeal characteristic of the thought, advocated the idea that "some spinal vertebra was out of line, and impinging upon some nerve or nerves, and nothing would relieve the afflicted mortal but to have his spine adjusted." These special representatives of the two "bone doctors" - Osteopaths and Chiropractics - have so taught their students accordingly. We were the recipients of these ideas - poured into our thought-box, and with much fervor by the representative heads of these so-called sciences - and to openly deny their notions while a student would have incited the ire of their equilibrium to that extent that some other and more congenial habitation would have been more tranquil for the time being at least. So we sat still as an humble student, and suffered such teaching to flow uninterruptedly from the "famous discoverers" of these marvelous sciences, and wondered what would be the final outcome, and we found out; learned what these "masters of their discoveries" had to say; watched in silent awe and intense gaze when the attempt was made to "demonstrate" their theories of the supposed causes of diseases - from these sages of the centuries - promulgating the new philosophy of the manner advocated by both, "adjusting the supposed luxations" - the supposed causes all the ages had failed to discover, the sole causes of human ills. It is strange that both attributed the same thing as the cause; but both had a diametrically opposite manner of remedying the difficulty, and one went all over the body, and took in bone, muscles and nerves, and the other confined himself to the spine, and "ankylosed bones" and "impinged nerves"! Both were equally zealous of his method and theory being the only right one. That these two sciences are based upon the same philosophy can not be denied; but each of the claimants of the discoveries certainly have the one and the same philosophy, and only a different method of applying it, and as the difference of treatment produces, many times, a different effect, it can be truly said that they seem like entirely different sciences; for it is absolutely true that one might receive the teachings of the one and know nothing as to how to apply the treatment of the other, to accomplish an expression of the same philosophy - "that of freedom of the nervous system." Neither would the one be familiar with setting any joints but the supposed luxations of the spines, while he would not pose as a "setter of other joints - ribs, hips," et al. One being called an Osteopath and the other a Chiropractic, this is one of the philosophies which admit of two ways of being expressed, and neither one being sufficient in expression or application to begin to satisfy the absolute demands of the possessor of either, nor by the one who has both and is familiar with all they both claim. Whilst there is indescribable merit in both of these sciences, and each has an important place, and without them there is an unfilled "niche" in the curriculum of treatment, we are not so circumscribed in our limitations and compass of the sciences of hearing as to assume that even they include all that is necessary to know how to stop all progress, or to embrace all the causes of human ills; that each may be advantageously useful, and accomplish much good, relieve much suffering, take off the "pressure" from many nerves, arrest many pathological conditions and bring joy and gladness to many afflicted mortals; yet there is some of the nervous system which these systems are inadequate to affect in any way directly, and leave them for other means to be used to wholly embrace all of the nervous system of this body of ours. So that to be panoplied with a full armamentariurn for all contingencies we would most earnestly advise the consideration of a means of cure, with the others mentioned, a method of "stopping waste" - "nerve waste," "nerve strain" - which is not accomplished by either Osteopathy or Chiropractic. This means is found in properly applied Neuro-Ophthalmology, In order to be a healer, in the strict sense of the term, the mind should be stored with a thorough knowledge of the human structure - its anatomy, pathology, and phrenology, psychology, and temperaments of the human family. To depend upon the merits exclusively of either of the so-called sciences of healing, and become an advocate of only one idea, of one way only to set to rights this complicated cosmos, when wrong, savors too much of doing all the housework with a broom. It might be cleared of dust, but mankind has use for his dust for a while. The proper arrangement of his molecules is the very thing needed for health. Study him as a cosmos, and learn how to adjust him under all the varied circumstances under which he is, or is likely to be placed, and then you will be prepared to meet the demands all round. The Osteopaths have grown to be an immense throng,
and have thrust their philosophy into almost every civilized country on
the globe, and with untiring zeal they urge its claims. The Chiropractic
science came later, and with greater pretensions of superiority, but slower
growth. It certainly has deserved merit in it; but, like Osteopathy, it
needs to be revised, and the false theories eliminated therefrom, and the
true status fully explained, and freed from the narrow conceptions of its
founder that "luxations are found and adjusted" and thereby all diseases
are dispelled. The tendency, of all unlearned founders of a science is
to carry the thought of their theories too far into the mysterious, and
having but a limited knowledge of things in general, are liable to exaggerate
facts and indulge in overdrawn hypotheses which investigation and careful
scrutiny will not sanction. We have had no little experience along the
lines of these philosophies, and whilst the principles are in the main
correct, yet neither the founders of Osteopathic nor Chiropractic science
comprehend the true status of their theories, and have not explained why
their manipulations result in such physical changes when applied in their
peculiar manner. The clicking resulting from adjustment can never be shown
to be "that bone has been thrown in place," as they so strenuously maintain.
In another part of this work we have tried to show that there are two forces which govern the physical body when in a normal condition and all its functions are properly performed. Whether the reader believes this or not, it is so, nevertheless! The one Positive, the other Negative; one a generator of the acids, the other the generator of the alkalies, and these being controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, one can very readily understand, when an interference of the functions of any of the filaments of this system of nerves takes place, there is manifest a disturbance at the terminus of these filaments, demonstrating that an interruption interferes with nerve function, as it is termed, and the effects are solely dependent upon the ratio of disturbance of the nerves or nerve fibers involved therein. The disturbance produces chemical changes in the nerve structure, and thereby changes the force of the dynamic power, simply because the elements of the media are changed (nerve substance). We do not understand that there is any power in the nerve - any more in comparison than there is in a wire which conveys the dynamic power which moves, through electricity, a weight millions of times heavier than the wire itself. It will be understood that nerves are only the media through which power is conveyed, mind, will, either conscious or subconscious, being the power. Hence there is no reason in assuming that there is a pent-up, inherent power to draw from in the physical organism. Nerve exhaustion simply means, according to my philosophy, decrease of chemical elements in the nerve itself from over-use, leaving the media deficient of mental conductibility of mental force - mind, expression. It is a known fact that when the whole nervous system is exhausted, there is a weakened exhaustion of the whole nervous function thereof. Why not individually as well? Think, reason. If you use an organ too much, do you not perceive its exhaustion? What else is it but a result of used-up elements in the nerve itself? Thus the medium becomes impaired, and needs to be renewed of wasted elements to be in status quo. No argument can disprove the truth of this philosophy nor over-turn the reasoning here presented; and it will be true as long as time lasts. There is no power in a dynamo, but it generates power. This power is created by friction; the power is electricity, and this is conducted through wire. This wire must be a conductor or the power would never leave the dynamo. This is the case as regards the power which moves this body-mind; and mind is rendered active by systematic demands suggested by a power outside of the body, an unexplainable necessity which conduces to the harmony of the elements and functions of the human body. When these functions are performed by normal suggestions, there is harmony, and when mental friction takes the rule, we have disease - inharmony. This may be illustrated in the case of the business man. Let all the energies be directed to a particular pursuit, using every faculty of his mental caliber in the direction of its accomplishment, giving the nerves which go to and end in his stomach no time to perform their function, and it will not be long until the food fails of digestion, and that individual complains of indigestion. The proposition might be enlarged, and the larger percent of human ills shown to originate the same way. It will be understood that there exists no power in the nerve itself and, more than any other part of the body of the same size; but the power is mind - that is the dynamo which runs the machinery - the nervous system being the media, the conducting nerves as it were, to transmit the power. What power there is in mind can not be measured; but whatever force is transmitted can be measured, the same as gas, electricity or steam. What we call nerve power can be, and is measured, and the amount definitely determined, so that, knowing the parts at work, we may know the ability or capacity to perform the labor allotted to them in a given time by a given quantity, of nerve filaments used in a given locality. If not, why not? That the nerves are not the power, we may know by comparison with electrical force; for a power sufficient to move a large weight passes through a wire insignificantly small in comparison to the weight, for many tons are moved through a wire not larger than a common cambric needle, and the wire does not seem to be affected in the least; but be it understood that the wire must be a conductor; that is, must have the elements of conductibility in it. Nature is continually demonstrating the fact that affinity is a product of certain chemical constituents, in a given quantity, in a given thing, in order that all the elements may harmonize (live in peace with each other); and this law is so exact, that when disproportion gets in the way, there is destruction of the harmony, and not infrequently of the organized substance, so that the law is universal. Why not recognize it in the human body? On any other hypothesis, how can any one explain why it is that in certain localities of the alimentary canal there are acid secretions generated, and in certain other parts there are alkaline secretions generated? We say, "generated," for they are, by direction of mind through the nerve filaments ending, in them, ordering certain secretions withdrawn from the blood as it flowed through the glands. It will be observed that the same kind of fluid passes in and through all the glandular system; but that in some particular glands one kind of secretion is drawn out of the blood, while in another gland an entirely, different kind flows therefrom. The structure of the glands do not account for these differences in the excreta from the blood any more than the same phenomena in the capillaries taking place to supply the demand of the surrounding tissue; for in one place we have carbon and phosphates, and in another lime and sulphur, and in another soda and lime. There is no other reasonable hypothesis than that mind superintends all the processes of growth and decay throughout the entire body, and, in fact, throughout the whole universe of matter, and all things terrestrial and celestial are absolutely controlled by mind. The rolling billows of the mad old ocean have their bounds; the icy regions of the North are stayed by an unseen power, and the tides come and go with the regularity of day and night, and an unseen power holds the earth in a balance which is a wonder incomprehensible. Then why attribute the government of this thing made "in the image of its Creator" to a chaos of incongruities and chance? To understand these forces enables one to deal intelligently with his own and all other human bodies. To assume that the liver, the lungs, the heart, the kidneys, the diaphragm, or any other function or organ controls this body, is surely assumed ignorance. |