According to J.P. Pawliw-Fry an expert in chiropractic and graduate of Harvard's Mind Body Institute, many practicing chiropractors who believe that treating subluxations is dead, are still connected to traditionial chiropractic through the belief that the body has the ability for self heaing and self regulation.
The connection between traditional orthopedic style subluxation theory and the modern study of mind body medicine, according to J.P. Pawling, is the area of nociceptive irritation and the dorsal horn. Out of place vertebrae that impinge on nerves occurs only rarely, he points out, whereas out-of-wack micro neuro-circuits can occur on a regular basis. In fact, as Mr. Pawling notes, auto-suggestion was considered one of the three principle causes of "subluxation," in traditional chiropractic, and the ability of auto-suggestion to influence nervous activity is well known. The auto suggestion concept alone takes the whole chiropractic field solidly into the era of mind body healing.
Mr Pawling urges modern chiropractors to be flexible and go outside the model of hands only spine only manipulation that powers innate healing, an approach that traditional chirorpactors accept and modern chiropractors reject. Instead of fighting with the model chiropractors need to do whatever works to stimulate innate healing in their patients. If not, he warns, the field will be left behind as professional in other healing specialties race to lift up the gauntlet of stimulation of innate healing.
Mr. Pawling quotes from Albert Schweitzer who stated that everyone carries their own Doctor within. It is up to members of the chiropractic profession to give permission to that inner healer to act.
