The scientific monograph from this event is sure to be a legacy for the entire chiropractic profession, and some believe the symposium will in fact be a "landmark in the modern understanding of chiropractic." The meeting will feature the world's leading expert on somato-autonomic interactions, Dr. Akio Sato, as the honorary chairperson for the meeting. Leading researchers from around the world have been invited to present review papers, which will be complemented by presentations of the most recent original research. The proceedings will be published as a monograph, which may be expected to serve as a key reference for the chiropractic profession and others interested in somato-autonomic interactions.
Since the emergence of chiropractic in the late 19th century, spinal manipulation has been widely used in the treatment of visceral and musculoskeletal disorders. No robust basic physiological rationale has yet emerged to explain what are widely accepted as the beneficial effects of chiropractic manipulation in the treatment of biomechanical disorders, particularly those of the vertebral column. Nonetheless, sufficient well-controlled clinical trials have appeared to support the use of manipulation in the treatment of low back pain, neck pain and cervico-genic headache, in appropriate circumstances.
The situation regarding visceral complaints is quite another matter. While it is clear that the somatic system can influence the autonomic nervous system, the concept of using somatic stimulation to alter (and perhaps improve) visceral function is foreign to most health care professionals educated in the Western allopathic tradition. Some forms of traditional Oriental medicine, such as acupuncture, shiatsu and moxibustion, accept the use of stimulation of somatic tissues to treat a wide spectrum of disorders, but do so without a clear rationale that can be explained in terms of conventional anatomy and physiology.
In other words, to most people educated in conventional Western sciences, the application of forces to muscles, bones and joints to relieve internal complaints simply does not make sense. Furthermore, very few credible clinical studies have investigated the effects of spinal manipulation on visceral disorders. Nonetheless, the very paradigm of chiropractic was the use of spinal manipulation to relieve an organic complaint.
The founder of chiropractic, D.D. Palmer, described as his seminal experience with the new art the relief of deafness by thoracic spinal manipulation in a gentleman who had previously lost his hearing during an incident which, coincidently, strained his upper back. On page 18 of his text, The Chiropractor's Adjuster, Palmer wrote:
Shortly after this relief from deafness, I had a case of heart trouble which was not improving. I examined the spine and found a displaced vertebra pressing against the nerves which innervate the heart. I adjusted the vertebra and gave immediate relief, nothing 'accidental' or 'crude' about this. Then I began to reason if two diseases, so dissimilar as deafness and heart trouble, came from impingement, a pressure on nerves, were not other disease due to a similar cause? Thus the science (knowledge) and art (adjusting) of Chiropractic were formed at that time. I then began a systematic investigation for the cause of all diseases and have been amply rewarded.
Whereas the principal practitioners of spinal manipulation - chiropractors - initially found themselves marginalized and denigrated by allopathic physicians, they have found more understanding recently from many of their medical colleagues, and distinct enthusiasm from governments and insurance providers who must pay the bills for health care.
However, the fact of the matter is that the recent interprofessional and public acceptance of spinal manipulation have been based almost entirely on the perceived effectiveness of this modality for neck and back pain and related complaints. The manipulative management of visceral disorders remains contentious.
Against this backdrop, the International Society for Neuroscience in Chiropractic and the Japanese Foundation for Spinal Research will collaborate to present this international, multidisciplinary symposium that will address, in particular, the physiological basis of spinovisceral phenomena.
Doctors of chiropractic worldwide are encouraged to attend this important meeting, and to submit research for presentation. For more information, please contact:
Brian Budgell DC, MSc
Associate Professor,
School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine
Kyoto University
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