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 | This article contains promotional content .(November 2022) |
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| Formation | 1963 |
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| Headquarters | Arlington, Virginia, U.S. |
| Membership | c. 15,000 doctors of chiropractic and chiropractic students |
Key people | Executive Vice President Karen Silberman President Michael Martin, DC Vice President Marcus Nynas, DC |
| Website | www |
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA), based in Arlington, Virginia, is an organization that promotes the pseudoscientific [1] [a] concept of chiropractic and its practitioners.
The stated mission of the ACA is to improve the health of its members and communities with chiropractic. For their mission, the ACA works with chiropractic professionals, supports pro-chiropractic legislation and policies, and supports research for treatment practices. The ACA also provides professional and educational opportunities for its members. [2]
The American Chiropractic Association was founded in 1922, and in 1930 merged with the Universal Chiropractors Association to form the National Chiropractic Association (NCA). In 1963, the NCA was reorganized, once again under the title of the American Chiropractic Association.
The House of Delegates (HOD), the deliberative body of the Association, is composed of 124 delegates representing all 50 states, the ACA Board of Governors, the ACA’s specialty councils, the Faculty American Chiropractic Association (FACA), the Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA) and ACA's state affiliates. The HOD meets once per year in person during the association’s annual meeting, usually held in the first quarter of the year.
ACA formally recognizes 12 specialty areas [3] of chiropractic practice through its specialty councils:
The official research journal of ACA is Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT), which is owned by the National University of Health Sciences and published by Elsevier.
The American Chiropractic Foundation is the charitable arm of the association. The Foundation provides grants for research, education, and scholarships. [4]
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is an organizational descendant of one of the first national chiropractic membership societies, the Universal Chiropractors Association (UCA), which was established at the Palmer School of Chiropractic in 1906. ACA as we know it today was founded in 1963, with the merger of the National Chiropractic Association and a splinter group from another national association. Over its history, ACA and its predecessors were responsible for establishing some of the profession's most important foundational organizations in the areas of chiropractic research and education. [5]
Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It is based on several pseudoscientific ideas.
A subluxation is an incomplete or partial dislocation of a joint or organ. According to the World Health Organization, a subluxation is a "significant structural displacement" and is therefore visible on static imaging studies, such as X-rays. Unlike real subluxations, the pseudoscientific concept of a chiropractic "vertebral subluxation" may or may not be visible on x-rays.
The National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF) was a not-for-profit, US-based organization, that described itself as a "private nonprofit, voluntary health agency that focuses upon health misinformation, fraud, and quackery as public health problems."
In chiropractic, a vertebral subluxation means pressure on nerves, abnormal functions creating a lesion in some portion of the body, either in its action or makeup. Chiropractors claim subluxations are not necessarily visible on X-rays.
Spinal adjustment and chiropractic adjustment are terms used by chiropractors to describe their approaches to spinal manipulation, as well as some osteopaths, who use the term adjustment. Despite anecdotal success, there is no scientific evidence that spinal adjustment is effective against disease.
The National Association for Chiropractic Medicine(NACM) was a minority chiropractic association founded in 1984 that described itself as a "consumer advocacy association of chiropractors". It openly rejected some of the more controversial aspects of chiropractic, including a basic concept of chiropractic, vertebral subluxations as the cause of all diseases. It also sought to "reform the chiropractic profession away from a philosophical scope of practice and towards an applied science scope of practice." It stated that it was "dedicated to bringing the scientific based practice of chiropractic into mainstream medicine" and that its members "confine their scope of practice to scientific parameters and seek to make legitimate the utilization of professional manipulative procedures in mainstream health care delivery." "While the NACM is focused on furthering the profession, its primary focus is on the rights and safety of the consumers." The NACM was the object of much controversy and criticism from the rest of the profession. It quietly dropped out of sight and its demise apparently occurred sometime between May 30, 2008 and March 6, 2010.
Chiropractic education trains students in chiropractic. The entry criteria, structure, teaching methodology and nature of chiropractic programs offered at chiropractic schools vary considerably around the world. Students are trained in academic areas including scopes of practice, neurology, radiology, microbiology, psychology, ethics, biology, gross anatomy, biochemistry, spinal anatomy and more. Prospective students are also usually trained in clinical nutrition, public health, pediatrics and other health or wellness related areas.
The history of chiropractic began in 1895 when Daniel David Palmer of Iowa performed the first chiropractic adjustment on a partially deaf janitor, Harvey Lillard. While Lillard was working without his shirt on in Palmer's office, Lillard bent over to empty the trash can. Palmer noticed that Lillard had a vertebra out of position. He asked Lillard what happened, and Lillard replied, "I moved the wrong way, and I heard a 'pop' in my back, and that's when I lost my hearing." Palmer, who was also involved in many other natural healing philosophies, had Lillard lie face down on the floor and proceeded with the adjustment. The next day, Lillard told Palmer, "I can hear that rackets on the streets." This experience led Palmer to open a school of chiropractic two years later. Rev. Samuel H. Weed coined the word "chiropractic" by combining the Greek words cheiro (hand) and praktikos.
Palmer College of Chiropractic is a private chiropractic college with its main campus in Davenport, Iowa. It was established in 1897 by Daniel David Palmer and was the first school of chiropractic in the world. The college's name was originally the Palmer School and Cure and later became the Palmer School of Chiropractic. Most early chiropractic schools were founded by Palmer alumni.
Throughout its history, chiropractic has been the subject of internal and external controversy and criticism. According to magnetic healer Daniel D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, "vertebral subluxation" was the sole cause of all diseases and manipulation was the cure for all disease. Internal divisions between "straights," who adhere strictly to Palmer’s original philosophy, and "mixers," who incorporate broader medical practices, have further complicated the profession’s identity. A 2003 profession-wide survey found "most chiropractors still hold views of Innate Intelligence and of the cause and cure of disease consistent with those of the Palmers". A critical evaluation stated "Chiropractic is rooted in mystical concepts. This led to an internal conflict within the chiropractic profession, which continues today." Chiropractors, including D.D. Palmer, were jailed for practicing medicine without a license. D.D. Palmer considered establishing chiropractic as a religion to resolve this problem. For most of its existence, chiropractic has battled with mainstream medicine, sustained by antiscientific and pseudoscientific ideas such as vertebral subluxation.
Sherman College of Chiropractic is an American private graduate college focused on the health sciences and located in unincorporated Spartanburg County, South Carolina, with a Boiling Springs postal address; it is outside of the Boiling Springs census-designated place. It was founded in 1973 and named after chiropractor Lyle Sherman. Sherman College offers the doctor of chiropractic degree. The college is home to approximately 450 students representing 42 states and 13 countries and has more than 3,000 alumni around the world. Sherman college supports the "straight" vertebral subluxation-based focus as different from diagnosis and symptomatic treatment focus of "mixed" U.S. chiropractic schools. The name of the college was changed to Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic the late 1970s, but changed back to the original name in 2009. Sherman College also has digital x-ray services in the Health Center for use of interns and local chiropractors.
The International Federation of Sports Chiropractic is an international organization that promotes sports chiropractic around the world. It is composed of national sports chiropractic councils, or national associations, from many countries such as Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, United States, and the United Kingdom.
The International Chiropractors Association (ICA) was founded by B.J. Palmer in 1926 in Davenport, Iowa, US. Palmer served as it President until his death in 1961.
Daniel David Palmer was a Canadian-born American spiritualist and activist best known for creating chiropractic. Palmer was born in Pickering Township, Canada West, but emigrated to the United States in 1865. He was also an avid proponent of pseudoscientific alternative medicine such as magnetic healing. Palmer opposed anything he thought to be associated with mainstream medicine such as vaccination.
The Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA), founded in 1990 as the Chiropractors' Association of Australia (CAA), is the largest association of chiropractors and chiropractic students in Australia.
The Friends of Science In Medicine (FSM) is an Australian association which supports evidence-based medicine and strongly opposes the promotion and practice of unsubstantiated therapies that lack a scientifically plausible rationale. They accomplish this by publicly raising their concerns either through direct correspondence or through media outlets. FSM was established in December 2011 by Loretta Marron, John Dwyer, Alastair MacLennan, Rob Morrison and Marcello Costa, a group of Australian biomedical scientists and clinical academics.
Various organizations of practicing chiropractors have outlined formal codes of professional ethics. Actual practice has revealed a wide range of behaviors which may or may not conform to these standards.
Anti-vaccinationism in chiropractic is widespread, but there are notable differences within the trade. Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine founded on the idea that all disease is caused by disruption of the flow of "innate" in the spine, by so-called vertebral subluxations – a pseudoscientific concept. Over time chiropractic has divided into "straights" who adhere to the subluxation theory and "mixers" who adhere more closely to a scientifically-based view of anatomy. "Straight" chiropractors are very likely to be anti-vaccination, but all chiropractic training tends to reduce acceptance of vaccines.
Sylva Ashworth (1874–1958) was an American chiropractor, who played a significant role in developing the chiropractic field. She was the founder of the Universal Chiropractors' Association. After suffering from many health issues, she tried chiropractic as a last resort and found that it worked completely for her. She then worked as a chiropractic until the age of 79.
The uncritical habits of mind that allow pseudosciences like subluxation chiropractic, astrology, intelligent design, and countless 'new age' medical cures to flourish are an important indication that science education needs to be changed.
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