The Official History of Chiropractic in Texas. Dr. Walter Rhodes. Published by the Texas Chiropractic Association. 1978.
“In Davenport, Iowa, 50 medical doctors treated 4,953 cases, with 274 deaths. In the same city, 150 chiropractors including students and faculty of the Palmer School of Chiropractic, treated 1,635 cases with only one death.”
“In the state of Iowa, medical doctors treated 93,590 patients, with 6,116 deaths – a loss of one patient out of every 15. In the same state, excluding Davenport, 4,735 patients were treated by chiropractors with a loss of only 6 cases – a loss of one patient out of every 789.”
What is this? This is an excerpt from a publication that documented historical events in chiropractic. Chiropractic was founded in 1895 and had many landmark steps that established it as the second largest field of health care in the world today. The success of the chiropractic profession with patients in the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1917-1918 was a major factor that led to the establishment of the profession.
What happened at this time? Poor living conditions among populations worldwide promoted the spread of a deadly pandemic at the end of the first World War. Worldwide, over 20 million deaths were attributable to the flu at this time, more than were killed during the war. 500,000 American deaths were considered to be a result of this flu pandemic.
The young chiropractic profession, spreading through grass-roots clinical results with patients, became firmly and widely established through legislation after the population struggled during this period. More than half of the state licensure laws were enacted in the years immediately following World War I.
What other data was preserved at this time? Here is a sample of some of the other records from the book: “The same epidemic reports show that chiropractors in Oklahoma treated 3,490 cases of influenza with only 7 deaths. But the best part of this is, in Oklahoma there is a clear record showing that chiropractors were called in 233 cases where medical doctors had cared for the patients, and finally gave them up as lost. The chiropractors saved all these lost cases but 25.”
What other resources do you suggest? Also see the Boost Your Immune System Part I and Part II Advanced Workshop in the Lending Library.
Who do I give this to? People who have concerns about their immune system for this upcoming cold and flu season.
