Technic and Practice of Chiropractic

by Joy Maxwell Loban

Movement

When it has been decided that the coccyx must be moved, the position and use of hand is the same as for the palpation. The finger hooks under the tip of the coccyx, draws upon it until a tight contact is secured and then jerks sharply backward upon it with a view to its abrupt fracture. No mitigation of the jerk in the hope of previously loosening or gradually replacing the bone is of value for osseous tissue must be broken before any movement may take place.

This movement is painful and the region of the newly fractured coccyx may remain sore for a period ranging from a few days to several weeks. It is wise to warn the patient of the facts before proceeding.

The fractured coccyx may be absorbed, or may be reankylosed in a proper position or in a new abnormal position, or may remain loose and movable.

ADJUSTMENT OF CURVATURES

We have previously discussed in detail the nature and discovery of curvatures. A few words should be said here about their correction.

If the sole object of the adjustment is to correct the curvature it is best to select for adjustment those vertebrae which are most subluxated in the direction of the curvature. According to the length of the curvature a series of from two to six, separated by some distance, are chosen. These are adjusted until they cease to be the most prominent ones in the curvature and then others, then most prominent, are chosen and adjusted until they in turn cease to be most prominent. In this way the curvature may eventually be straightened, or nearly so. It is doubtful if any curvature can be absolutely eradicated, although it may be straightened until unnoticeable except by the expert.

To overcome a curvature it may be necessary to break every rule which governs ordinary adjusting and to invent new ways of placing the hands or of delivering force. No two require exactly the same measures and he is most successful with curvatures who is most adaptable to changing conditions.

One rule may be safely laid down. Do not alternate from day to day, loosening at the same time many vertebrae, but choose the ones most in need of adjustment and follow your choice as long as it is indicated. The chief vertebra is nearly always the one at the angle or point of the curvature.

The sharp, angular curve of Potts’ Disease, involving two or three vertebrae, should warn against adjustment, usually, since in this disease the vertebrae are fragile and easily fractured. If a case has not progressed too far a cure may be effected, but great caution in taking such cases must be exercised. Every Chiropractor should be well informed on the diagnosis of Potts’ Disease, or spinal caries.