"First, a new theory is attacked as absurd, then it is admitted to be true, but obvious and insignificant; finally it is seen to be so important that its adversaries claim that they themselves discovered it.."- William James
INTRODUCTION (excerpt) Dr. W. Michael Gazdar You may recall seeing photos in the mid-1950's of a girl named Winifred who was the March of Dimes poster girl. Her sweet, sad face, huge crutches and cumbersome leg braces raised millions of dollars for the March of Dimes. Unfortunately, after two and a half years of medical therapy, she was given up as an incurable case. Her grandparents took her to see Dr. Lewis Robertson, a chiropractor. In fewer than six months, Winifred was walking without braces or crutches thanks to chiropractic care. The irony of this story is that not one dollar of the millions she raised for the March of Dimes went to pay for the chiropractic care which allowed her to walk again. Was it a mere coincidence, a spontaneous remission or simply a miracle? Read on. On December 13, 1988 Dr. Greg Johnson of Austin, Texas and his wife were expecting their first children--six-week premature twins. Dr. Johnson is a chiropractor and told his wife's obstetrician they wanted a completely natural delivery without forceps or medication. Britney, the first twin, had a high forceps delivery, bruising her head and face and causing a blood clot on the head (cephalohematoma). The doctor also used twisting (torsional stress) on her neck during the delivery. Courtney, the second twin, was born without incident. The girls were 3 lb/6 oz. and 3 lb/8 oz. respectively. They were scheduled to be kept in the hospital neonatology department until they were at least five pounds in weight.		Winifred, March of Dimes Poster Girl
Winifred, three years later, after chiropractic care.	Within thirteen days of delivery Britney became very jaundiced. Her eyes were very yellow, and she had periods where her breathing stopped (apnea). The medical doctors were monitoring her blood and noticed she had hemolytic anemia, a condition where the red blood cells which carry oxygen were being destroyed faster than they could be replaced. This, coupled with the apnea, could have been fatal. The doctors wanted to perform a complete blood transfusion, which would give her normal blood but would not change the problem of the new blood cells being destroyed quickly. Instead, Dr. Johnson decided to try a spinal adjustment on his daughter. As the girls were identical twins, no one could say why Britney had this "rare disease" and Courtney did not. After checking her posture and noticing that her head tilted severely to the left, Dr. Johnson adjusted the highest bone in her neck (C1 vertebra) very gently. He did this four times the first day, three times the second day, and two times the third day. He said after the first day of adjusting that he watched the life begin to return to his daughter's eyes.
The medical doctors who wanted a court order to force a blood transfusion on Britney could not understand how she came around and had a full recovery without the aid of drugs or medical intervention. Dr. Johnson tried to explain how her nervous system had been damaged by the delivery, but they could not accept this explanation, any more than they could accept the idea that chiropractic care saved this child. Was it a mere coincidence, a spontaneous remission or simply a miracle? Read on. In September 1993, Dale Lineaweaver, owner and operator of Lineaweaver Racing, was test driving a motorcycle which he had designed and built. A second motorcycle was racing next to him. As they leaned over into the turn, the tailpipe of the second motorcycle, close to Dale's ear, suddenly emitted a loud blast. Dale's head reflexively snapped away to the side, causing his neck to whiplash. Within hours he developed a ringing in his ear which rose to over 40 decibels (about the sound of someone talking loudly directly in your ear). His insurance company spent over $4,000 on diagnostic tests and therapy, none of which helped. After two months of frustration and being unable to work, he came to my office. After two adjustments to his neck the decibel level dropped in half. After one month of care the ringing was down to five decibels and dropped slowly over the next few months until it became almost inaudible. Ironically, his insurance coverage did not include chiropractic care.
All three of these true stories dramatically show how chiropractic methods worked when medical therapies failed... [Yet] when I looked in my local bookstore, and found a selection of books on back care. most were written by medical doctors, orthopedic surgeons, massage therapists or yoga gurus. There were no current books written by chiropractors on the subject of back pain and health. Nor were there any books connecting these two crucial issues together. Most people are aware that chiropractors can help a bad back, but few know that we can help with asthma, high blood pressure, epilepsy, heart conditions, ulcers and many other "medical" problems. After ten years of college to earn a Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree and practice, I realized there was a need for more people to experience what I and my patients have come to understand -- health and a sound back go together. There are many "miracles" of good health which are gained from a healthy spine. For millions of people, there are no greater experts on the care and health of the spine than chiropractors. Chiropractic can help you regardless of your health, whether you are the most fit human being on the face of the earth or someone who has been sick for many years...		The author adjusting actor Bill Murray at the 1994 AT&T Golf Tournament at Spy Glass Hills Golf Course on the seventh tee. Photo by Kurt Rogers, courtesy of the San Francisco Examiner.
This book is about health, what prevents you from the health you deserve, and how you can regain it. I hope you will be enlightened as well as entertained. In many instances I have included actual patient success stories, but in all cases I have changed the names or used initials to protect privacy. We all love to hear about people who have beaten the odds and gotten well, frequently despite what others have advised them. Any of these people could have been you, someone you love, or someone you know. If parts of the chapters get too technical, skip them. Read only what interests you. I include some of the more technical information only for reference and even then limit it to the appendices. If you wish to learn about the benefits of chiropractic, how it helps you, and be entertained, then this book is for you. If you wish to learn some of the "hard science" behind chiropractic, this book is also for you. I hope you enjoy what you are about to read. W. Michael Gazdar, D.C. Walnut Creek, California December, 1996 Go to Background section