My Chiropractic Journey

Back when I played football in college, I experienced a sharp stabbing pain in my low back during practice. This injury caused me to lose the use of my right leg to the point where it couldn’t support my weight any longer. My concern led me to many medical specialists only to be told there was little to nothing they could do for me. --This was before the invention of MRI machines--One of the last medical doctors I saw suggested “exploratory surgery” to see if they could figure out what was wrong with me. After being informed the surgery could leave me partially paralyzed, I naturally declined.
In retrospect, now I know a simple x-ray of the spine would’ve revealed the cause of my problems - but none were taken.

Unfortunately, I was unable to function with this agonizing pain. I had to drop out of college due to my inability to walk, became addicted to pain medication, and had severe depression. After three months of torture, my mother said “You’re going to see a chiropractor”. At this point in my life, my feelings about chiropractors were not positive. ‘What could a lowly chiropractor do to me that all the medical specialists couldn’t?’ Despite my reservations, I went.

Dr. Smith was a frail, older gentleman who stood about 5’5” and had years of experience as a chiropractor. Compared to all the medical doctors I saw, my consultation with him was quick and he followed up with the most comprehensive examination. After taking x-rays of my spine, he announced “I know what’s wrong”. Although elated, I was also confused. ‘How could he know what my problem was when all the medical specialists were stumped?’

In 1975, Dr. Smith’s office was an oddity due to the setup of his clinic. Instead of adjusting patients in separate rooms, he practiced in an open room environment with partitions separating multiple tables. He placed me facedown and applied electro-stim therapy to my lower back while he worked on other patients. Lying facedown only allowed me to hear his movements around his office. I started to become quite concerned when every single patient he adjusted screamed out in pain during their adjustment.
I could hear him getting closer and closer to me, accompanied by loud screams.

As Dr. Smith approached me, he asked, “Are you ready?”
Hesitantly I said, “I think so.”
He removed the therapy pads and positioned me on my side with my knee hanging over the edge, with one hand on my shoulder and one on the sore part of my low back.
And before I knew it, he put all his body weight down into my knee, I screamed as loud as the rest had. Then it was over.

He looked down at me and told me, “Get up and walk.”
Arrogantly I stated, “I didn’t walk in here, and after what you did, HOW am I supposed to walk?”
“I said get up and walk!”

In my mind, I’m thinking, ‘I’m gonna get off this table, walk straight towards him, and squish him like a bug when my leg collapses again.’ Proving that he wasn’t as good a doctor as he thought he was.

Amazingly, I took one small step. Then another. Then with one last step, I looked up to see a huge grin on his wrinkled face.
In awe, I asked “How? Out of all the doctors, how were you able to do what they couldn’t?”
His one-word answer set me on a course that would not only change my life but also the lives of thousands I would meet in my lifetime.

“Chiropractic.”