The Sixth Wave of Chiropractic Ideas 1962-1975
The sixth wave of chiropractic ideas 1962-1975 launched the profession in a new direction. Important books were published. Segmental Neuropathy by the faculty of Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College was groundbreaking. The Institute Chiropractic got permission to republish it online. In 1964, William Harper published his Anything can Cause Anything. In 1966, Dave Palmer published his father’s last two books posthumously. The sixth wave culminated with the 1975 conference at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke held at the NIH on The Research Status of Spinal Manipulative Therapy. The conference moved the profession away from a more holistic focus on the vertebral subluxation in relation to bodily systems and psychological systems.
This period was shaped by the accreditation wars and the CCE takeover of chiropractic education. Also, the last doctor of chiropractic philosophy degree was given out by Palmer College. The era of chiropractic sanitariums ended as well.
An article by William Rehm published during the sixth wave had a significant impact on the literature and the profession. Rehm cited Cyrus Lerner’s 1952 account of early chiropractic history. Lerner’s account even was full of historical errors with limited references to support several important claims. Many of those errors originated in the fifth wave and are still being cited today.
