Of Shamrocks and Spines
“Chiropractic is a philosophy, science, and art of things natural, and a system of adjusting the spinal column, by hand only, for the correction of the cause of dis-ease.”
- Ralph W. Stephenson, D.C., from The Chiropractic Textbook
Saint Patrick, whose life was memorialized earlier this month, was an influential Christian missionary to Ireland in the 5th century A.D. His beliefs about the triune nature of God and his connection to Ireland have led to the use of shamrock leaves for Saint Patrick’s day celebrations. Luckily (pun intended), the shamrock’s shape can also be used to represent the three core elements of chiropractic: Chiropractic is the whole shamrock structure, and it’s three leaves can symbolize the philosophy, science, and art of chiropractic.
Chiropractic philosophy holds to the understanding that the body is a self-regulating organism that is governed by internal or “innate” intelligence. When the body works as it was designed to, it is able to adapt in response to it’s environment to maintain itself in a state of ease, homeostasis or balance. When it doesn’t function optimally, the body is in a state of “dis-ease” or lack of ease. One of the primary causes of dis-ease is a subluxation, a spinal misalignment that causes nervous system dysfunction. Since the nervous system controls and regulates all other systems, the impact of a subluxation can have far-reaching health consequences.
The science of chiropractic includes an understanding of the causes of subluxation: emotional, chemical and physical stresses. It studies how these stresses of life affect the brain, nervous system and the rest of the body. This includes discernment on bone, muscle, and organ function and how dis-ease may impact the structure and function of the body.
Chiropractic as an art refers to the sensitivity and care in a relationship between doctor and patient. It also includes creative and thorough analysis of the patient’s specific needs and attentiveness to the way each patient’s body responds best to being adjusted. A focused chiropractor will make it a lifetime goal to constantly improve the beautiful art of a perfect, spinal adjustment.
Similar to it’s use in modern Saint Patrick’s day celebrations, the whole “shamrock” of all three elements is needed to keep chiropractic TRUE (philosophy), STRONG (science), and BEAUTIFUL (art).
