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Subscription and Renewal Information Index of Current & Previous Issues Research Update Newsletter Index The Chiropractic Advocacy Council
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Theory Abstract — Chiropractic research in recent years has
more often focused on the effects of spinal manipulative therapy as a
treatment for certain musculoskeletal conditions, than on the detrimental
effects of vertebral subluxation on the body’s ability to maintain its own
health. Many practitioners and some institutions, however, maintain that
vertebral subluxation, not the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions,
should be the central focus of the chiropractic profession. Research into
the phenomenon of vertebral subluxation has suffered due to a lack of
well-defined operational definitions for elements of the phenomenon, and a
framework for linking philosophical constructs, clinical observations, and
scientific methods. The goal of this work is to develop a vertebral
subluxation model that is grounded in a philosophy of science as applied to
chiropractic, beginning with the abstract construct and branching out into
diverse testable hypotheses in stages. The present authors liken this
development to the structure of a tree, where the roots are the philosophy,
the trunk the major principle and the branches particular versions of more
defined, but still abstract theories. As development continues, specific
quantifiable and testable hypotheses will be proposed that can be used to
verify or falsify the theories. This article details the development of the
hypothesis tree, and outlines some areas of fruitful research that might
arise from its application in a concerted effort to investigate the aspects
of the vertebral subluxation. Key words: Vertebral Subluxation, Chiropractic, research strategy, research methodology |
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