This is an overview of chiropractic care and how it fits into a paleo/Ancestral health-oriented model of health care. This was a talk that was delivered for the Boston Paleo Meetup group Nov. 15th 2014.

1. Posture, ‘Ancestral’ Chiropractic and
Restoring Natural Movement Potential
Jesse Davis, DC
Private Practice, Melrose, MA
Post-Graduate Chiropractic Instructor with Gonstead
Methodology Institute through Logan University
BS in Biochemistry, Published in BMC Genomics and
Nucleic Acids Research
Paleo Physicians’ Network

2. Overview
1. Early forms of chiropractic used throughout
early history and pre-history
2. Chiropractic is well imbedded in current Paleo
culture but not necessarily well-understood
3. Current movement and postural patterns in
society needs dramatic improvement to stave off
further increasing morbidity/mortality

3. Chiropractic and Paleo

4. Chiropractic and Paleo
• Paleo Physicians’ Network: hundreds of health
practitioners worldwide: 53% of MA listings are
chiropractors2
• Overlap in mindset:
o Hamilton Stapell, Paleos are predominantly health solution
focused with smaller group seeking performance gains3
o Chiropractic: Ideals - Vitalism, Holism, Naturalism,
Conservatism, Critical Rationalism4

5. Ancestral Health and Chiropractic
• Small groups with a vertical
knowledge base, whatever
they could do with the
limited resources
• How do we know what they
did in prehistoric times?
Plant remnants, bone
mineral analysis, rock
fragments, etc.
• Most information was
transmitted through families
Hyderabad 2005, Traditional
Bonesetter Practice

6. Ancestral Health +
Chiropractic
• Early historical civilizations and societies
o Egyptians 3000BC5
o Chinese – Kung Fuo document circa 2700BC
• Kleanthes Ligeros, How Ancient Healing
Governs Modern Therapeutics
- Hippocrates used tractions, manual therapies
• Traditional cultures in India, Mongolia, Native
American ‘backwalking’ hieroglyphics6

7. Ancestral Health and Chiropractic
• Naturalist Research
o AF Goethe, repeating pattern
o late 1800s Leaf and spinal vertebrae
• Osteopathy – Organ function and sufficient blood
flow
• Modern Chiropractic – spine and nerve system 1895
o Pioneered x-ray as part of exams
o Radio (WOC) and technology.
o Influenced by osteopathy, french/egyptian
bonesetting cultures, eastern health philosophies

8. Paleo and Modern Life:
Solving a Discordance
• Eaton and Konner, 1985
o Evolutionary Discordance Hypothesis7
• O’Keefe and Cordain 2004
• “Our genetic make-up, shaped through millions of years of evolution,
determines our nutritional and activity needs. Although the human genome has
remained primarily un- changed since the agricultural revolution…, our diet and
lifestyle have become progressively more di- vergent from those of our ancient
ancestors. Accumulating evidence suggests that this mismatch between our
modern diet and lifestyle and our Paleolithic genome is playing a substantial
role in the ongoing epidemics…” 8
• Primitive and early cultures used manual joint related
therapies (primitive chiropractic) widespread throughout
the history of the world.
• However, movement and postural patterns have gotten
much worse in modern times and in fact much worse in
each of the successive recent generations.

9. What’s the Deal with
Sitting
• Galen Cranz, Ph.D. The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body,
and Design
o ‘Inherent instability of the seated posture”
o Western chair is a status symbol
• Sitting is the new smoking
o Every hour seated is equated to 22 minutes of lost lifespan
• 2014 Study shows the average american watches five
hours of live TV per day; 65+ years 7 hours per day
• Change positions!!
o Standing
“The West really needed to look at the work postures of other
cultures and integrate them into our life. Kneeling, squatting,
sitting cross-legged, lounging— these are all perfectly useful
positions.”
“It’s not that it’s bad to sit; it’s just that it’s bad to sit for very long.
There is no perfect single position. As a species, we’re designed
for movement and change.” 12

10. ‘Walking’ and Heels
• Cordain HG’s walked 5-10 miles per day
o Massive decrease in modern life
• Walking creates movement through pelvis and
sacroiliac joints10
o Absorb shock and allow rotation
o Motion capacity lost throughout lifespan
• High heels change posture throughout your whole
core
o “results indicated positive heel inclination of subjects brought about
significantly lower anterior pelvic tilt, lumbar lordosis, and sacral base
angles when compared with zero heel inclination.9
• Walk more, increasing increments from 2 to 5-10
miles!!
o Flat heeled shoes
o Rough, steep or uneven terrain

11. Vibration
• Risk factor for increasing levels of LBP and
sciatica13.5
• Associated with operating heavy machinery
• Construction, jack hammers, Factory work, truck
driving

12. Trauma
• Vehicle trauma
o “In 2010, there were an estimated 5,419,000 crashes (30,296
fatal crashes), killing 32,999 and injuring 2,239,000.
o Records indicate that there has been a total of 3,551,332
motor vehicle deaths in the United States from 1899 to
2012. 17
• Sports trauma
• Greatest military injury rate due to
orthopedic-type injuries:
• “The leading cause of attrition was orthopedic diagnoses, and their
overall rate was 43%... Overuse injuries accounted for 90% of all
orthopedic injuries. Low-back and lower extremity injuries accounted
for 71.5% of all orthopedic injuries… Conclusion: On the basis of our
results, we recommend a multidisciplinary intense effort including
physicians, physical training officers, physiotherapists, and
commanders to significantly reduce overuse injuries, especially in the
low-back and lower extremity regions.” 20

13. Cell Phones and Mobile
• 968M Smart Phones Sold in 2013; Up from 680M in
2012 13
“The next billion will come faster than the first billion did. It took about eight
years to reach 1 billion annual units shipped, but with steady, new growth
from emerging markets, we estimate the 2 billion annual shipments mark will
be reached in 2017.” BI
• Text neck rapidly increasing – headaches, upper
back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, increased
curvature of the spine15
• Huge postural change in 10+ years
• Posture is in less flexion while standing than sitting16
o Minimize screen time
o Use it in standing positions for better screen time

14. Spine, Health and
Movement
• LBP: 2nd leading cause of doctor visits
• LBP: greatest cause of disability worldwide
• Crosses income/development barrier
• Yet standards of care say they are self limiting
problems despite those being based on outdated
research
• Treatment options are problematic and often
ineffective or have serious consequences
- Drug problems widespread

15. Spine, Health and
Movement
• Kelly Starrett – “Prioritize Spinal Mechanics Over
Everything Else”
o Becoming a Supple Leopard, 2013, pg. 26
• What do we really know?
o What is your knowledge base compared to weight lifting, nutrition,
probiotics, etc.
• My job to create an improved conversation
o Recoup ‘lost’ knowledge base

16. Posture 1/3
• “What does your Shape Say About You?” Katy
Bowman, Move Your DNA 2014 pg. 36
o Everyone Has a Shape, or in this case a
‘range of postures’
o Posture is used clinically and is a result of
many factors

17. Posture 2/3
• Kado Study – Hyperkyphotic Posture Predicts
Mortality18
o Upper back kyphosis was a significant predictor of mortality
o Dose dependent effect
• Scoliosis
o Curve in frontal plane, <10 degrees
• Sagittal Curve Alterations
• Sacral angle presentation
• Leg length inequality

18. Posture 3/3
• To Dos – check your posture
o Side View
• Head, Shoulders, Hips, Knees, Feet
o From Front/Back
• Level Head, Shoulders, Hips
• Correlated with History, Complaints and other
findings

19. Intersegmental Movement
1/3
• Trauma induces segments of relative Hyper/hypo
mobility, even directly adjacent to each other
Clinical Orthopedics
• Cholewicki and McGill video recording
“Upon examination of the video fluoroscopy records a
local instability was noted: specifically only at L3/L4
where this joint approached the full flexion calibrated
angle and exceeded it by one-half a degree, while all
other joints maintained their static positions.3 This is the
first observation reported in the scientific literature
documenting the presence of a local instability
occurring at a single Lumbar joint that we Know of.”

20. Segmental Motion 2/3 • Plaugher, Textbook of Clinical Chiropractic pg. 200 1993
Neutral, Pre-Adjustment Flexion, Pre-Adjustment Flexion, Post-Adjustment

21. Segmental Movement 3/3

22. Nervous System
• Jiang study – Ligamentous strain creating sympathetic
nerve system activity
o Chickens
o Increase in Fos Production
• Journal of Hypertension 2007 – Decrease in HBP following
upper cervical adjustments
o Adjusted first cervical
o Decrease in BP sustained at eight weeks
• Adjustment and Systemic Inflammation Changes
o Spinal manipulative therapy reduces inflammatory cytokines but not
substance P production in normal subjects.
o Enhancement of in vitro interleukin-2 production in normal subjects following a
single spinal manipulative treatment.
• Resolution of GERD and other digestive disorders McCoy
Press 2014

23. Spine and Nerve System
2/3

24. Nerve System 3/3
• Chronic LBP associated with shrinking grey
matter volume
o Journal of Neuroscience 2004

25. Analysis
• John Durant – Know Thy Species
• Loren Cordain - Horse and Lion
• Clarence Gonstead, DC – “Chiropractic is
Specific or it is Nothing”
o 15 categories of how to correct 5th lumbar vert.
o CBP postural analysis – ~130 Million Postural
Combinations
o Specific Correction vs. Mobilization
• Research
• Gold Standard

26. Analysis
• Posture
• Visualization
• Palpation of Soft Tissue
• Regional and Intersegmental Motion
Palpation
• History and review of systems
• Diagnostics – X-ray, thermography,
EMG, BP, other imaging, etc.

27. Conclusion
• Knowledge is power
• Health Results are Based on Improving Specific
Deficits
• Improved Conversation
• Communicate with Experts in Fields

28. References
• 1 http://paleohacks.com/doctor/paleo-and-chiropractors-3506
• 2 Paleo Physicians Network, state of MA listings, Nov. 2014
• 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArcSIg3cYcw Hamilton Stapell, the End of
Paleo, AHS 2013
• 4 The 14 Foundational Premises for the Scientific and Philosophical Validation of the
Chiropractic Wellness Paradigm. James Chestnut 2003 The Wellness Practice
• 5 Aaron Filler article - http://thejns.org/doi/abs/10.3171/FOC-07/07/E6
• 6 http://www.historyofchiropractic.org/assets/documents/7-2-Wardwell.pdf
• 7 Eaton, S. Boyd; Konner, M (1985). "Paleolithic Nutrition: A Consideration of Its
Nature and Current Implications". New England Journal of Medicine 312: 283–289.
• 8 Cardiovascular Disease Resulting From a Diet and Lifestyle at Odds With Our
Paleolithic Genome: How to Become a 21st-Century Hunter-Gatherer
• JAMES H. O’KEEFE, JR, MD, AND LOREN CORDAIN, PHD
• Mayo Clin Proc. 2004;79:101-108
• Don Tigny RL (January 1985). "Function and pathomechanics of the sacroiliac joint.
A review" (PDF). Phys Ther 65 (1): 35–44.
• 9 Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 1995, Volume: 21 Issue: 2
Pages: 94-99 doi:10.2519/jospt.1995.21.2.94
http://www.jospt.org/doi/abs/10.2519/jospt.1995.21.2.94#.VGbIub43ZBw

29. • 12 http://bodyconsciousdesign.com/uploads/interview_galen_cranz_portland.pdf
• http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/average-american-watches-5-hours-tv-day-article-
1.1711954
• 13 http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2665715
• 13.5 Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2014 Aug 21. [Epub ahead of print]
• Whole-body vibration and the risk of low back pain and sciatica: a systematic
review and meta-analysis.
• Burström L1, Nilsson T, Wahlström J.
• 14 http://www.businessinsider.com/the-markets-manufacturers-and-devices-that-will-drive-future-smartphone-growth-2014-
1#ixzz3J6kTG3dQ
• 15 http://www.spine-health.com/blog/modern-spine-ailment-text-neck
• 16 Ergonomics. 2014 Oct 17:1-7. [Epub ahead of print]
• Head flexion angle while using a smartphone.
• Lee S1, Kang H, Shin G.
• 17 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year
• 18 J Am Geriatr Soc. 2004 Oct;52(10):1662-7.
• Hyperkyphotic posture predicts mortality in older community-dwelling men and
women: a prospective study.
• Kado DM1, Huang MH, Karlamangla AS, Barrett-Connor E, Greendale GA.
• 20 Attrition Due To Orthopedic Reasons During Combat Training: Rates, Types of
Injuries, and Comparison Between Infantry and Noninfantry Units
• MAJ Oren Schwartz, MC IDF*; CAPT Tal Libenson, MC IDF*; MAJ Nadav Astman, MC
IDF†; LTC Lavon Haim, MC IDF‡ Volume 179 Issue 8, August 2014, pp. 897-900

30. • Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1997 Jan 1;22(1):17-25.
• Identification of the location, extent, and pathway of sensory
neurologic feedback after mechanical stimulation of a lateral
spinal ligament in chickens.
• Jiang H1, Moreau M, Raso J, Russell G, Bagnall K.
• Study of the Cervical Syndrome. Clinical Orthopedics and
Related Research. January-February 1965, No. 38, pp. 135-142
• Disc model http://www.dynamicdiscdesigns.com/shop/fully-clear-
herniated-disc-model
• J Hum Hypertens. 2007 May;21(5):347-52. Epub 2007 Mar 2.
• Atlas vertebra realignment and achievement of arterial
pressure goal in hypertensive patients: a pilot study.
• Bakris G1, Dickholtz M Sr, Meyer PM, Kravitz G, Avery E, Miller M,
Brown J, Woodfield C, Bell B.

31. • Reviews in Environmental Health, 1998
Environmental Health Perspectives 106, Supplement 1, February 1998
Integrated Defense System Overlaps as a Disease Model: With Examples for
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Steven C. Rowat http://www.herc.org/news/mcsarticles/rowat.htm
• Chronic Back Pain Is Associated with Decreased Prefrontal and Thalamic
Gray Matter Density
A. Vania Apkarian1, Yamaya Sosa1, Sreepadma Sonty2, Robert M. Levy3, R.
Norman Harden5, Todd B. Parrish4, and Darren R. Gitelman2,4
The Journal of Neuroscience, 17 November 2004, 24(46): 10410-10415; doi:
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2541-04.2004
• J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2006 Jan;29(1):14-21.
Spinal manipulative therapy reduces inflammatory cytokines but not
substance P production in normal subjects.
Teodorczyk-Injeyan JA1, Injeyan HS, Ruegg R.
• Chiropr Osteopat. 2008 May 28;16:5. doi: 10.1186/1746-1340-16-5.
• Enhancement of in vitro interleukin-2 production in normal subjects
following a single spinal manipulative treatment.
• Teodorczyk-Injeyan JA1, Injeyan HS, McGregor M, Harris GM, Ruegg R.

32. • Stability: from biomechanical concept to
chiropractic practice Stuart McGill, PhD* J
Can Chiropr Assoc. 1999; 43(2)
http://www.mccoypress.net/annals/docs/2014-
1319_gerd.pdf