Palmer College of Chiropractic

Chiropractic Research

Revolutionizing Chiropractic with Research

In a building fronted with glass and white masonry on Brady Street Hill in Davenport, Iowa, is a cadre of scientists whose work has the potential to revolutionize the practice of chiropractic. These scientists make up the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research, the largest chiropractic research program in the country, with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other agencies.

Public use of so-called alternative health care practices, of which chiropractic is the largest, most regulated and most recognized, is on the rise. According to recent surveys of patients seeking health care outside of the mainstream of medicine, chiropractors are used more often compared with any other provider group considered alternative to medicine. Satisfaction with chiropractic care is very high. This increased interest has resulted in the federal government's creation of a National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and, in part due to Palmer's preeminence in chiropractic research, the awarding of a center grant to the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research (PCCR) as the primary recipient for Consortial Center for Chiropractic Research. The research being conducted at the PCCR is innovative, progressive and has relevance to current and potential chiropractic patients worldwide.

Renovation of the PCCR's facility at 741 Brady Street was partially funded by a $1.3 million grant from the NIH National Center for Research Resources. Among many improvements, the new facility allows for sophisticated technological instrumentation and laboratory controls to support the biomechanics and neurosciences research program. "This key program is geared toward basic science-oriented studies relevant to chiropractic theory and practice, especially subluxation and the chiropractic adjustment," says Vice President for Research William Meeker, D.C., M.P.H. "Studies in this program attempt to model and test hypotheses with respect to the biomechanical and neurological mechanisms underlying chiropractic concepts and procedures."

Basic Science Research Needed
Basic science research is vital to the goal of improving chiropractic care for patients. Researchers believe only this kind of rigorous study can provide scientific substantiation of the core principles of chiropractic—namely that certain dysfunctions of the spine, known as subluxations, negatively affect the body and have the potential to impair the body's ability to heal itself. Chiropractic theory, supported by many years of experience, then follows that the proper analysis of subluxations and subsequent chiropractic adjustments can restore proper nervous system function, thus allowing all systems of the body to function optimally. Chiropractors provide this care to their patients primarily with their hands, and without drugs or surgery. Animal models, Dr. Meeker adds, are a necessary part of basic science research because the goal of basic science is to understand the fundamental mechanisms underlying the clinical outcome of any form of health care, including chiropractic. "These mechanisms are frequently common to all or most animals, and therefore may be studied in a large number of animal species," he says. "Of course, there are also significant differences between humans and other animals. Often, these differences provide a unique opportunity because a particular animal species may have a less complex system that actually simplifies the study of a fundamental mechanism."

This lengthy, rigorous basic science research serves as an underpinning for further clinical studies to refine or further test hypotheses and answer questions arising from the basic science research results. "It is fair to say that animal studies must be followed up by human studies to confirm and/or extend observations and conclusions drawn from animal studies," Dr. Meeker continues. "These clinical studies on humans can enhance the quality of care provided by chiropractors by providing solid scientific evidence not only of how chiropractic works but also which techniques are most beneficial for patients based on outcomes of care."

Without baseline biological data provided by animal models, clinical studies are more difficult to justify to Institutional Review Boards and the results of such studies are likely to be treated lightly by the larger health care community. This is particularly true for studies examining chiropractic care for non-musculoskeletal conditions such as high blood pressure or chronic pelvic pain. "In his excellent review of animal models used in subluxation research, Howard Vern-on, D.C., a professor at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, notes that there is a particular need for basic science research if the chiropractic profession wishes to persuade the larger health care community that chiropractic has a place in the treatment of nonmusculoskeletal conditions," Dr. Meeker explained. "According to Dr. Vernon, 'It is my opinion that dozens of clinical trials can occur in such areas as the chiropractic treatment of asthma, dysmenorrheal, hypertension, etc., but they will all be relegated to insignificance and dismissed as large-scale exercises in the placebo effect if a credible, valid biological mechanism that links dysfunction in the spinal column with dysfunction in organ systems cannot be provided. This is the task that only the profession's basic scientists, in their pursuit of the scientific basis of subluxation, can accomplish.'" Dr. Meeker also noted, "Millions of patients are de-pending on this research for better care."

And that is exactly what is being done at the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research. Research into developing an animal model of the chiropractic subluxation, using rats, and research into the neurological effects of chiropractic adjustments, using cats, is currently underway. These are long-term, complex and painstakingly rigorous scientific investigations. But the first step in this type of research is providing the rationale for using animals in the research to begin with.

Recently, the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has criticized Palmer for its use of animals in research studies. "What PETA supporters fail to realize," Dr. Meeker adds, "is that this research is not only rigorously regulated by external and internal governing bodies who ensure that the highest possible standards in animal care are followed, but that this type of research is vital for understanding how the neural and musculoskeletal systems function. This knowledge will benefit many health care disciplines, and it will especially enhance the growth and improvement of chiropractic as the world's best source of drugless, natural health care."

Rigorous Standards for Animal Use Enforced
All research projects possibly involving animals begin with some basic questions: "Why use an animal?" "Why this particular animal?" and "Why this many of a particular animal?" "Our researchers can't even begin grant proposals for funding a project unless they can first answer these questions to the satisfaction of our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee," Dr. Meeker says.

This committee is independent of Palmer College or the Palmer Chiropractic University System and has broad authority not only to approve the use of animals in any re-search projects at any of the Palmer colleges, but also to provide regulatory oversight of all animal care, to (randomly) inspect animal care facilities, to ensure that all animals are obtained from the best, most reputable suppliers, to require regular reporting during any research project involving animals and to stop any project at any time they feel optimal animal care is compromised. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Commite consists of not less than five members, including a Doctor of Veturinary Medicine, a non-Palmer-affiliated member, a member whose primary concerns are in a nonscientific area and a practicing scientist. The veterinarian member must have training or experience in laboratory animal science and medicine. The committee includes a biologist who can provide members with an understanding of the nature and impact of proposed investigations as well as the housing and care of the species to be studied. All members receive training and orientation regarding the responsibilities of committee membership.

"This committee ensures that we are concerned about every aspect of the animals used in a research setting, from physical needs to perceived mental and emotional needs as well as stress levels," Dr. Meeker says. "We do everything in our power to minimize any stress or discomfort the animal may undergo, and to maximize the knowledge gained from their use. Another misconception that should be dispelled is that we obtain animals from the Humane Society that might have been pets. This is not the case at all."

The animal care standards that are created and overseen by this committee are rigorous and exacting, and any personnel involved in animal care in a research setting are well versed in these standards. Current federal and state regulations regarding care of animals in research settings (such as those from the United States Department of Agriculture) are strictly observed, along with even more rigorous standards from federal funding organizations such as the NIH. "NIH standards, which we observe for our animals, require that specific temperature, humidity, food storage, socialization through human handling, cage size and other detailed care standards be observed. In fact, the animal care area in our newly remodeled facility was built with these specific NIH standards in mind, including a sophisticated air handling system. Basically, the animals in our facility receive care many times better than some pets receive from their loving owners."

All of this care is constantly monitored by members of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and is subject
to random inspections by committee members as well as representatives from state and federal animal care policy makers such as the USDA and the NIH. Currently, there are about 80 rats in the animal care facility at the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research, which are involved in a multi-year study to develop an animal model of the subluxation. Approvals have recently been received to conduct a research project to determine neurological effects of spinal adjustments using anesthetized cats.

Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare
Any discussion of animal use in research hinges on the distinction between animal rights and animal welfare. "It's important to point out that this is a very complex, philosophical issue, and that it's not black and white by any means," Dr. Meeker says. "Our focus at Palmer is very much on providing the absolute best animal welfare for any animals used in research projects. Animal rights organizations, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are concerned with animal rights, and they tend to take the extreme view that animals should be accorded the same rights as people, in that they should not be raised for food or kept as pets, but should be left in their natural, wild state."

Animal rights organizations such as PETA have, however, served an important, positive function in raising the standards over the past several decades regarding animal breeding facilities like "puppy mills," and raising standards of care for animals
bred for and used in research projects to their current levels, Dr. Meeker adds.

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