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Decoding Chiropractic
By Randy Southerland

A discussion on symbols and what they communicate about the profession.

Along a busy highway a metal rendition of a human spine stands supporting a mailbox. This startling apparition announces the presence of a chiropractor's office in the low slung office building a few feet away. For the passersby this mute image says much about what goes on within.

Throughout its history, the chiropractic profession has been closely associated with the image of the bare spine. For doctors and their patients it helps explain what they do by pointing out the part of the human anatomy that is its primary focus. In fact, many DCs will admit that if you wanted to name a single representative symbol for their field, it is probably the spine. After all, consider how many carry spine key rings or wear spine-inspired jewelry.

Yet, it is also only one among a wide variety of images that have come to be associated with chiropractic—not surprising considering its long and sometimes contentious history. It seems a natural human desire to associate with some physical image that can serve as shorthand for what you do and what you believe.

"Chiropractors are no exception to this phenomenon and the profession has seen a bewildering array of logos, trademarks, mottos, slogans and emblems," wrote noted chiropractic historian Joseph Keating, D.C., in an article on the many symbols used by the profession.

One of the earliest, and what many consider the "official" image of chiropractic, is the caduceus. This winged figure of indeterminate gender is modestly attired in a sash bearing the word chiropractic. Over the years it has been featured in Yellow Pages ads and office walls as a competitor to the older and better known medical symbol with its staff entwined by two snakes.

"There are slight variations on [the caduceus], but that one appears the most often profession wide," says Alana Callendar, director of the Palmer Museum of Chiropractic History in Davenport, Iowa. "It's also called the chiropractic angel."

This symbol of healing dates back to 1928 and has been variously attributed to the National Chiropractic Association (forerunner of the present day American Chiropractic Association) and the earlier American Society of Chiropractors. Both organizations adopted and made extensive use of it in advertising.

Another variation on the caduceus adorned the administration building at Life University. This was an obvious male figure also covered by a sash. This figure lacked the wings perhaps representing a more human, and earth bound version of healing.

The Life campus is also home to another famous symbol, a giant pair of bronze hands in the adjusting position. Once associated primarily with B.J. Palmer, these hands are modeled after the college's former president, Sid E. Williams. This image can be found in many chiropractic publications both old and new.

A more recent attempt has been made to appropriate Leonardo da Vinci's most famous illustration, the Vitruvian Man. This drawing shows a male figure whose outstretched limbs touch the circumference of a circle and the edges of a square which is often used to represent the balance and symmetry that chiropractic seeks to achieve in the human body. Another popular image is the detail of Michelangelo's painting of man reaching out to touch the finger of God, taken from the Sistine Chapel. Other drawings of the human back appear on T-shirts and posters aimed at promoting chiropractic.

Along with these well-known symbols, a wealth of original and personal images can be found representing everything from individual chiropractic offices to colleges and professional organizations and related service providers. For example, Dr. B.J. Palmer adopted his family crest as a symbol for Palmer College. Featuring the mythical winged wyvern standing atop a shield with three crescent moons, it has survived with minor modifications to the present day.

"The three crescents in heraldry have specific meanings," explains Callendar. "The Palmers tended to interpret things to their own design, so they have interpreted it differently at different times as philosophy, art and science, the three generations, or whatever suited their purpose."

Many chiropractors have taken a similar approach. Unbounded by history, many create entirely new logos that reflect their own personalities and the way they see themselves and their work. Ontario-based Preston Family Chiropractic developed a highly unusual logo described as "very Zen-spa-chiropractic, possessing a calm, healing and warm environment," according to creator Rev Cruz, a Philippines based graphic designer.

He says the doctors were very specific about the image they wanted to present suggesting "symbols that represent health including a leaf, flower, tree, hands and spine," says Cruz.

The New Zealand College of Chiropractic recently unveiled a new logo that uses two overlapping images to represent the nervous system. The background image is three rectangles appearing as the vertebral column. The foreground image is a curved slash, which looks similar to a fern frond, and symbolizes the brain and spinal column. The three vertebrae in the background also tie closely to the college's motto: "Graduating hands, hearts & minds."

At their essence, symbols are a form of education presenting complex ideas in a clear and understandable form to a public that may not completely understand what a chiropractor does. As a relatively young profession, it has always needed to do more educating about principles and methods than medicine. To do that some doctors have taken the images off the wall and made them a vital part of their practice.

"I use everyday symbols and models to educate people on the chiropractic story and philosophy of chiropractic because when you link something that people see and know on an everyday basis, such as a phone or a garden hose or a tire, they'll go ‘oh wow' it makes it so real and so practical," says Dr. Michael Headlee, a practitioner in Marietta, Ga., and member of the Life University faculty. "So then, when they are looking at other things or they are talking to someone else about chiropractic or health and healing, then they can use that message and share the message instead of talking about the five components of the vertebral subluxation models."

He uses more than 100 different objects, symbols and images to educate patients on the basic principles of chiropractic, the subluxation complex and how it can be corrected by the adjustment. Many are common place such as a giant safety pin, garden hose, telephones, lawn mower tires, electrical breaker switch, stick figures and a host of others. The idea is to reinforce the message presented in the original report of findings.

"By using different symbols, models and analogies, it connects with people on a greater level, instead of just talking wordage and verbiage. People sometimes don't get it and if they do get it, that is going to change their life," he adds.

To illustrate the proper motion of the spine, Headlee employs a fixation stick figure with beads that bend forward and sideways to explain how their spines should be able to bend. He sometimes shows patients a garden hose attached to a sprinkler. A crimp in the hose shuts off the water flowing to the attached sprinkler, causing the lawn to turn brown and die.

"Well what happens in the nervous system if it gets choked off [by a subluxation]," he says. "Will the organs and tissues be healthier or sicker? Well, that's why we want to check your spine for misalignments and adjust it to allow the proper communication and proper nerve flow to the organs and tissues."

Headlee provides examples based upon his reading of how much and how well patients are likely to understand chiropractic concepts. For the average layperson, graphic images can tell the story far better than a complex scientific definition.

Patients like these images and often ask a question that could be applied to the entire profession: "What's your symbol today, doc?"

Is the Spine the Best Symbol for the Profession?
For many the spine is an obvious choice to communicate chiropractic. Randy Heuston, special assistant to the president at Life University, expands on the issue, noting that the spine can send the wrong message to your patients:

The core of chiropractic philosophy from the time of its founders was the notion that the nerve system (brain, spinal cord, and the sense organs) is the master controller of the human body and the means by which the body adapts to its environment. Chiropractors adjust the spine because the nerve system is vulnerable to dysfunction if the spine is out of alignment and, of course, adjusting the spine is the only way to have access to the overall nerve system.

However, using the spine as the symbol for chiropractic takes the focus off the nerve system and chiropractic's overall role in physical, mental and emotional development (all of which are obviously impacted by the nerve system). The spine as a symbol has had the effect of causing most people to see chiropractors as back doctors, caring for pain of the back, neck and headaches. The real focus on the nerve system has been blurred. But the problem is this: How do you symbolize the nerve system on an office sign or key chain? The dilemma has caused people to try various alternatives such as DaVinci's Vitruvian man, intended to represent balance. Even that, though, doesn't at a glance convey the idea of "development."

So, if the spine isn't a comprehensive symbol for the profession, what is?