By Pattie Stechschulte
Dr. Lyle Wheeler Sherman was an early chiropractic pioneer working in the field
of chiropractic research along the side of Dr. B.J. Palmer at his research clinic
at Palmer College starting in 1934. As he rose to chief of staff of the B.J.
Palmer Research Clinic, he worked with B.J. on many research projects including
the commonly known “eight cases” from B.J. Palmer’s Green
Books.
“I met him [Sherman] for the first time in 1955, when he gave a special
lecture to my class at Palmer. He spoke on the importance of the analysis of
the subluxation and the specificity needed to correct it,” remembered
Dr. Thom Gelardi, founder and former president of Sherman College of Straight
Chiropractic. “I admired Dr. Sherman’s knowledge and skill as a
chiropractor. But, even above being perhaps the greatest chiropractor I have
ever met, I admired him because he was a good human being. He was a very humble
person. He loved all people, and his life was one of service.
Sherman served his community, profession and patients in many ways from helping
out his fellow professionals to pay their rent to providing pro bono services
to patients, chiropractors and their families.
Starting Out
As a young man, Sherman was interested in becoming an engineer then he discovered
chiropractic when he was working to raise money for school from a Dr. Paris
in Whitefish, Mont. Sherman and his wife Eula started a small chicken farm with
200 chickens and he also washed windows to save money to pay the fees for Palmer.
Every winter he suffered from a serious bout of quinsy, but during this time
his bout became worse and was diagnosed with diphtheria and quarantined. He
broke quarantine to travel to Davenport for care from Dr. Hugh Chance. By this
time, he was severely ill and paralyzed, being carried from the car by Palmer
students. Sherman recovered under Dr. Chance’s care, who arranged for
him to stay in Davenport in a one-room apartment.
Once recovered, they sold chickens and made enough money for his enrollment
into Palmer. He graduated in 1934 joining the faculty at Palmer and later becoming
chief of staff of the B. J. Palmer Research Clinic.
A Lifetime of Accomplishments
Sherman was interested in every aspect of chiropractic, but he seemed most interested
in the clinical side because he believed it was one of the expressions of the
philosophy of chiropractic—it is the chiropractor walking the talk.
“I never heard him give a philosophy lecture, but his practice and lectures
on the clinical aspects of practice were always philosophically sound,”
describes Dr. Gelardi. “His approach to the spine indicated that he viewed
the subluxation as a clinical entity that had to be carefully analyzed, and
corrected with a force that is very specific as to location and direction. While
he delighted in patients recovering their health, his care of the patient was
to contribute to that health through only the correction of subluxation. He
also knew the difference between a corrective adjustment and an osseous message
or spinal manipulation.”
“His many contributions included the concept that abnormal spinal findings
had to be somewhat consistent and persistent to be of clinical significance.
That concept led him to develop, under the Palmer research program, pattern
work in thermography, the posture constant and the tempometer,” adds Gelardi.
“He also invented the Sherman side-posture table that allowed the patients’
shoulders to be aligned in a way that the spine remained in a more natural position.
Gelardi also remembered that Sherman once gave him a dated and sealed envelope
that contained his engineering drawings of a movable bucky, that pre-dated the
first movable bucky, but he never had it patented.
The Results of A Rewarding Life
Dr. Sherman retired from teaching at Palmer School of Chiropractic in the early
1950s and built a clinic in Spartanburg, S.C., where he spent the rest of his
professional life. He remained active in the profession by continuing to speak
to chiropractic groups around the country and being active with many chiropractic
groups and causes.
In 1973, a new chiropractic college was started in Spartanburg under the direction
of Dr. Gelardi and named in Sherman’s honor – Sherman College of
Straight Chiropractic.
“His gentle personality and sense of humor, coupled with his exactness
in chiropractic analysis and adjustment procedures, won the respect of students,
colleagues and patients,” stated Dr. John Hart, a faculty member at Sherman
College of Straight Chiropractic and curator of the school’s museum. “Dr.
Sherman was a man of knowledge and wisdom. Both laymen and chiropractors recognized
him as a chiropractic authority. He regularly received letters from patients
who had traveled both the medical route and the chiropractic route and were
seeking the more specific care offered by Dr. Sherman. He always attempted to
accommodate them.”
“Dr. Sherman enjoyed advancing chiropractic. I believe his major accomplishment
was the influence his life has had on hundreds, perhaps thousands of chiropractors,”
says Gelardi. “Full spine or upper cervical, he strongly believed that
the subluxation was a concrete clinical entity, not just an abstract construct,
and had to be addressed with great precision.”
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