Abstract
The definition of ‘subluxation’ as used by chiropractors differs from that in conventional medicine where it describes a partial dislocation of the bony surfaces of a joint readily visible via an X-ray. Crucially, a subluxation, as understood in conventional medicine, is not the cause of disease. Spinal subluxations, according to medical terminology, are possible only if anatomical structures are seriously disrupted.
Subluxation is … a displacement of two or more bones whose articular surfaces have lost, wholly or in part, their natural connection.
—D. D. Palmer (1910)
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Ernst, E. (2020). Subluxation. In: Chiropractic. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53118-8_4
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