Our profession was damaged in the 1960's by a committee formed by the AMA dedicated to defaming chiropractors. (Let's not forget that in the early 1900s, chiropractic and osteopathy were strikingly similar, except for chiropractic's stance that manual manipulation of the joints works so good that there's no need for chiropractors to recommend drugs.)  Some old and antiquated ideas which were spread by anti-chiropractic propaganda in the 1960s still  linger in small sects of our population. (This propaganda is where the word "quack" started). The people who started this campaign were sued, lost, and apologized for what they did, but the damage had already been done. So now Chiropractors have to convince their patients that avoiding drugs is healthier, proper spinal alignment is healthier, and that nerves that exit the spine can affect other organs (all very basic facts).  What we teach is common sense and basic anatomy. There are people who are not  educated about chiropractic who continue to spread disinformation and try to wrongly reduce chiropractic to voodoo or something like it.   I suggest that people do their own research before coming to a conclusion.  Come to a chiropractors office and sit in the waiting area for a while.  it is inevitable that there will be several people every day who openly express their gratitude for the services provided.  Many of these people will gladly share their personal stories.  In my office, people are welcome to come and talk with my patients, and listen to their testimonials.  I encourage each person to sit with me while I explain just how these people got healthier with our treatment.  What I have to explain makes sense and only requires a basic knowledge of how the body works.  Many of the people that we see say that we are the first ones to explain their problems and fix what was wrong.   Chiropractic isn't something that you have to believe in for it to work.  Gravity is sort of like that as well in that it also works whether you believe in it or not.