Chiropractor tunes up backbones in Tonga [1]
Saturday, June 30, 2001 - 10:00. Updated on Friday, January 29, 2016 - 17:47.
From Matangi Tonga Magazine, Vol. 16, no. 1, June 2001.
Tonga’s first Chiropractor is John Gieschen from Kansas City, Missori who arrived in Nuku‘alofa in May.
John has been practising since 1983 in Northern California, but he decided to come to Tonga because he was sure that he would be able to make a contribution to the health of the people.
John said that chiropractic treatment is based on the findings that a healthy and a well-tuned spinal cord, which houses the central nerve system, would enable different parts of the body to function normally.
“If 95 per cent of the information that comes from the brain is distributed to the rest your body through your spinal cord, then it makes sense that a misalliance of the 31 vertebrae could be the cause of that persistent headache, back pain and a host of other diseases,” said John. He believed that his method of treating disease appealed to a lot of people because it does not require drugs or surgery. “If drugs or surgery are needed then I have to refer my patient to a doctor.”
John suggested that if people make the habit of checking their teeth annually, “then why not check your back and your spinal cord regularly.”