Osteopathic Vision
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Chapman’s Neurolymphatic Reflexes "The cause of nerve irritation must be found and removed before the channels can relax and open sufficiently to admit the passage of the obstructed fluids." - A.T. Still Chapman’s Reflexes are named in honor of Frank Chapman, D.O., the osteopathic physician who discovered and charted their location and therapeutic value in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. These reflexes are located in the lymphoid tissue in the fascia and are manifested in the acute stage by soreness or tenderness at the distal ends of the spinal nerves. The tenderness is due to hypercongestion and is known as a Chapman’s reflex point. These hypercongestions vary in size according to their location, and to the proportion of pathology present. Dr. Chapman had worked alone with his ideas of lymphatic drainage for about twenty years calling these areas of hypercongestion, lymphatic centers. Chapman charted over two hundred separate and distinct reflexes, each one having a definite and specific effect upon the endocrine gland or viscus with which it is in association. When he found a given combination of tender areas he always found a given disease entity or organ pathology present, or vice versa with the manifestation of a certain disease entity or pathology there would always be present a definite combination of tender areas. Dr. Charles Owens, who continued with this work after the death of Dr. Chapman, realizing the importance of the autonomic phase, called these areas reflex centers and he has stressed the importance of the pelvic- thyroid-adrenal syndrome, or gonad group. So far, we know that a Chapman reflex point is the result of a lymph stasis in the viscus or glands. This lymph stasis is responsible for the dysfunction of that organ or gland. Both the lymph stasis and the resultant dysfunction are reflexly responsible for the Chapman lesion due in part to nerve impulse and to a chemical reaction of the lymphatic tissue in which the reflex lesion is found. To understand Chapman's reflexes we must have knowledge of the autonomic nervous system, the endocrine system, the embryologic segmentation and fascia, as well as of the lymphatic system which are necessary to work out the pathways from viscus or gland to associated lesions. The significance of these reflex or receptor organs is two fold--they are a reliable index to the nature of the disturbance within their associated organs or glands and they are a specific means of correcting the disturbances. By the stimulation of these receptor organs both the afferent and efferent vessels draining the surrounding tissues will be affected, as will also the entire lymph system of this area. These receptor organs are easy to palpate because of the edema or congestion localized around the area. This method of diagnosis gives an exact picture of the existing condition even to the extent of involvement, and treatment, correctly applied, usually obtains the specific results desired. A bony lesion may be primary or it may be secondary to some functional disturbance. Any lesion which disturbs the bony pelvis interferes with the blood and nerve supply to the gonads which in turn directly affect the thyroid, whose function it is to influence the oxygen content of the blood. All the blood passes through the thyroid gland at least twice an hour and there receives thyroxine, the secretion of the thyroid, which is carried to every tissue cell. Thus with a pelvic lesion is started the imbalance to the endocrine system which in turn interferes with nutrition to body structures. Result--impaired function of gland or viscus and possible further result--bony lesion. This is the reason that no attempt should be made to correct bony lesions until the corrected nutritional disturbances responsible for the pathology nave been re-established at the site of such lesions. Frequently by that time the lesions will have disappeared or their correction will be a very easy accomplishment. And because of this removal of tissue pathology at the site of the bony lesion that lesion when corrected will stay corrected. This point has been experienced by many Osteopathic Physicians especially in the treatment of chronic conditions that manipulative treatment will add to the discomfort of the patient and to the severity of the condition. This happens because of a lack of understanding of the need for the removal of the underlying tissue pathology before the attempt of bony correction which oft times aggravates a chronic state causing still further stasis of body fluids. Equally important in this connection is the fact that corrective work before the nutritional change has been re-established is apt to dissipate the effect of the reflex work or at least tend to obscure the usual spectacular results. |