• Johnson CD
• Green BN

• American Medical Association / legislation and jurisprudence
• Antitrust Laws
• Chiropractic / legislation and jurisprudence / United States
• Health Occupations / legislation and jurisprudence
• Open Access Document
• Wilk, Chester A.

Objective: This is the third paper in a series that explores the historical events surrounding the Wilk v American Medical Association (AMA) lawsuit in which the plaintiffs argued that the AMA, the American Hospital Association, and other medical specialty societies violated antitrust law by restraining chiropractors' business practices. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief review of the history of the growth of chiropractic, its public relations campaigns, and infighting that contributed to the events surrounding the Wilk v AMA lawsuit.

Methods: This historical research study used a phenomenological approach to qualitative inquiry into the conflict between regular medicine and chiropractic and the events before, during, and after a legal dispute at the time of modernization of the chiropractic profession. Our methods included obtaining primary and secondary data sources. The final narrative recount was developed into 8 papers following a successive timeline. This paper is the third of the series that explores the growth the chiropractic profession.

Results: By the 1930s, the AMA was already under investigation for violation of antitrust laws and the National Chiropractic Association was suggesting that the AMA was establishing a health care monopoly. Chiropractic schools grew and the number of graduates rose quickly. Public relations campaigns and publications in the popular press attempted to educate the public about chiropractic. Factions within the profession polarized around differing views of how they thought that chiropractic should be practiced and portrayed to the public. The AMA leaders noted the infighting and used it to their advantage to subvert chiropractic.

Conclusion: Chiropractic grew rapidly and established its presence with the American public through public relations campaigns and popular press. However, infighting would give the AMA material to further its efforts to contain and eliminate the chiropractic profession.

Author keywords: Health Occupations, Chiropractic, Medicine, Humanities, History, 20th Century, Antitrust Laws

Lawsuit discussed: Wilk et al v American Medical Association et al Nos. 87-2672 and 87-2777 (F. 2d 352 Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, April 25, 1990)

This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher. Click on the above link for free full text. PubMed Record | PDF