Practice Article – April 2008

INTERVIEW WITH DR. FAYE

By: Greg Green, Palmer Florida Student
(re-printed from The Triune, the Official Student Newspaper of Palmer College of Chiropractic’s Florida
Campus)

Although the name Leonard Faye doesn’t typically garner the same attention or
recognition as Clarence Gonstead or BJ Palmer, many chiropractors acknowledge him
as a key figure in the world of evidence-based practice. He has being trying to “shift the
paradigm from the static, faith-based” phase of chiropractic development to the
dynamic, functional paradigm,” ever since a chance encounter with Dr. Henri Gillet and
Dr. Fred Illis in 1963 led him to the belief that although chiropractic works, the
philosophy behind it was in desperate need of an overhaul.
Dr. Faye has written hundreds of articles and chapters, and the book Goodbye Back
Pain which is currently being released as a second edition. In fifth quarter, students at
Palmer Florida became intimately aquainted with the chapter in the Gatterman text that
Dr. Faye co-wrote with Dr. Seaman. He has given over 300 lectures, and he recently
spoke at the Palmer Florida homecoming. His 10 video series, Motion Palpation and
Chiropractic Technique has been incredibly influential for developing chiropractors and
students who want to develop their adjusting skills. Many Palmer Florida students have
been introduced to the concepts of Motion Palpation in the incredibly popular club of the
same name (The club meets Wednesdays at 1:30 in both of the technique rooms in
building one).
Dr. Faye’s other career achievements include:
• The Henri Gillet Award of Excellence given by the Belgian Chiropractors Asso
• The first chiropractor to be appointed by the Canadian Track & Field Team for
the 1984 Olympics.
• The first chiropractor to present to the directors of the RAND Corporation in
Santa Monica, CA
• Co-authored chapters in well-known books: Foundations of Chiropractic, second
edition by Meridel I. Gatterman; Fundamentals of Chiropractic by Daniel
Redwood and Carl S Cleveland III; and Chiropractic Principles and Practice, by
Scott Haldeman DC, MD, Neurologist.
• Author of Goodbye Back Pain
• Founder of www.ChiropracticMentor.com
I had the opportunity to get to know Dr. Faye during homecoming, and recently
asked him if he would consider doing an interview for Triune. He was happy to oblige.
We decided that it would be best for the interview to work in a conversation format that
would take place over the course of a few weeks as opposed to a list of questions being
sent. The following is the first part of the interview, with more to follow.
GG: I am curious to ask you one thing for sure – what do you think the mechanism
was behind the adjustment “curing” your rheumatic fever as a young man? One thing
you mentioned at homecoming was the fact that many people have tried to put you in a
box by saying “Motion Palpation” is only good for low back and neck pain,” yet your own

personal introduction to chiropractic is so much more than your typical low back
complaint.
LF: The mechanism that I am sure was the reason I had a personal response to
manipulation that stopped the auto-immune disease call Rheumatic Fever was the de-
facilitation of the sympathetic nerves in my upper thoracic region. As I stated in my
introduction at PCC (Fla), I had been bedridden for three months and had all my joints
painfully swollen in spite of taking aspirin every six hours. In desperation, my Dad
called in his Chiropractor who adjusted my upper thoracic region on a portable table.
The very next day, my joints were no longer red and swollen. We all know there are no
nerves that go from the upper thoracics to all the extremities.
I spent four years from 1956 to 1960 at CMCC hoping to learn how to achieve the
same results on others. The only hit I got was in a book entitled “The Autonomics in
Chiropractic” by a Dr. Meuller DC who had been a Dean at CMCC until he committed
suicide.
Soon after graduation, I started to read a text “The Physiology and Pathology of
Exposure to STRESS” by Hans Selye M.D. of McGill University, Canada. He showed
me that when the sympathetic nervous system was activated and shut off the
parasympathetic system, inflammation and the auto-immune disease erupted. I have
hypothesized ever since that the heuristic, subluxation complex model should be
included in the list of “stressors” that promote the inflammatory process.
Dr. Irwin Korr PhD demonstrated that the sympathetics could be facilitated at the
spinal level. It is the only mechanism I can consider rational at the moment. My
Chiropractor stopped the sympathetic facilitation occurring in my upper thoracics and
the parasympathetics got back in control. The cortisol to DHEA ratio normalized and the
inflammation subsided.
I have never understood when Bausbaum and Levine published the Role of the
Sympathetic Nervous System in the Inflammatory process, why we did not do research
to show cervical/thoracic junction dysfunction causes sympathetic facilitation.
The bottom line for me is that the pathologies that have been reported anecdotally by
our fore fathers to respond to chiropractic actually caused this flip from sympathetic
facilitation to parasympathetic dominance which allowed a healing to occur.
The subluxation complex demands the doctor to conduct tests and diagnostic
procedures that remove all the stressors affecting the patient. This is a truly holistic
approach and individualizes the patient. By that I mean, the patient isn’t pre-diagnosed
even before they arrive in the office. For example, the upper cervical chiropr actor
knows it is the atlas/axis that is the etiological factor. The S.O.T. practitioner knows it is
the sacro/occipital relationships disclosed by a swaying pattern. We have over 300
systems that pre diagnose and fit patients into the system.
How do they all work when they are all so different, you may ask?
The waters are muddied by placebo, natural history of the condition, the ability of the
technique to quite the sympathetic facilitation.
The sympathetic facilitation affects the hypothalmus and that’s how it causes a
systemic affect. The concerned DC is not embarrassed by positive placebo effect as
we do no harm unlike the placebo effect of drugs and their side effects.
Healing is complex and the more informed the Chiropractor the better. As you know
from Dr. Seaman’s lectures, nutrition can be pro inflammatory and hence diet and

supplements are part of the treatment plan for the subluxation complex components
active in our patients.
So, the answer to your question as to what I think the mechanism was, is a complex
of factors with the upper thoracic adjustment being the center of the healing response
my body made.
GG: So, in effect, you’re saying that the adjustment inhibited one aspect of nervous
function- the sympathetic and this in turn allowed the parasympathetic to take over? Do
you see things like this happen often in your current practice? This seems to fly in the
face of the crowd that says your paradigm limits the scope of chiropractic to musculo-
skeletal conditions.
LF: When the sympathetics are facilitated by spinal dysfunction and inflammation,
the bodies “flight or fight” mechanism is activated. The first stage is to stop the
parasympathetic control. The old fashion chiropractic dogma used to state the
sympathetics and the parasympathetics had to be balanced. The parasympathetics are
in every day control and the sympathetics are waiting silently until an adaptation needs
to respond to a stressor. Seyle described all the stressors he was aware of but in my
opinion he was not aware that spinal dysfunction could trip up an adaptive response.
The general Adaptive Response (G.A.S.) is supposed to be a short term situation.
With chronic, continued stressors the G.A.S. fails and a fatigued response tilts the
DHEA to Cortisol ratio and disease processes commence. No matter what the stressor
is the response the body make is the same. For example, inflammation in response to
trauma is the same as an infected skin abrasion. The response is modulated by the
sympathetic nerve excitement acting on the hypothalmus which in turn causes hormonal
releases from specific tissues like the Adrenal glands. The physiology and bio-
chemistry of these responses should be covered in every chiropractic college in minute
detail.
If I am correct in interpreting Irwin Korr and others, then the sympathetics can
become activated by components of the subluxation complex. This means we can drop
the 1895, bone out of place, pinching a nerve, and shutting off the flow dogma that has
never made sense to any scholar. It was a good guess in 1895, but the facts of today,
2008 surely can sway us to recognize the former as just part of our history.
If we research the model I proposed in 1967 and co-related the reduction of
sympathetic facilitation with our adjustments we would have a strong model as to how
and why chiropractors reported such a broad scope of practice. For the traditionalists
stuck in the static model, it was much easier to suppress Motion Palpation and Dr.
Faye, rather that delve into the Dynamic Principles he spent 4 hours lecturing about at
all of the 400 seminars he presented around the world. The Subluxation Complex
model and the Dynamic Principles are the keys to a modern broad scope practice. One
limited by irreversible pathology, but willing to provide rational service to improve all
patient’s quality of life.
At your homecoming I displayed a slide of the human life span and related the typical
type of service we can provide for different age groups, however I must say that two
lumbar rolls and an anterior thoracic and two rotary cervicals do not constitute a very
rational treatment in my books.
Our failure to excite the public is a direct result of these mindless adjustments given
to all patients no matter what their problem.

Until our students learn to think in terms of the subluxation complex and understand
what therapeutic applications affect which components we will appear irrational to
educated onlookers. I address the fallacy of the so called Chiropractic Philosophy and
asked those present to read the small text by Dr. Ian Coulter PhD, entitled
‘Chiropractic.” Only three in the audience had read it. Why?
Philosophy is all about discus sion, not blind acceptance of dogma. The faith we
needed in 1895 has to be replaced with knowledge; especially since it is available.
GG: Speaking of available knowledge, you mentioned the book by Dr. Ian Coulter;
are there any other books that you would consider essential for the student of
chiropractic? You’ve written a few books yourself haven’t you?
LF: It is difficult for students to read what is necessary to learn in order to pass
college and Board exams. However “Chiropractic” by Ian Coulter and “Stress of Life” by
Hans Seyle are two essentials. One gets the philosophy discussion sorted out and the
other gives a rational explanation as to how chiropractors can treat more than neck and
back pain. Both books are quick and easy to read.
After graduation is when a doctor has time to tackle the literature and go into more
depth with the subjects connected to the subluxation complex, heuristic model, etc.
Sadly most of my colleagues do not even read J.M.P.T., our most prestigious, peer
review journal.
One’s knowledge of the inflammatory process should be very broad. You are lucky
to have Dr. Seaman as a professor, as he is truly most knowledgeable in this subject.
It has been my hope that the students would recognize the value of
www.chiropracticmentor.com @ 49.95 per year. The Dynamic Concepts are the basis
of the “Practice Articles.” Students that get the procedures and concepts, build great
practices in the college clinic. They want to do a good job, not just get the minimum
points to graduate.
Success is learned and earned and should be commenced in the college clinic. Self-
esteem comes from knowing you know what you are doing and knowing that you do it
well.

for chiropractic videos visit us at : http://www.chiropracticmentor.com