Wolff's Law and Davis's law are often described together because they are both examples of the remodeling stress continuum that were described independently of each other in different tissues by different disciplines of healthcare. In hard tissues Wolff's Law explains that the formation of bone is continuously responding to the demands placed upon it. Davis's law is the basis of the stretch hypertrophy rule that states soft tissue is constantly remodeling to meet the demands imposed on them. The logical conclusion is that both of these laws demonstrate the same principle of homeostasis. Obviously soft tissue does not turn into hard bone instantly. This is a gradual process that occurs over time but the innate response to stress beyond a certain threshold is to convert soft tissue into hard.
Anyone that has ever worked hard will know exactly how long it take for your body to start adapting to the stress placed upon. The next day you will feel sore. You will feel the physical effects of your body responding to the stress you placed upon it.
The body naturally strives to achieve an equilibrium. In the case of Davis's and Wolff's Laws it is the delicate balance between what is hard and what is soft tissue that is being weighed. These tissues are also continuous; a muscle becomes a tendon and a tendon becomes the enthesis that is continuous with the joint capsule. The closer we can observes these tissues the harder it becomes to define where one starts and one ends. Now we must include nervous tissues that are just as intimately integrated within the muscle and conntective tissues according to Hilton's Law.
The muscles that attach to bone and extend from joints act upon those joints and over a series of lectures delivered in the early 1860's Dr. Hilton explained that the nerve trunk innervating those muscles also innervates the joint itself and the skin covering it. The significance of this law as it relates directly to the practice of chiropractic requires a basic understanding of general anatomy. The muscular system is composed of muscle fibers within each is a connection to the nervous system. The same nerve that supplies the muscle also innervates the joint capsule, connective tissue and skin covering the joint. All of these tissues and their function are anatomically and physiologically dependent upon and responding to each other. Anything that is noxious to one, is noxious to the other. Anything that improves the function of one, improves the function of the other.In general terms all chiropractic techniques are practiced within the scope and in accordance of these physiological laws. These primary physiological laws are the basis of reasoning of chiropractic care. There have been multiple studies comparing the various validated chiropractic techniques and found that all techniques have nearly identical levels of patient satisfaction and effectiveness. There is no one chiropractic method that is significantly more effective than any other technique. If one existed most if not all chiropractors would only practice that one technique. In reality the vast majority of chiropractors do provide extremely similar interventions with very similar clinical goals. The intervention provided by a doctor of chiropractic is the result of that individuals conclusions on how they can best serve their patients. Regardless of how the chiropractic adjustment is delivered or marketed to the public the introduction of a corrective force which is intended to improve the structure and function of the human body is the unique practice of chiropractic that is based upon physiological law. The structure of the body is intimately related to the function of the body which is constantly remodeling in response to the stress placed upon it. Chiropractic care, in all of its shapes and forms is dedicated to managing the structure of the body in response to those stresses.
There are various chiropractic approaches but the goal of their intervention, the chiropractic adjustment is aimed at improving the structure of the body. There are multiple philosophical justifications for those various approaches. There are numerous ways of define, measure and correct the chiropractic subluxation by chiropractic adjustment. Just as the primary colors can be mixed to create an infinite spectrum of color the 3 primary laws of Chiropractic can be given a greater or lesser degree of importance resulting in various approaches care with the same ultimate objective of improving the bodies response to the stress.
Studies have concluded that more than 80% of practicing chiropractors use spinal manipulation. Regardless of branding, the system of analysis used or the philosophic significance of subluxation the overwhelming percentage of chiropractors use some form of joint manipulation with particular attention to the spine. These 3 physiological laws clearly define that abnormal stress has short and long term effects on the tissues of the body that can be mitigated by managing and maintaining the proper relationship of how the body responds to the stresses being placed upon it.
