Manual medicine is as old as the science and art of medicine itself. Spinal manipulation in manual medicine is widely used as a treatment modality for spinal disorders. But one of the problems as perceived by the medical profession is that the therapy is often treated as a business rather than a science. In addition, its reputation has been blurred by some of its advocates claiming far too much for its effectiveness and using it as a panacea. Another observation is that many patients have been subjected to a prolonged and failed trial of spinal manipulation. It was written with one purpose in mind. The purpose is to give a basic overview of the present day practice and scope of the field of manual medicine. If, in addition, the information thus provided helps reduce certain existing prejudices toward this field.
