The History of Spinal Touch

In the 1920's an ingenious engineer, John Hurley, noticed in his work the effects of gravity on buildings. He had the vision to apply his extensive knowledge of mechanical structures to the human body. He later studied chiropractic and, together with his wife and colleague Helen Sanders, he developed a technique incorporating engineering principles, the laws of leverage and physiology.

They became pioneers of light touch therapy, publishing in 1932 their book The Aquarian Age Healing. Their light touch technique contacted the energy systems of the body promoting a free flow of energy through muscles, bones and joints.

In this research Hurley found that the lighter the touch, the more powerful the results. This therapy consistently showed the ability to help physical conditions which had not responded to any previous treatment. Hurley concluded that chiropractic methods alone did not fully take into account the mechanics of the body. He saw the centre of gravity of the body as being the key to this more holistic view. The chiropractors taught by Hurley used the technique with great results and good patient response.

Hurley's own goal was that lay people should themselves learn and use the technique on family members, thus being empowered to preserve their own health. Hurley died in the 1950's. One of the instructors trained by him was Francis Goes. He worked in private practice and used the technique in its original form.

In 1962 another chiropractor called LaMar Rosquist met the technique through the case of a young boy in his neighbourhood. This child had suddenly become very ill and was diagnosed as being in the terminal stages of either muscular dystrophy or an undefined glandular problem.

The boys's grandmother took him to her own doctor, Dr Goes, in order to make his last days more comfortable. Dr Goes informed the parents that he would need to see the child three times a week for a few months. Dr Rosquist observed that it was from the time of starting this course of light touch treatment that the boy started to improve.

Within a few months he was actively playing with Dr Rosquist's own children. On the strength of all this he went to meet Dr Goes who promptly gave him a sample treatment. Any doubts which Rosquist had had about the benefits of the method were dispelled by the feelings of a balancing of energy within his system which followed treatment.

Over a period of fifteen months he learnt the approach himself and in due course introduced it into his work with patients.

In 1975 he published the Encyclopaedia of the Spinal Touch Treatment which systematically describes all that he learnt from Dr Goes.