Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to review and discuss the history of chiropractic vertebral subluxation (CVS) between 1979 and 1995, with an emphasis on complexes, models, and consensus. DISCUSSION: New models were developed and critiqued during this period. The first subluxation complex model was proposed by Faye. Other theorists such as Lantz and Dishman built upon his model. The complex models were integrated into consensus statements by the International Chiropractic Association and the American Chiropractic Association, and later by profession-wide processes. The plurality of the CVS encompassed known theories and included integration of stress models and biochemistry. The professional consensus around CVS was comprehensive as shown by the process models that included stakeholders in the profession. Calls for more empirical research and changes to terminology increased during this era. Influential articles from this period potentially contained errors and relied on older studies that may no longer be valid. CONCLUSION: The challenges to researching this complex entity during that time were daunting for many and pointed to challenges of using the word "subluxation" to encompass the multiplicity that defined CVS.