The treatment is unconnected to health, he says, and chiropractic bears no relation to reality. BARATZ: The chiropractic theory of manipulation as being curative of disease, or in terms of diagnosing disease, is based on a false premise. The premise is that there's some kind of vital force flowing around the body, as yet undefined and unquantified and undetectable, that they claim they can manipulate by manipulating the spine. ALDA: