Aligning for Justice: How Chiro Heroes Battles Human Trafficking

For chiropractor Eric J. Harrison, founder of Chiro Heroes, it all started with one good idea. He says from that point on, “the heavens opened, and everything started flowing.”

The idea for the nonprofit group was sparked in 2020 by one of Dr. Harrison’s two daughters, who was working with him in his practice, Harrison Chiropractic and Wellness, in Taylorsville, Utah. She suggested hosting a charity event. Dr. Harrison decided to open his clinic on a day he doesn’t normally see patients and donate the proceeds to an organization that fights human trafficking.

“Our patients got behind the effort” so enthusiastically that he made the fundraiser an annual event, he says.

A fourth-generation chiropractor and president of the Utah Chiropractic Physicians Association at the time, Dr. Harrison worked with a group of other chiropractors and friends to found the new nonprofit. The group has raised more than $200,000 for organizations combating human trafficking, started a scholarship fund to help survivors, and arranged care for rescued survivors. Another Chiro Heroes group is forming in Virginia, and supporters have held several successful charity golf tournaments.

Human trafficking victims often suffer great physical and emotional pain, and chiropractors are well-positioned to notice and provide help, Dr. Harrison says. One of the group’s major goals is to educate chiropractors across the country to recognize the signs of human trafficking. Dr. Harrison and another supporter, Joe Kryszak, founder of Stirling Professional CBD, Cary, North Carolina, have delivered nearly a dozen presentations to the International Chiropractors Association and other groups. Dr. Harrison asks that hosting organizations cover his travel expenses and donate to the cause. Also, webinars on the subject are available at IAmOnWatch.org.

At least one victim has been identified and rescued by a chiropractor who heard a Chiro Heroes presentation. The group also identified female chiropractors who were willing to provide aftercare.

The care provided by one volunteer, Utah chiropractor Kristina Stitcher, was described in a 2022 Psychology Today blog post under the headline, “What Trafficking Survivors Need Most: Psychotherapy and Chiropractic.” The victim was suffering from severe headaches and knee and back pain, and she was hunched over, arms crossed, and eyes turned downward. Dr. Stitcher diagnosed biomechanical problems in the pelvis, which wasn’t moving symmetrically but was frozen on one side, causing back spasms and inward rotation of her knees. Shocked by the young woman’s condition, Dr. Stitcher worked to restore her motion and neurological communication, easing her pain and enabling her to return to normal activity. Dr. Stitcher also helped the young women secure mental health care.

While many people think of sex trafficking as a hidden activity, child-protection organizations say victims often move openly without being detected. Signs include an abrupt disconnection with family and friends, access to large amounts of cash or credit cards, fearful avoidance of speaking for themselves, frequent running away or homelessness, relinquishing their ID to an adult, close ties with an excessively controlling adult, frequent unexcused absences from school, or tattoos the child doesn’t want to discuss.

Chiropractors can support Chiro Heroes by hosting fundraising days at their clinics or making monthly cash donations. Charity golf tournaments are planned for May 8 at Bull Run Golf Club in Virginia and June 11 at TalonsCove Golf Club in Utah.

“The end goal,” says Dr. Harrison, “is to get chiropractors all over the world to help fight human trafficking. This will be my life’s passion,” he adds, “until I can’t do it anymore.”