The history of chiropractic dates back as far as 17,500 BC. Hippocrates (the Father of Modern Medicine) believed that a misaligned spine contributed to the health of an individual. Modern day chiropractic goes back over 115 years, when the first adjustment was given by Dr. Daniel Palmer on September 18, 1895.
Dr. Palmer, born in Canada in 1845, was very interested in the healing arts and first learned magnetic healing. This form of healing used the magnetism in the body. In 1886, Dr. Palmer opened his first office of magnetic healing in Burlington, Iowa. From there, he went on to open another office in 1887.
His interest was finding the cause and effect of sickness. He studied to discover what causes sickness and what effects sickness has on the human body. The first chiropractic adjustment he gave in 1895 was performed on a man by the name of Harvey Lillard. Mr. Lillard reported a sudden loss of hearing after straining his back some 17 years prior. Dr Palmer suspected that there could be a spinal misalignment based upon the fact that there was a “pop” heard at the time of this trauma. Therefore, after a brief spinal exam, he discovered a vertebra out of line. Dr. Palmer adjusted the vertebra back into position and the man’s hearing improved markedly.
This changed the course of Dr. Palmer’s work. He theorized that if the spine is aligned correctly, the nerve flow to all parts of the body will work correctly and thus the body will be healthy and free of disease. Dr. Palmer was excited to think that he may have discovered a cure for all sickness.
Criticism of this new healing technique came from many, especially in the medical community, perhaps because it did not involve the traditional medical theory of health. Ever since, there has been controversy between proponents of allopathy (health comes from pharmaceuticals) and the chiropractic theory herein presented. In the early 1900′s, many chiropractors were ridiculed and even jailed, though the results of chiropractic care were self-evident. Licensure eventually spread to all 50 states, and standards of education continued to improve. In the early 1970′s, Medicare and other insurance industries began to recognize chiropractic services as legitimate health care, but has also influenced the direction the profession has taken. Through it all, chiropractic continues to be quite popular for the simple fact that it gets results without the unwanted effects of drugs and surgery.
