The history of the chiropractic profession is unique, interesting, and colorful. This article will discuss the events that led to the advent of the modern chiropractic profession and the discovery and advancement of chiropractic.
Physical manipulation of the spine, limb joints, and soft tissues is a curative therapy that has been known for millennia. Hippocrates (460-385 BC), the ancient Greek who considers himself the father of medicine, said: “search the spinal column for disease” and practiced spinal manipulation. Galen (131-202 CE), a Roman surgeon, also provided evidence of manipulation of the spine. Spinal manipulation has been practiced in the early Middle East, Far East, India, Central America, and Europe.
In the northern European Netherlands, manipulation was carried out by laymen who were called bone assemblers. These were not trained doctors, but people who were experts in manipulation techniques passed down by relatives, neighbors, or artisans. When these people immigrated to the United States, they brought their skills with them. Many of them settled in the Midwestern states of Iowa and Nebraska.
In the late 1800s, a man named Daniel David Palmer, who lived in Davenport Iowa, is credited with performing what is considered the first modern chiropractic treatment. He performed a treatment on a patient’s spine and the patient’s poor hearing was helped. Instead of using the term manipulation, he called his method a “chiropractic adjustment.” From that beginning, Dr. Palmer began practicing chiropractic by administering chiropractic adjustments to correct misaligned vertebrae in the spine, causing pinching of the nerves. His practice grew phenomenally as he was able to help many people without the use of drugs or surgery.
Dr. Palmer worried that if he did not pass on his knowledge, his skills would be lost upon death. Therefore, he created The Palmer School of Chiropractic, where he began training others to become Doctors of Chiropractic. These chiropractors went to the rest of the country to start internships and some of them formed other chiropractic universities.
Dr. David Daniel Palmer’s son, Bartlett James (BJ), also became a chiropractor and continued to build and expand his father’s school, which became known as The Palmer College of Chiropractic. Dr. BJ Palmer was an interesting person in the sense that he started other businesses. One was a powerful radio station in Davenport Iowa that is said to have given former President Ronald Reagan his first job in the entertainment business.
The chiropractic profession proliferated in the United States and around the world. More chiropractic educational institutions have been developed. Chiropractors have submitted scientific articles that have been accepted by prestigious research journals. In the United States, each state licenses and regulates the chiropractic profession.
Chiropractic care for back and neck pain relief is considered the gold standard treatment. Chiropractic care has been shown to be safe, gentle, and effective in providing spinal pain relief to millions of people.