History of Chiropractic
The art of joint manipulation has been practiced for thousands of years. Hippocrates,
The Father of Medicine (460-370
BC), describes manipulative procedures in his monumental work known as the Corpus
Hippocrateum.
Other historical records indicate that the
beneficial effects of spinal corrections have
been recognized and utilized by health care
providers in many societies even before the
time of Socrates who advised, 'If you would seek health, look first to the spine.'
Galen (130-202 AD) earned the title 'Prince of
Physicians' when he relieved the paralysis of
the right hand of Eudemas (a prominent
Roman scholar) by careful manipulation of his
neck.
During the Middle Ages, the art of manipulation
was practiced by bonesetters. This art was
passed from generation to generation and was
practiced in most communities in Europe,
North Africa, and Asia by practitioners who
learned their skills by apprenticeship.
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This photo, depicting neck manipulation, was copied from China as early as, 940 AD. |
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Daniel David Palmer, D.C. The Father of Chiropractic |
The birth of Chiropractic, as a distinct healing profession, occurred in 1895. The founder of
Chiropractic was Daniel David Palmer (1844-1913), a Canadian born in Port Perry, Ontario. While
practicing as a magnetic healer in Davenport, Iowa, he delivered the first known chiropractic adjustment
to a misaligned vertebrae in the neck of Harvey Lillard, and restored his lost hearing. D.D. Palmer did
not claim to be the first to restore a malpositioned vertebrae, but the first to use the specific, short lever
technique that he called Chiropractic (derived from the Greek words meaning 'done by hand') to 'rack'
the vertebrae back into normal position.
D.D. Palmer founded the first college of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa during that same year of 1895. He believed
that "if every bone, every nerve, and all the blood vessels were just right, there would be nothing
wrong" with the body. He also said that "disease is the effect or result of some part of the body being disarranged
(the vertebrae)". Thus we find the inception of the philosophical principles of
Chiropractic that spinal health is vital for
overall wellness.
Click here for more information on the history of Chiropractic and the Palmer family.