The History of Chiropractic

The actual health care profession of chiropractic dates back to 1895. However, some of the earliest healers in the history of the world understood the relationship between health and the condition of the spine. Hippocrates advised: “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases.”

Daniel David (D.D.) Palmer discovered the specific spinal adjustment in 1895. He was also the one to develop the philosophy of chiropractic which forms the foundation for the profession.

D.D. Palmer came to the United States from Canada when he was 20 years old. In 1885, D.D. became familiar with the work of Paul Caster and learned the techniques of magnetic healing and two years later he moved to Davenport Iowa and opened the Palmer Cure & Infirmary.

On September 18, 1895, D.D. Palmer was working late in his office when a janitor, Harvey Lillard, began working nearby. D.D. realized that Lillard was deaf but had normal hearing for most of his life. Lillard communicated that while he had been over in a cramped, stooping position, he felt something “pop” in his back and when he stood up, he realized he couldn’t hear.

D.D. ran his hand down Lillard’s spine and felt one of the vertebra was not in it’s normal position. D.D. racked it into position by using the spinous process as a lever and soon Lillard’s hearing was restored.

D.D.Palmer coined the term chiropractic from the Greek words, Chiro, meaning (hand) and practic, meaning (practice or operation).

He renamed his clinic the Palmer School & Infirmary of Chiropractic and in 1898 he accepted

his first students.

The medical community, afraid of his success and discouraged by its own failure to heal diseases, accused Palmer of practicing medicine without a license. Palmer defended himself and cautioned against introducing medicine into the body saying it was often unnecessary and even harmful.

In 1905 D.D. Palmer was indicted for practicing medicine without a license. He spent 23 days of a 105 day sentence in jail and paid a $350 fine.

From 1906 to 1913, D.D. Palmer published two books, “The Science of Chiropractic” and “The Chiropractors Adjustor.” He died in Los Angeles at the age of 68.

D.D. had a son, Bartlett Joshua, who was as enthusiastic about chiropractic as his father and he continued his father’s work. B.J. is credited with developing chiropractic into a clearly defined and unique health care system. He is also instrumental in getting chiropractic recognized as a licensed profession.

Although the profession has advanced tremendously since the days of D.D. and B.J., the basic tenets and understanding of chiropractic as a drug-free method of correcting vertebral subluxations in order to remove nerve interference still stands.