Chiropractic: Encyclopedia II - Chiropractic - History

Chiropractic - History

The roots of chiropractic care can be traced all the way back to the beginning of recorded time. Writings from China and Greece written in 2700 B.C. and 1500 B.C. mention spinal manipulation and the maneuvering of the lower extremities to ease low back pain. Hippocrates, the Greek physician, who lived from 460 to 357 B.C., also published texts detailing the importance of spinal manipulation. In one of his writings he declares:

Chiropractic was founded by Daniel David Palmer in Davenport, Iowa, USA. Palmer was born in Pickering, Ontario, and moved to the United States in 1865. Referred to by some historians as a "fish monger" because he sold fish commercially, Palmer practiced magnetic healing beginning in the mid-1880s in Burlington, Iowa. Palmer was well read in medical journals of his time and had great knowledge of the developments that were occurring throughout the world regarding anatomy and physiology.

During this time he tried to find a single cause for 100% of all diseases. He reached a point where he even claimed to have succeeded in this mission:

In 1895, Palmer was investigating the medical history of a deaf janitor, Harvey Lillard. Lillard informed Palmer that while working in a cramped area seventeen years prior, he felt a pop in his back and had been nearly deaf ever since. Upon examination, Palmer found what he described as a lump that was sore to the touch. He concluded that this lump was a misalignment in the spine and a possible cause of Lillard's deafness. After Palmer supposedly corrected this misalignment, Lillard could reportedly hear the wheels of the horse-drawn carts in the street below.

Palmer's version of this event has always been disputed by Lillard's daughter, Valdeenia Lillard Simons. She says that her father told her that he was telling jokes to a friend in the hall outside Palmer's office and, Palmer, who had been reading, joined them. When Lillard reached the punch line, Palmer, laughing heartily, slapped Lillard on the back with the hand holding the heavy book he had been reading. A few days later, Lillard told Palmer that his hearing seemed better. Palmer then decided to explore manipulation as an expansion of his magnetic healing practice. Simons said "the compact was that if they can make [something of] it, then they both would share. But, it didn't happen."

The term chiropractic originated when Palmer asked a patient - Rev. Samuel Weed - to come up with a name from the Greek language to describe his practice. Of the several names submitted to him, Palmer accepted one which combined the words chiros and praktikos (meaning "done by hand") to describe his adjustment of a vertebra in the spinal column. Palmer had been a beekeeper, school teacher, and grocery store owner, and had an interest in the various health philosophies of his day such as magnetic healing, osteopathy, and spiritualism.

His interest in spiritualism had a major role in his claims regarding the spiritual origins of chiropractic. He claimed to have received the principles of chiropractic "from the other world" (during spiritistic seances), from a "supernatural source", the long dead medical physician, Dr. Jim Atkinson. [2] [3]

While D. D. Palmer founded chiropractic, it is generally recognized that his dynamic son, B. J. Palmer, bears the major responsibility for the later development and marketing of chiropractic.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki