Chiropractic has a long history, interspersed with debates and controversy that stem from its origins. Chiropractic care today has come a long way since its beginnings, but we’ll take you back to the start to give you a comprehensive understanding of how chiropractic began and how it has evolved to become what it is today.
A Brief History of Chiropractic Care
This short, two-minute guide to understanding the history of chiropractic care will help you see how the origins of chiropractic care affected its progression as well as the scientific evolution of the practice that today is widely used and accepted as an excellent option for treating pain and musculoskeletal problems such as sciatica, scoliosis, and many other issues.
The Origins of Chiropractic Care
The commonly-cited birth date of chiropractic is September 18, 1895, which is when Daniel David Palmer performed the “first” manual adjustment and coined the term “chiropractic,” but we’ll get to that in the next section. Here, let’s go over the precursors to chiropractic care.
Palmer’s Synthesis
From his many scientific readings, Daniel David Palmer was aware of the hundreds—potentially thousands—year-old practice of performing various forms of manual adjustments, but it was never formally sorted out with a philosophical or scientific rationale for why they worked. He took this idea and synthesized it with various other philosophies, such as magnetism, naturalism, bonesetting, and orthodox science.
The “First” Manual Adjustment
The story goes that on September 18, 1895, Daniel David Palmer performed the first chiropractic manual adjustment on a partially deaf janitor. The janitor told him that one day, he felt something give in his back, and immediately after, noticed that his hearing was partially gone. Palmer examined the janitor’s spine and performed a very rudimentary adjustment to what he thought was a misplaced vertebra in the janitor’s upper back. After this adjustment, the janitor reported that his hearing had improved.
Chiropractic Care’s Battle
After the formal creation of chiropractic care, a long and difficult battle began for chiropractic to be accepted into the scientific community. Even though Palmer’s theories utilized formal science, the scientific community rejected the use of alternative medicine, which he combined with orthodox science in his initial theories. Over the next century, chiropractic evolved to become more in line with widely accepted scientific methods, and by 1931, 39 states legally recognized chiropractors.
Chiropractic Care Today
Today, chiropractic is widely accepted by the broader public as a health care profession. There are more than 60,000 licensed chiropractors in the United States alone. Chiropractic care is used by all types of people to treat their pain or health issues with a variety of chiropractic techniques that go far beyond the original manual adjustments. So many individuals have experienced the incredible health benefits of chiropractic and continue receiving chiropractic care even after their pain or health issue is gone.
Chiropractic Care in Dallas
Many people in Dallas and the surrounding areas make chiropractic care a regular part of their overall healthy living routine. Learning more about chiropractic and finding out if it’s a good fit for you is a great first step toward a pain-free, healthy life.