Chiropractic Treatment: When did it Begin?

Navigation:

• Origin of the Name: Etymology of the Word “Chiropractic"
• Chiropractic Treatment: How it Began
• The Philosophy
• Chiropractic Treatment Today

  Chiropractic treatment has been around for quite a while. And although it is one of the most popular forms of alternative treatment around, many people are still just learning about its many benefits. It can help people with lower back pain, neck pain, joint pain, and other conditions including headaches. It’s an effective treatment method that helps patients with various musculoskeletal issues. But how did chiropractic come to be? When did it begin? How did it all start? Knowing where it came from can help us discover where it is headed. Let’s take a closer look at the roots of chiropractic treatment.

Origin of the Name: Etymology of the Word “Chiropractic"

Before we get into the history of chiropractic, here’s a bit of interesting trivia about the word itself. “Chiropractic” comes from two Greek words: “cheir” means “hand” and “praktos” means “done”. This means the word “chiropractic” references how treatments are “done by hand”. Sources are somewhat inconsistent when it comes to who actually coined the term. Some say it was Rev. Samel Weed who coined it from its Greek roots. Some say it is from DD Palmer himself, the man who started chiropractic treatment. Either way, chiropractic was named that way because it is rooted in vitalism, naturalism, and spiritualism—and merged with both science and medicine.

Chiropractic Treatment: How it Began

Daniel David Palmer, or simply DD Palmer, was the developer of chiropractic. He was a prolific reader of all things related to science, and was aware of the existence of various forms of medical manipulation. He knew that this type of treatment had been used for hundreds of years—and he also realized that no one had developed a scientific rationale to explain their benefits. Despite this realization, DD Palmer did not actively seek out a way to rationalize these effects—at least not until something sparked his interest: his partially deaf janitor’s condition. In September 1985, Palmer performed the very first chiropractic adjustment on Harvey Lillard who lost his hearing 17 years prior. Palmer noticed that the janitor had a vertebra out of position, as Lillard was cleaning his office without a shirt on. Palmer examined the area and then gave a crude “adjustment” to the misplaced vertebra in Lillard’s upper back. The janitor then observed that his hearing improved since the adjustment. From that moment on, DD Palmer sought out ways to explain the effects of spinal adjustments scientifically. He continued to develop chiropractic, and in 1897, he established the Palmer School of Cure in Davenport, Iowa. Many people became interested in Palmer’s new art of healing. Among his early students were members of older healing arts of medicine and osteopathy. His son, Barlett Joshua also became one of his students. However, practicing medicine without a license eventually led to many chiropractors—including DD Palmer himself—being jailed. Later on, chiropractors started conducting political campaigns to secure their own licensing statutes. The first state law licensing chiropractors was passed in Kansas in 1913. By 1931, 39 states had given chiropractors legal recognition. It was in 1974 that Louisiana legalized chiropractic treatment, marking the first time chiropractic treatment was recognized in all fifty states.

The Philosophy

Back in 1896, Palmer’s descriptions of chiropractic care echoed the underlying philosophies of osteopathy established a decade earlier. Both osteopathy and chiropractic treatment described the body as a “machine” that could be manipulated in order to facilitate healing. Various parts of the body can be adjusted or rebalanced in order to create desired results; it’s a cure that does not require drugs of any form. Chiropractic treatment and osteopathy are both fields that believe in the body’s natural ability to heal itself. With spinal manipulation, subluxations and joint dysfunctions could be fixed, leading to generally improved health. Palmer distinguished his work by saying that it makes use of short-lever HVLA manipulative techniques.  Chiropractic treatment is therefore mediated primarily by the functions of the nervous system, rather than the muscles and bones themselves.

Chiropractic Treatment Today

The Palmer School of Cure still exists today, and it is now known as the Palmer College of Chiropractic: it is still based in Davenport, Iowa. On top of that, there are now more than 70,000 active chiropractors in the United States today. And although it has battled with mainstream medicine for most of its existence, it is now officially recognized as a health care profession. Chiropractors may even work with physicians in order to produce the best results—and vice versa. Other countries also recognize and regulate chiropractic, including Canada, Japan, Australia, Mexico, and Switzerland. Olympians and other professional athletes swear by it, saying it helps them boost their performance. And true enough, one of the benefits of chiropractic treatment is that it helps prevent future injuries. If you’re interested in receiving the health and wellness benefits of chiropractic, visit a local chiropractor today!

Chiropractic Treatment: When did it Begin? is courtesy of https://www.dynamicwellnesschiro.com/

source https://www.dynamicwellnesschiro.com/chiropractic-treatment-begins/