How Chiropractic Got Started

So, if you’ve been following my blog you probably already know how I found my way to chiropractic. But, since September 18th is the 120th anniversary of chiropractic, I wanted to share how the chiropractic profession itself got started.

Daniel David Palmer performed the first chiropractic adjustment in 1895 on a partially deaf janitor. A few days after the adjustment, the janitor mentioned to Palmer that his hearing seemed better. This led to Palmer opening a school of chiropractic a few years later.

D.D. Palmer’s chiropractic philosophy, which is rooted in vitalism and a natural approach to health, was very different from the scientific method. D.D. Palmer’s earliest descriptions of chiropractic were very similar to Andrew Still’s principles of osteopathy. Although both practices were similar, osteopathic practitioners sought licensing and regulations calling chiropractic a “bastardized form of osteopathy.” Eventually many chiropractors, including D.D. Palmer, were charged for practicing osteopathic medicine without a license and were jailed.

To dispute the law, the first chiropractic textbook ‘Modernized Chiropractic’ was published in 1906, and they were able to win their first test case. However, many prosecutions instigated by state medical boards ensued and many of them were successful. So, chiropractors conducted multiple political campaigns to secure separate licensing statutes and eventually succeeded in all fifty states.

Now, there are over 70,000 chiropractors practicing in the United States alone! I am so glad to be one of them so that I can use my passion passion to promote natural health within the Mill Valley community!