CHIROPRACTIC HISTORY

The story of modern chiropractic care. There is some evidence that the practice of chiropractic can be traced back to ancient Egypt (4000 B.C.), China (2700 B.C.) and Greece (1500 B.C.).  Moreover, the famed “Father of Medicine,” Hippocrates (500 B.C.), who was renowned for ridding medicine of superstition and quackery, may have practiced chiropractic.  Historians have used Hippocratic quotes like “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases” as evidence of his involvement with chiropractic.

THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERN CHIROPRACTIC

D.D. Palmer — (March 7, 1845 – October 20, 1913) The Founder At the end of the 19th century, when D.D. Palmer came on the health care scene, medicine was leaving an era of proclaimed cure-alls to pursue more scientific investigation into the treatment of disease. D.D. reasoned that the body had an ample supply of natural healing power transmitted through the nervous system. If a single organ was sick, it must not be receiving its normal nerve supply. That led to the premise of spinal misalignment, or subluxation, and from there to a procedure for adjusting the vertebrae. D.D. performed his first adjustments in 1895, relieving one man of deafness and another person of heart trouble. Arrangements were made to train others in the application of the chiropractic principle. The Palmer School and Cure was founded in 1897 and was later incorporated under the laws of Iowa. The school later became the Palmer School of Chiropractic.

B. J. Palmer — (September 14, 1882 – May 27, 1961) - The Developer

Dr. B.J. Palmer launched his colorful career by assuming the responsibility of the Palmer School of Chiropractic in 1906. His contributions included extensive research, improved methods of spinal adjusting and analysis, higher standards for chiropractic education, and increased appreciation for chiropractic worldwide.

B.J. battled on many fronts — legal and legislative obstacles to the licensing of chiropractors and financial challenges to the school. He was often the center of controversy, but well before his death in 1961, chiropractic had secured a place among the health sciences.

Mabel Heath Palmer — (1881-1949) The First Lady of Chiropractic

A guiding influence in B.J. Palmer’s life was his wife, Mabel Heath Palmer, who became a Doctor of Chiropractic in 1905. A recognized authority on anatomy and an instructor at the school for more than 30 years, Mabel Palmer was a close and valued adviser to her husband in all phases of the chiropractic profession.+