History of Chiropractic

 The origins of Chiropractic stretch back thousands of years.  The first recorded manipulations were recorded in ancient text dating back to 2650 B.C. in Asia.  In 400 B.C. Hippocrates wrote “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite of many diseases”.  Another Greek physician, Claudius Galen said,  “Look to the nervous system as the key to maximum health”. 

After the fall of the Roman Empire all forms of learning suffered, but the art of manipulation was passed down from generation to generation.  It wasn’t until 1895 that Chiropractic as we know it, was started. 

It is rather interesting how it came about.  A folk healer using alternative methods to help people was asked to help a middle aged man, Harvey Lillard.  It seems that Mr. Lillard had lost his hearing 17 years ago after bending over and hurting his back.  This folk healer, D.D. Palmer, had remembered reading about this ancient art and decided to check out Mr. Lillard’s spine.  When he did, he found a segment in the spine that didn’t move or feel like the others.  He theorized that this bone had misaligned and he decided to use a course of treatment that involved using his hands to “adjust’ the bone and restore it to its proper position. 

After a few adjustments, Mr. Lillard was able to hear again for the first time in 17 years, and the science of Chiropractic was born.  Many advances at the time allowed for Chiropractic to move into a more mainstream role in health care.  X-ray technology was developed not long after, so chiropractors could now see the spine and misalignments.  Much knowledge was also being learned about the spine and nervous system as well. 

 D.D. Palmer started his school for Chiropractic in Davenport, IA where he had delivered that “first” chiropractic adjustment.  Another piece of history you might not have known, was that in addition to starting the first chiropractic school in the United States, he also started the first radio station west of the Mississippi River and one of our future presidents got his start in broadcast at that station.  Any guesses on whom that was???  Ok, I’ll tell you, it was Ronald Reagan. 

Since that time, great advances have been made in using various therapies for soft tissue work (ie muscles, ligaments, tendons), such as Interferential Treatment, Ultrasound, Laser Therapy, Spinal Decompression, etc.  Today chiropractors have quite a few different approaches to helping a patient recover and get back to their life healthier and stronger than before

So, that leaves us with the question:

What is Chiropractic? 

 It’s a question that many people have.  The Association of Chiropractic Colleges gives us this definition:

 “Chiropractic is a health care discipline which emphasizes the inherent recuperative power of the body to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery.  The practice of Chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and the function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health”.

 So what does this mean to you?  And more importantly, How can Chiropractic help you?  Well let’s start with a brief overview of anatomy.  For this example we will deal mainly with the spine, but remember that alignment is important in all joints in the body so what pertains to the spine is also relevant throughout the body including the hips, shoulders, ankles, feet etc.

 The spine is important for all activities of daily life.  See our article on posture for more info on the importance of just how important alignment in the spine is.  The spine is made up of 24 moveable bony segments that are separated by a shock absorbing disc.  Through normal wear and tear of everyday life, these segments can misalign.

 When these segments misalign they set off a cascade of events that hurts your body in many ways.  The first part of this is misalignment itself.  Just like a car tire that loses its alignment, spinal bones will start to wear down faster if they aren’t in proper alignment. 

 From this misalignment, tissues surrounding the joints can become inflamed and irritated.  This can irritate the nerves that pass thru the spin to the rest of the body and cause conditions such as sciatica.  Even though the inflammation is near your spine, some of those nerves run down your leg to control the muscles in your leg and foot.  Often times the pain is felt in the leg and foot, not in the back. 

 Sometimes those nerves run out o the muscles surrounding your spine too, so the pain is felt locally.  This irritation can cause swelling and tenderness as well as muscle spasm.  If left untreated, these problems can become permanent and disc degeneration can occur, so it’s important not to wait if you suspect something is wrong.  I always say, “If you ignore your health, it will go away”.

Cchiropractors are trained to detect and locate these misalignments and are the ONLY health care provider trained to use spinal adjustments to correct these misalignments and relieve the nerve irritation or pain. 

 This is a brief overview of what Chiropractors do, if you have further questions, check out our Frequently Asked Questions or for questions about a specific condition take a look at our list of conditions in the Why Patients See Us section.