History of Chiropractic

Chiropractic care can be traced back to China and Greece where writings from 2700 B.C. and 1500 B.C. mention that spinal manipulation was used to ease low back pain. Even the Greek physician Hippocrates advised, “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases.”

The practice of spinal manipulation took off in the late 19th century when Daniel David Palmer founded the Chiropractic profession in Davenport, Iowa. Palmer discovered the specific spinal adjustment and also developed the philosophy of chiropractic. While working late one night in his office, Palmer met a janitor who had suddenly lost his hearing one day. The janitor told him that he had been in a cramped, stooping position and felt something pop in his back. When he stood up, he couldn’t hear. Palmer realized the two events were connected. He felt the janitor’s spine and found that one of the vertebra was out of place. By using the spinous process as a lever, Palmer placed the vertebra back into position and soon the janitor could hear again. With continued practice, Palmer discovered that the adjustments, or “hand treatments,” could be used to treat other ailments as well. He called this care “chiropractic” from the Greek words, “Chiro,” meaning hand, and “Practic,” meaning practice. In 1897, he began the Palmer School of Chiropractic, one of the most prominent chiropractic colleges in the nation.