by Ruth McKinney Nielson, DC
During the month of July with Independence Day on the 4th, I’m especially grateful to live and work in a country with such incredible freedoms. The history of chiropractic began in 1895 in Davenport, Iowa when Daniel David Palmer performed the first adjustment on Harvey Lillard. Mr. Lillard was the hearing-impaired janitor who worked in the building where Dr. Palmer’s office was located. On the day following that adjustment Harvey reported that his hearing had been restored. Dr. Palmer’s theory was that incorrect nerve conduction caused illness, and that misaligned vertebra in the spine effected nerve flow. He hypothesized that improving alignment of the spine helped restore good health. Chiropractic was born.
Chiropractic is not the only type of health care based on bone manipulation. Doctors of Osteopathy (D.O.) also employ the technology of manipulation, empathizing the importance of blood flow to improve health. As educational and professional standards for doctors were improved in the early 1900s, chiropractors sought to have state licensure. In states where licenses were not available, some chiropractors were arrested for practicing medicine without a license. By 1925, 32 states had instituted licensure for chiropractors.
Chiropractic is now licensed in all 50 states and is practiced in many countries around the world. It is considered a type of primary health care. Today as a Doctor of Chiropractic, I am standing on the shoulders of giants. The chiropractors of yesteryear lifted up modern chiropractors and gave us the opportunity to help patients be well and healthy without drugs and surgery. Harry S. Truman said “America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination.” So too was chiropractic built on courage, imagination and determination.
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