Chiropractic has a long and interesting
history. Modern chiropractic was founded by DD Palmer, a Canadian, born and
raised in Port Perry Ontario, but who later moved to the United States.
In the fall of 1895, a janitor named Harvey Lillard entered the office of DD
Palmer. Lillard had been deaf since straining himself seventeen years earlier
while working in a cramped position. Upon examining the man, DD Palmer
discovered a painful prominent vertebra in the upper spine, which Lillard
confirmed had been the source of the original injury that had led to his
deafness. DD Palmer applied a sharp thrust, repositioning the bone, and
Lillard's hearing returned better than ever. Thus modern chiropractic was
born.
Chiropractic roots can be traced much farther back in time, however.
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, may have been one of the early founders
of chiropractic as well. It is documented that he used spinal adjusting in
addition to the herbs and medicines of the time. Spinal adjusting is also
mentioned in Roman medical texts. In fact, spinal adjusting was a very
popular treatment into the eighteenth century. In England, chiropractors were
known as bonesetters. Bonesetters of the time learned their trade from other
bonesetters and were poorly trained physicians. Bonesetters were forcibly
forced out of business by the burgeoning field of medicine.
Some of the most interesting history of chiropractic happened in the
twentieth century. Chiropractic has forever been the bane of Medicine. As
many alternative care models were evolving early in the last century,
medicine worked very hard to suppress them, some rightly, some wrongly. Many
chiropractors were imprisoned for practicing medicine without a license. The
many cases against chiropractic were thrown out. Many medical associations
actually maintained committees to discredit chiropractic. In 1987 the US
supreme court heard the anti-trust case of Wilk vs. the American Medical
Association. The supreme court ruled that medicine had been unfairly
persecuting the chiropractic profession and ruled that information about
chiropractic must be part of a Medical Doctors education. An appeal by the
medical profession was overturned in 1990. No such cases have yet been heard
in Canada.
Today, many medical doctors do accept the efficacy of chiropractic and other
‘alternative’ healthcare professions, however there are some doctors who
still vigorously oppose chiropractic. Recent attempts for chiropractic to
become part of mainstream education in Canada and in Florida have failed
largely do to the lobbying effort of a few zealot Medical doctors.
It is very interesting to note that chiropractic patients are the most
satisfied patients of any healthcare service, but at the same time are the
least trusted in society (largely by people who do not use chiropractic)…
A recommended book that discusses Medicine and its relation with other forms of
care is 'Squandering Billions' by Gary Bannerman and Don Nixdorf. It
is an easy read and can be found in any quality bookstore.
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Foot notes:
http://www.holistic-online.com/Chiropractic/chiro_history.htm
Withington, ET. Hippocrates, with an English translation. Cambridge,
Mass:Harvard University Press;1928.
Anderson R. On doctors and bonesetters in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Chiropractic Hist 1983;3:11-15.
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