"I desired to know why one person was ailing and his associate, eating at the same table, working in the same shop...was not. Why? What difference was there in the two persons that caused one to have disease while his partner escaped? Why?" - Daniel David Palmer

THE HISTORY OF CHIROPRACTIC CARE

Over 100 years ago, an innovative teacher in a quiet Midwestern town of Davenport, Iowa, helped a janitor regain his hearing by adjusting a spinal bone back into position. At the time, D.D. Palmer (pictured above) had no idea that his theory would evolve into a health-care profession that would spread far beyond Davenport and far beyond his highest hopes.

According to Palmer's hypothesis, impinged nerves are the cause of pain and disease, and misplaced spinal bones may cause a pressure on the nerves. Thus, he reasoned, if the spinal column were positioned correctly, the body would be healthy. To spread his new theory he began taking on students. His son, B.J. Palmer (pictured to the left) is credited with developing chiropractic. This dynamic man worked tirelessly to increase awareness of chiropractic, using all the tools at his disposal, including radio advertising. As more and more people learned about the profession and its benefits, chiropractic schools, hospitals, and practices began popping up all over the country. By 1927, 39 states were licensing chiropractors.

Despite past efforts by the American Medical Association to discredit chiropractic care, its benefits have made it a increasingly popular and respected, and today chiropractic practitioners and medical doctors frequently work together to provide treatment to their patients.   Doctors of chiropractic are on staff at many hospitals across the United States. One hundred years after D.D. Palmer made his landmark discovery, chiropractic has become internationally renowned. In the United States alone, the profession boasts 50,000 doctors, 18 colleges, more than 100 national, regional, and state professional associations, and 15 million to 20 million patients.