Many chiropractic patients ask, “How did chiropractic get started?  ”Well, some form of spinal manipulative treatment dates as far back as 3000 BC in the history of the world in China.  Even the most famed healer called the Father of the Modern Medicine in the history,  Hippocrates, understood the relationship between health and the condition of the spine and  advised:  “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases.”

Herodotus, a contemporary of Hippocrates, gained fame curing diseases by correcting spinal abnormalities through therapeutic exercises. If the patient was too weak to exercise, Herodotus would manipulate the patient’s spine.

However, the profession of chiropractic was the one in Davenport, Iowa established as a distinct form of health care.  In 1895 a “magnetic healer” as he was called, by the name of D. D. Palmer operated an office on the corner of Second and Brady Street in downtown Davenport. Dr. Palmer, as he was known, noticed on that day the janitor who worked in his building was nearly totally deaf. Continue reading »

Much discussion goes on in healthcare circles as to what to call what chiropractors do. Is the term manipulation or adjustment? To answer this question lets first look ina Webster Dictionary for some synonyms of each.
Manipulation: Exploit, misuse, take advantage, control, deploy, maneuver, use, ply, swing, wield, grope, examine, finger, fondle, handle, maul, palpate, paw, probe, touch, govern, sway. Continue reading »