A Very Brief History of Chiropractic
In 1895, at Davenport, Iowa, USA, Daniel David Palmer was with a certain Harvey Lillard. Lillard had suffered hearing problems for over 17 years, following an injury to his back. Palmer discovered a ‘lump’ on Lillard’s back and suspected that a vertebra might be out of alignment and pinching a nerve going to Lillard’s ears.
Palmer adjusted the vertebra, and immediately Lillard’s hearing improved. After several such treatments, much of Lillard’s hearing was completely restored. Chiropractic was born.
The term ‘Chiropractor’ was coined from two Greek words: ‘hand’ (cheiros) and ‘done by’ (praktos), together meaning ‘done by hand’.
Palmer’s son, B J Palmer helped build Palmer College in Davenport, Iowa, into one of the largest Chiropractic Colleges in the United States. He helped build the school to the prominence necessary to have it and Chiropractic accepted by the public and legislators. His patients included US Presidents and business leaders from all over the world. His college grew from 24 students in 1906 to 3,100 in 1923.
Today, there are over 25 chiropractic institutions throughout the world and at any given time more then 10,000 students.
In the UK, from 14 June 2001 the title of ‘Chiropractor’ has been protected by law and it is a criminal offence, liable to prosecution, to describe oneself as any sort of chiropractor without being registered with the General Chiropractic Council.