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Chiropractic HistoryThe Kind of Story Hollywood Filmmakers Would LoveThe First GenerationChiropractic began in 1895 when its inventor, Dr. Daniel Palmer (1845 - 1913) discovered what he believed to be the cause of all ailments and its cure.A grocer born in Ontario, Canada, Daniel Palmer had settled in Davenport, Iowa. He opened a "magnetic studio" to treat the sick and to locate the cause of their disease. It was said that he came to hate his son and other chiropractors, died penniless and left specific orders that his son should not be allowed to attend his funeral One day in September 1895, Palmer treated his janitor, a man named Harvey Lillard who had been deaf for 17 years. In his autobiography, Palmer confessed to being curious about the way the janitor stooped. The janitor apparently "felt something give way in his back and immediately became deaf." Upon examining the man, Palmer became certain that the man's stopping back may have led to the deafness. A keen student of human anatomy, Palmer said, "I reasoned that if the vertebra was replaced, the man's hearing should be restored." After persuading the man, Palmer made the janitor lie down on his stomach and applied firm pressure to the spine with his hands. The vertebra moved back in place, and miraculously the man could hear again. The Rise and FallPalmer's second success was a patient with heart trouble. With only these two successful treatments under his belt, however, he concluded, "a subluxated vertebra, a vertebral bone, is the cause of 95 percent of all diseases."Palmer was so impressed by his discovery that he asked a friend and patient, Rev. Samuel Weed, to help him name it. This discovery was dubbed by this fellow resident of Davenport as "chiropractic", a Greek term that means "done by hand". Following these two medical successes, Palmer decided to open the Palmer School of Chiropractic before the end of 1895. The fee was $450, though students got a discount of $50 on paying by cash. The year 1906 was an unfortunate period for him. Palmer and his son (his most important student) were arrested for practicing medicine without a license. The father went on trial first and was sent to jail. The son, Bartlett Joshua (or B.J Palmer), never turned up. This incident created a big row between father and son. After Daniel Palmer was released, he sold the business to his son, left the city and wandered around the United States until his death. It was said that he came to hate his son and other chiropractors, died penniless and left specific orders that his son not be allowed to attend his funeral The Next GenerationThe son, B.J Palmer marketed the school aggressively, emphasizing the lack of exams or entry requirement. He was considered a marketing genius. Throughout his life, he followed his father's dogma that all diseases began with vertebra problems and that vertebra adjustment is required to cure them.Ironically, the man himself visited medical doctors when he was sick. The CrackSoon afterward, some practitioners refused to hold Palmer's dogma. They felt that chiropractors should also embrace other forms of treatment to cure an illness. Willard Carver, one of Palmer's disciples, propagated this belief. He started his own chiropractic school based on the new idea. This created a row between the two branches of chiropractic. The division exists even today, with Palmer followers calling themselves Straight and Carver's disciples calling themselves Mixers.When B.J Palmer died in 1961, he was a multimillionaire who had successfully built chiropractic into a hugely successful venture. After he died, his son gave it a fresh lease of life. He made it more organized and professional and worked hard to change its image. Legal BattleChiropractic may be popular these days, but during the 1960s doctors were very skeptical of chiropractic. The American Medical Association even condemned it as an unscientific cult. A 12-year legal battle ensued, which the association lost in 1987.NowadaysChiropractic is now a generally accepted remedy for bone and muscular problems. Most doctors happily accept a chiropractor's diagnosis and treatment regardless of its quackery-like history.Also Read: |