Chiropractic recently turned 120 years old. The profession of chiropractic traces its origins to the 18th of September,1895, in Davenport, Iowa in the United States, when a magnetic healer, Daniel David Palmer, delivered the first specific chiropractic adjustment. Harvey Lillard, a janitor in the building where Palmer had his office, had been partially deaf for seventeen years since hearing a “pop” in his neck while working in a cramped area. Palmer examined Lillard’s neck and noticed a slight bump on his spine. From his knowledge of anatomy he concluded that one of the spinal bones (vertebrae) was out of alignment. Palmer placed Lillard face down on a bench and gave the displaced vertebra a quick, short push with his hands. He heard a “click” and Lillard’s hearing quickly returned.
Palmer thought he had found a cure for deafness, and advertised this claim. But it was other aspects of their health that his subsequent patients experienced. From this he deduced that the misaligned vertebrae were affecting the function of the nervous system and therefore the function of the body. In a short period of time, people with all kinds of ailments began seeing Palmer, his practice grew, and the profession of chiropractic had begun.
During the last 120 years, chiropractic remains strongest in the United States but has flourished around the world, including Canberra. It is now increasingly understood by a broad cross-section of the community to be vital in improving their health and optimising their potential in life.
