HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHIROPRACTIC!

This month we celebrate the birth of the Chiropractic profession!  On September 18, 1895, Dr. Daniel David (DD) Palmer delivered the first adjustment to Harvey Lillard, a janitor in Dr. Palmer’s building in Davenport, Iowa.  Approximately 17 years earlier, Mr. Lillard lost his hearing as a result of a workplace accident. Dr. Palmer, a magnetic healer at the time, was a brilliant and inquisitive man.  He asked Mr. Lillard if he could examine him to determine precisely why he could no longer hear. Mr. Lillard consented and allowed Dr. Palmer to examine and care for him. After extensive examination, Dr. Palmer found that Mr. Lillard was not in any pain due to his accident.  He posited that the root cause of Mr. Lillard’s hearing loss was a nerve that was not functioning well because a spinal vertebra was out of alignment, pressing on it. Dr. Palmer adjusted that bone—and after only two adjustments, the result was miraculous! Mr. Lillard’s hearing returned!!  

This marked the beginning of the Chiropractic Profession.   Two years later, Dr. Palmer opened the first school of chiropractic in Davenport Iowa, which his son, Dr. BJ Palmer, took over at the age of 20.  Dr. BJ Palmer continued to build upon his father’s ground-breaking work, researching, selling, and defending the chiropractic profession until his death in 1961.  Following in his footsteps, many others have also been instrumental in advancing the profession, despite many notable struggles and attacks over the last 124 years.

Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine,” stated, “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases.”  Mr. Lillard provided the first chiropractic testimony that caring for the spine and the nervous system is not about pain. It is about maintaining optimal health and preventing the onset of unnecessary dis-ease.  Had DD Palmer not given Mr. Lillard a specific chiropractic adjustment, he would have spent his life unable to hear the world around him. Instead, Mr. Lillard became the first “maintenance” chiropractic patient, remaining in care until his death in 1925.

This month, we remember what health is about:  Rising above, making the healthier choice, and always striving toward our best.  We seek to heal, not just survive. We celebrate our successes and the changes in our life, always looking forward and never looking back.  And we keep going, maintaining our successes to ensure that we get the most out of our life. That is what Dr. DD Palmer sought to achieve. That is Chiropractic.