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History of Chiropractic
If you think that chiropractic is a new science, it is. However, you might be surprised to know the first pictures depicting spinal manipulation were discovered in prehistoric cave paintings in Pont le Merd in southwestern France. They may have been crude, non-specific attempts to manipulate the spine, but these early historical records date back to 17,500 B.C. The ancient Chinese were using manipulation in  2700 B.C., Greek papyruses from 1500 B.C. gave directions for solving lower-back problems by maneuvering the legs. We also know that the ancient Japanese, Egyptians, Babylonians, Hindus, Tibetans and Syrians all practiced spinal manipulation.
Crude types of manipulation continued all over the world until Daniel David (D.D.) Palmer discovered the concept of a specific spinal adjustment. It was his son B.J. Palmer who later developed it into the modern philosophy, art and science of chiropractic we are familiar with today.
On September 18, 1895, D.D. performed his first adjustment on janitor, Harvey Lillard, who had been deaf for seventeen years. The man’s hearing returned, and because of the success of Palmer’s spinal adjustment, the modern recorded history of chiropractic began.
Over the succeeding months, other patients came to him with diverse problems including flu, sciatica, migraines, headaches, stomach complaints, epilepsy and heart problems. Palmer would eventually coin the term chiropractic from the Greek words, chiro, meaning (hand) and practic, meaning (practice or operation). He renamed his clinic the Palmer School & Infirmary of Chiropractic. It was his son Dr. BJ Palmer, who continued the school after the death of DD. It is the son BJ, who is given credit today for growing and developing the profession into what it has become today. The rest, as they say, is history.
What Chiropractic Can Do
To understand chiropractic, one must have a basic understanding about how the body functions. From the time you were born, an “inner wisdom” has known exactly how to keep you healthy and alive. It knows how fast your heart should beat, how often your lungs need to breathe, how to digest food and how to eliminate waste. There are millions of details controlled by this inner wisdom that keep this marvelous machine in prime functioning condition.
Every living organism in our world possesses what chiropractors call Innate Intelligence. The body machine comes out of the “factory” fully able to function, as long as it has regular fuel and adequate maintenance, thanks to this Innate Intelligence.
 Innate Intelligence sends instructions to every organ and cell in your body through the nervous system housed and protected by the vertebrae. However, if these vertebrae are mis-aligned, even a little, those instructions can be interrupted. The result is “dis-ease” and dysfunction.
The word disease is a combination of 'dis' and 'ease'. 'Dis' is a prefix meaning “apart from” and ease meaning a “state of balance.” It follows then that dis-ease is a lack of comfort, a loss in harmony in the system. When there is a lack of harmony in music, the musician adjusts the notes to complement each other. That’s exactly what a chiropractic adjustment strives to do, restore body harmony.
Who Should See a Chiropractor?
Many times, people wait until they're suffering from the symptoms of a spinal misalignment or "subluxation" before going to see a chiropractor. Some of the conditions people experience can include pain near the spine, stiffness in the neck, shoulders or back, headaches, or numbness or tingling in the arms, legs, feet or hands.
Unfortunately all these symptoms are the result of a condition that has existed for some time. Pain or any of the other symptoms discussed above can take weeks or months to develop. Often times people will appear to suffer a serious injury after performing a simple activity. The real cause of their condition, is probably the result of an accident or injury the person experienced months or even years ago.
Chiropractic checkups are recommended just like dental or optical checkups. The only professional qualified to determine if you are subluxated is a chiropractor. No other health care provider is as well versed on finding and treating the vertebral subluxation.
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