It's Chiropractic's birthday this Month! September 18th to be exact. So how did it all come to be AND what are the benefits that one may see from it?
The profession of chiropractic as as a distinct form of health care dates back to 1895. However, some of the earliest healers in the history of the world understood the relationship between health and the condition of the spine.
Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases.
– Hippocrates – Known as the Father of Modern Medicine
Herodotus, a contemporary of Hippocrates, gained fame curing diseases by correcting spinal abnormalities through therapeutic exercises. If the patient was too weak to exercise, Herodotus would manipulate the patient’s spine. The philosopher Aristotle was critical of Herodotus’ tonic-free approach because, “he made old men young and thus prolonged their lives too greatly.”
“The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.” – Thomas Edison
However, treatment of the spine was still crude and misunderstood until Daniel David (D.D.) Palmer discovered the specific spinal adjustment. D.D. defined chiropractic as, “The Philosophy, Art and Science of things natural. A system for adjusting the segments of the spinal column, by hand only, for the correction of the cause of Dis-ease.” He was also responsible for the earliest development of the philosophy of Chiropractic and provided the first definition for vertebral subluxation.
On September 18, 1895, D.D. Palmer was working late in his office when a janitor, Harvey Lillard, began working nearby. A noisy fire engine passed by outside the window and Palmer was surprised to see that Lillard didn’t react at all. He approached the man and tried to strike up a conversation. He soon realized Lillard was deaf.
Patiently, Palmer managed to communicate with the man, and learned that he had normal hearing for most of his life. However, he had bent over in a cramped, stooping position, and felt something “pop” in his back. When he stood up, he realized he couldn’t hear.
Palmer deduced that the two events — the popping in his back and the deafness — had to be connected.
He ran his hand carefully down Lillard’s spine and felt one of the vertebra was not in its normal position. “I reasoned that if that vertebra was replaced, the man’s hearing should be restored,” he wrote in his notes afterward. “With this object in view, a half hour’s talk persuaded Mr. Lillard to allow me to replace it. I racked it into position by using the spinous process as a lever, and soon the man could hear as before.”
Harvey Lillard reported in the January 1897 issue of The Chiropractic that:
”I was deaf 17 years and I expected to always remain so, for I had doctored a great deal without any benefit. I had long ago made up my mind to not take any more ear treatments, for it did me no good. Last January Dr. Palmer told me that my deafness came from an injury in my spine. This was new to me; but it is a fact that my back was injured at the time I went deaf. Dr. Palmer treated me on the spine; in two treatments I could hear quite well. That was eight months ago. My hearing remains good.” Harvey Lillard, 320 W. Eleventh St., Davenport, Iowa, (Palmer 1897).
Over the succeeding months, patients came to Palmer with every conceivable problem, including flu, sciatica, migraine headaches, stomach complaints, epilepsy and heart trouble. Today’s recognition and acceptance of chiropractic is primarily based on the strength of the growing body of scientific research, which all started from B.J. Palmer’s commitment to make Chiropractic scientific. The positive results chiropractic care has given to millions of satisfied people continues to add credence to what one man started over 100 years ago. Chiropractic is now the world’s, largest and fastest-growing healthcare profession.
Benefits of Chiropractic:
Improves neck pain
Reduces reliance on opioid pain relievers
Eases back pain
Possible reduction of osteoarthritis symptoms
Eases headache symptoms
Reduces scoliosis symptoms
Improves joint mobility, function and health.
Makes tight muscles loose and loose muscles tight and improves the contractibility (thereby strength) of the muscle.
Decreases degeneration of the joint and connective tissues (arthritis).
Decreases the on--going inflammatory process associated with the subluxation.
Improves circulation taking stagnant blood out and bringing new blood in.
Speeds up the recovery process.
Improves nerve system function and the individual nerve’s ability to carry nerve impulses more efficiently.
Strengthens the immune system.
Improves individual organ system function (heart, lung, sinuses, digestive, etc).
Calms a hyperactive mind and energizes a depressed mind
Relieves/Improves Prenatal Discomfort
Decreases length of labor and associated back pain.
Decreases the adverse effects of stress.
Improves athletic performance (for ANY sport).
Improves overall health and wellness for infants and children.
Helps with bed wetting
Improves Circulation and Reduces Blood Pressure
Improves Quality and Length of Sleep
Improves Flexibility
Promotes healthy digestion (helps with constipation)
And much more.........
If you or a loved one may benefit from Chiropractic we invite you to have an initial exam and appointment with Dr. Kou or I. OR we appreciated you trusting us and sending friends & family as referrals! Ask the doctors or front desk for a friends & family referral card to give away.
In Better Health,
Dr. Justin, Nye DC