– D D Palmer (1845 - 1913), founder of chiropractic

In 1895, Daniel David Palmer restored the hearing of a man who had been deaf for 17 years – by adjusting his spine to correct a dislocation.

Shorly after, he improved the condition of a patient suffering from heart disease – again by adjusting a spinal dislocation, which, Palmer believed, exerted pressure on the nerves leading to the heart.

These two experiences culminated Palmer's search for the single underlying cause of disease and led him to establish chiropractic – a system of healthcare that focuses on how the structure of the body (primarily that of the spine) affects the body's function and its state of health and disease.

The idea behind chiropractic, however, dates back thousands of years. Hippocrates, “the father of medicine” who lived from 460 BC to 380 BC, said: “Look well to the spine for the cause of disease.” Countries like China and Germany have long traditions of “bone setters”.

The word chirporactic was coined by one of Dr. Palmer's patients. He took the Greek words for “hand” (cheiros) and “done by” (pracktos) and put them together to spell chiropractic, meaning “done by the hand.“

D D Palmer founded the Palmer Infirmary and Chiropractic Institute in 1897 and it was renamed the Palmer School of Chiropractic in 1907. Today, it is known as the Palmer College of Chiropractic.

In 1902, the school graduated 15 chiropractors. D D Palmer later sold the school to his son, Barlett Joshua Palmer, who played a major role in the early development of chiropractic.

For example, in 1910 B J Palmer introduced the use of X-rays in chiropractic diagnosis. Chiropractors were, in fact, among the earliest supporters of the use of X-rays, at a time when the technology was just emerging.

The early chiropractors drew much controversy. In 1906, D D Palmer and hundreds of chiropractors were arrested and convicted of practising medicine without a licence. Palmer was sentenced to 105 days' jail, but released after serving 23 days and paying a $350 fine.

The following year, one of Palmer's former students, Shegataro Morikubo, was arrested for practicising medicine, surgery and osteopathy without a licence, In a landmark court ruling, however, the judge and jury agreed that Morikubo was, in fact, practicising something different – chiropractic.

Chiropractic has come a long way from its early controversy.

Modern chiropractors have developed advanced diagnostic procedures and sophisticated equipment.

There has been a number of well-controlled and peer-reviewed scientific studies that show chiropractic to be effective in relieving headaches, neck pain, back pain and various other conditions.

In addition, chiropractic treatment has proven to be extremely safe. In theory, serious complications can arise from chiropractic adjustments. But in practice, such complications are extremely rare, estimated at 1 in 3 million or 4 million. In sharp contrast, the chance of getting a serious complication from conventional medical treatment is about 1 in 8 to 1 in 15.

Chiropractic care has thus become widely accepted. In the US, UK, Australia and many other countries, chiropractors are licensed.

According to a 2004 survey by the US-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, chiropractic was the fourth most commonly used complementary and alternative medicine therapy among adults in the United States.

Today, there are over 50,000 chiropractors worldwide and chiropractic has grown to become the second largest healing profession in the world.