It is hard to deny the popularity of Chiropractic in the United States today. It is the third most common form of health care in the country, next to traditional medicine and dentistry. There are now more than 60,000 chiropractors in the US alone, operating in all 50 states. Millions of people visit chiropractors every year. But where does chiropractic come in?
The practice of chiropractic is a little more than 100 years old. It was invented by someone named Daniel David Palmer in the mid 1890’s. After working various jobs, Palmer worked as a magnetic doctor in the mid-1880s in Davenport, Iowa. His primary goal was to find the ultimate cause of the disease. While studying and using magnetic healing, his ideas began to turn from magnets to the spine.
To put it in a nutshell, Palmer is convinced that problems with the spine are the cause of almost all diseases. This is an explanation of his theory in his own words from his book: The Science, Art and Philosophy of Chiropractic;
“A dislocated vertebra… is the cause of 95 percent of all diseases. … Another five percent is caused by dislocated joints other than the vertebral column.”
Therefore, according to Palmer, subluxations of the spine are the ultimate cause of almost all diseases, although a few diseases are caused by the dislocation of other joints. Therefore, to heal any illness or disease, whatever is needed, he prepares the spine. And this is what chiropractors did in the early years: whether you were suffering from a headache or pneumonia or just a cold, they would weave your spine. Palmer also believed that poisoning ailments could be cured in this way, and even “cured” a case of food poisoning in his wife through chiropractic . Even mental illness, according to Palmer, is a result of spinal misalignment.
In addition to the belief that all illnesses are caused by misalignment of the spine, Palmer also believed that chiropractic was an element of religion. In 1895 Palmer sued one of his patients, known as “N. Wiltamuth”, for refusing to pay his chiropractic debt. Palmer provided‘s services. Wiltamuth’s defense was that Palmer was not a licensed medical practitioner, and thus did not owe him money. Palmer’s rebuttal was that chiropracticchiropractic has nothing to do with medicine or indeed all earthly science, because he was taught. the art from “Exalted Heaven.
Furthermore, in a letter written in 1911, Palmer stated: “We must have a religious head who is a founder, like Christ, Mohamed, Jo Smith, Mrs. Eddy, Martin Luther and others who founded religions. I am the source head. I am the author of chiropractic in science, in art in its philosophy and in the religious age.” Chiropractic, according to Palmer, is not only a method of healing, but a philosophy and much more a religion.
Over the years, most of what Palmer taught has been ignored by those chiropractic studies. Even most chiropractors do not claim that almost all diseases and ailments are caused by spinal subluxations. Today, chiropractors are generally considered to be nothing more than fancy massage therapists. A large proportion of patients visiting chiropractors for treatment of back problems, especially in the lower back, progress.
In order to legitimize chiropractic, many chiropractors today have distanced themselves from most of Palmer’s theories, especially in spinal manipulation therapy (SMT). It is recognized as a legitimate treatment for some ailments, although it is not usually done by most doctors, since there are almost always other methods of treatment available.
However, there are some chiropractors who believe that they were taught everything by Daniel David Palmer. If you run into such a chiropractor, touting the mystical benefits of spinal manipulation and spouting the belief that almost every ailment can be cured by playing with your spine, it’s best to beware. These ideas have absolutely no medical effect on anyone, and it is not recommended that you play around with your spine like that.
