A Concise History of Chiropractic

Chiropractic was born in 1895, when D.D. Palmer first implemented his innovative methods on the neck vertebrae of Harvey Lillard, who complained of deafness from a previous injury. The “adjustment” restored his hearing completely! It wasn't long before D.D. Palmer understood that the effectiveness of chiropractic lay in its direct and powerful influence on the joints and nervous system. The fact is that chiropractors alone — in the entire modern landscape of professional healthcare — have the ability to restore nervous system function to their patients.

The body's nervous system is comprised of the brain, the spinal cord, and the nerve roots. The nervous system is basically the body's primary communication center. It organizes and dispatches signals around the entire body, to regulate heartbeat, blood flow, breathing, and digestion, as well as determine muscle strength and control hearing — and if it were not for our nervous system, the miracle of birth would not be possible.

The nervous system is the most protected component of the human body. The “bony armor” we naturally grow — the skull and spinal column — surround and protect the nervous system as much as is possible. As the body takes on its day-to-day stresses and begins to break down, damages can occur to the nervous system. The many systems of your body dependent on the relays from the nervous system are then put in danger. Neglected, the vertebrae may deteriorate. The subsequent spinal misalignment interferes with the nervous system's ability to function, which in turn limits the body's ability to function. This limited functionality is the root of many problems people face every day. Damage sustained by the nerve roots in spinal decay in turn suppresses the transmission of messages between the brain and specific organs.

The damage may lay below perceptibility for a long time, before symptoms begin to surface. Back pain, headaches, numbness, fatigue, and countless other conditions do often eventually emerge, however, when the spine is unchecked.

A personal program of chiropractic and wellness care may clear your body of these symptoms and help you to overcome other injuries sustained throughout your life. Chiropractors, or Doctors of Chiropractic, are highly trained in forms of medicine that don't rely on the use of drugs to treat patients. While it's a fact that no single approach could work for the various ailments, patients and doctors practicing in the field, all Doctors of Chiropractic have a mastery of spinal manipulation, or chiropractic adjustment, which can serve to address the underlying problems.

Furthermore, chiropractors know the value of holistic care, and advocate a generally healthy lifestyle, characterized by proper nutrition and a positive state of mind, as well as other critical initiatives. Each of these steps is a crucial component of the healing process, in that they set the environment in which recovery takes place, and control the likelihood of future injury. It's common for doctors to hear from their patients that the chiropractic adjustments simply “feel good!” Clearly, something good is happening that the body is reacting to. After a healthy, extended regimen of chiropractic adjustment, the body comes to acclimate to the consistent flow of information to specific organs, and the treatment of long-standing conditions becomes possible. Occasionally, a chiropractic adjustment will lead to pain or discomfort.