The first known written account of manipulation can be traced as far back as 2700 B.C in the Far East. Examples can also be seen by ancient civilizations from Central America to Babylonia. For the 2000 years following that time, manipulation was mainly used to correct luxations.
Modern day chiropractic was founded in 1895 by Daniel David Palmer (D.D. Palmer). Although he was admittedly not the first person to manipulate the spine to heal various ailments, he did coin the term “chiropractic” and developed many of the chiropractic philosophies. Most importantly, D.D. Palmer began the Nerve Infringement Theory. The profession was furthered by his son B.J. Palmer, to specifically focus on the C1 (atlas) and C2 (axis) as the only two levels where the nerve could be impinged due to a subluxation. From his theories, B.J. developed a technique known as the (Palmer Hole-In-One/HIO).
This is where the battle over how chiropractic should be practiced originated. A battle began between practicing chiropractic in a Mechanic versus a Vitalistic manner. Vitalistic chiropractors focus on the belief that the body is controlled and healed by an innate intelligence, and believe that adjusting is the only necessity. Mechanistic chiropractors focus on analyzing the body mechanics and movement, in order to properly adjust and diagnose subluxations.
Today, many chiropractors are focusing on improving research. They want to solidify many of the theories so that chriopractors will be practicing evidence based medicine. |
