These days, chiropractic care is a significant and vitally important part of healthcare in the United States and the world, with more than 35 million people visiting a DC every year. But, we also know that the field of chiropractic care hasn't always been so widely popular and accepted (that's an understatement!). So, today we wanted to highlight the timeline of chiropractic, tracing its development, tribulations, and growth from the mid 1800s to 2018 - and beyond.
1845 Daniel David Palmer was born in Port Perry, Ontario, Canada on March 7, 1845.
1882 His son, Bartlett Joshua Palmer, was born in What Cheer, Iowa on September 14, 1882.
1896: In an attempt to improve his hearing, Dr. D.D. Palmer administers two adjustments to the spine of Mr. Harvey Lillard, who becomes the first chiropractic patient.
1896 (Spring): Reverend Samuel Weed suggests the word ‘chiropractic,’ from Greek words for “treatment” and “by hand,” which D.D. Palmer uses to coin the phrase that we now know.
1896 (July): D.D. Palmer starts the Palmer School of Magnetic Cure, with Leroy Baker as his first chiropractic student.
1906: D.D. Palmer is arrested for a violation of medical law that required medical doctors to report themselves, and put in prison for 23 days. Palmer remains adamant that he is a “chiropractor” and not a medical doctor, and therefore not subject to that law.
1906 : During his father’s imprisonment, B.J. Palmer takes up the position as Principal of the Palmer School.
1906: To protect chiropractors being charged with the unlicensed practice of medicine, The Universal Chiropractors' Association (UCA) is founded in Davenport, Iowa, provide legal protection and, eventually, educational and political advocacy.
1907: Shegetaro Morikubo, DC, is the first known chiropractor acquitted of the charges of unlicensed practice. The 1906 graduate of the Palmer School of Chiropractic was acquitted by a jury in LaCrosse, Wisconsin after putting up a legal defense that avails chiropractic, used many times in future trials and even legislative efforts.
1910: D.D. Palmer releases his famous book, The Chiropractor's Adjuster: The Science, Art & Philosophy of Chiropractic.
1910 : X-rays were first applied for taking images of the body’s skeletal system.
1913 (April 20): Kansas passes the first chiropractic statute, but assembling Board of Chiropractic Examiners is halted when the governor refuses to appoint members of the board because, in his opinion, all chiropractors had practiced illegally before the statute’s passage.
1913 (Oct. 20): D.D. Palmer passes away from typhoid fever at his home in Los Angeles. His son B.J. Palmer, DC, will later be unjustly accused of his death.
1915 : The concept of Major Subluxation was first proposed, described as: "Displacements of spinal segment which is causing deterioration of the innate self healing power are only a few in the skeletal system in the body."
1915- Arkansas and North Dakota were the first states to issue chiropractic licenses to graduates of chiropractic schools.
1918-1922: When World War I ends, the U.S. government pays tuition for veterans, boosting enrollment in chiropractic colleges like the Palmer School of Chiropractic, which reaches 3,000 students. In fact, 80 chiropractic colleges are in operation by 1922.
1922: The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is formed, in large part to oppose Dr. B.J. Palmer and the Universal Chiropractors' Association.
1924 (August): B.J. Palmer, DC, first introduces the neuro-calometer.
1925: Wisconsin and Connecticut are the first states to pass rudimentary statutes protecting the sciences, laws that will one day spread to 24 states.
1926 (September): B.J. Palmer loses his bid for re-election as secretary of the Universal Chiropractors' Association. Within a week, he establishes the Chiropractic Health Bureau, which was later renamed the International Chiropractors Association (ICA).
1930: The National Chiropractic Association (NCA) is born when the existing UCA and the ACA combine.
1931: The Rise of Chiropractic, an early history of the profession, is published by Chittenden Turner.
1933: The upright full-spine X-ray is introduced by Warren L. Sausser, DC, in New York City.
1940 (July 20): The Allied Chiropractic Educational Institutions (ACEI) issue an ultimatum to the National Chiropractic Association and its Committee on Education that instruction in physiotherapeutics and the expanding of the chiropractic curriculum must stop. It’s the start of a heated, three-decade fight over chiropractic educational standards.
1941: The NCA publishes the first edition of Chiropractic Education: Outline of a Standard Course, authored by John J. Nugent, DC.
1944: The Chiropractic Research Foundation, known today as the “FCER,” is established by the National Chiropractic Association.
1945: When World War II ends, the G.I. Bills helps tens of thousands of returning veterans pursue higher education and, once again, enrollment in chiropractic colleges skyrockets.
1945 (December): The National Chiropractic Insurance Company (known as the NCMIC Group today) is chartered by the National Chiropractic Association. Starting in 1946, this new company is authorized the Iowa Commissioner of Insurance to sell malpractice insurance.
1947 (Aug. 4): The NCA House of Delegates establishes the Council on Education, the precursor to today’s Council on Chiropractic Education.
May 27, 1961: B.J. Palmer passes away in Sarasota, Florida. The son of D.D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, lived a turbulent, enigmatic life, including being falsely accused oh his father's death. But posthumously, his commitment to chiropractic inspires others in the field to put aside their differences and come together, uniting into what would be the American Chiropractic Association three years later.
1962-63: The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) is founded, granted a charter by the officers of the Council of State Chiropractic Examining Boards (COSCEB).
November 1963: The American Medical Association (AMA) forms a Committee on Quackery, with the sole intention of discrediting and impeding the profession of chiropractic, hoping to drive it out of business.
1963-64: The present-day American Chiropractic Association is born after the NCA and a splinter group from the ICA merge.
1965: Two Louisiana chiropractors, William D. Harper, MS, DC, and Joseph Janse, DC, ND, must testify in federal court in regards to the "England Case.,” in an attempt to overturn the state’s prohibitive medical practice act, which classifies chiropractic as the practice of medicine. Unfortunately, despite Harper and Hanse’s testimony, the case is lost, forcing chiropractors in Louisiana to practice underground and illegally until 1974, when a chiropractic statue legitimizes the field.
1971: The New York State Department of Education grants accreditation to the National College of Chiropractic. Therefore, the National College of Chiropractic became the first chiropractic school in the nation to achieve this federally-recognized designation.
1972: For the first time, Congress rubber stamps payments to chiropractors for treatments offered to Medicare patients.
August 26, 1974: The U.S. Commissioner of Education first recognizes the authority of The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) to accredit chiropractic schools.
1974: Reversing the milestone case a decade earlier, Louisiana authorizes the practice of chiropractic, becoming the 50th and final American state to do so.
1974: The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), is formally recognized by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. That same year, the Foundation for Accredited Chiropractic Education is overhauled and renamed as the Foundation of Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER).
1975: The U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare sponsors a comprehensive research seminar on spinal manipulation, the International Spinal Manipulation Conference. Aimed at raising awareness for the need for more research, the Chiropractic Research Council (CRC) is formed thanks to this initiative, with the purpose of assimilating research directors from the best chiropractic colleges in the country.
1978 : The government of New Zealand issues the "New Zealand Report" on chiropractic. (For more information, see: Inglis, BD, Chiropractic in New Zealand: Report of the Commission of Inquiry, Government Printer, New Zealand, 1979)
1979: The Foundation of Chiropractic Education and Research grows its research program, including a new competitive scientific review process for submitted proposals.
1988 : The World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) is organized, with 50 member countries.
1990 : A milestone British study funded by the Medical Research Council, the National Back Pain Association, the European Chiropractors Union, and the King Edward's Hospital Fund for London affirms the efficacy of chiropractic.
1991 : The World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) hosts a conference in Toronto, Canada with help from the American Low Back Pain Academy.
1992: Author Walter I. Wardwell, PhD, published a scholarly volume of chiropractic history entitled, Chiropractic: History & Evolution of a New Profession.
1993 : A WFC Conference is held in London, England.
1994: The U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy & Research releases their Clinical Practice Guidelines for Acute Low Back Problems in Adults, advocating for spinal manipulative therapy for low back pain.
1995: The profession of chiropractic celebrates its 100th year anniversary, with commemorations and celebrations held in Washington, D.C., Davenport, Iowa, and other cities.
1996: The Association of Chiropractic Colleges releases a paradigm of chiropractic, which ends up being well respected and used by state, national and international chiropractic organizations.
1998: The American Chiropractic Association files a lawsuit against the federal government, aiming to ensure the rights of patients to receive chiropractic care and treatment with Medicare.
2004:
A comprehensive study by the U.S. government reveals that more than 40 million people have received chiropractic care, as well as the growing popularity of chiropractic and other alternative healthcare options.
2010:
A major study concludes that when patients suffering from low back pain initiate treatment with a doctor of chiropractic (DC), they save 40% on healthcare costs compared to first visiting a medical doctor. Published in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, the “Cost of Care for Common Back Pain Conditions Initiated With Chiropractic Doctor vs. Medical Doctor/Doctor of Osteopathy as First Physician studied data from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee over a two-year period, revealing a $2.3 million annual cost savings for BCBS of Tennessee by utilizing chiropractic as a first option.
2018:
Chiropractic is a crucial part of healthcare, with more than 35 million people visiting a DC annually, and a viable solution to help stem the opioid painkiller epidemic in America. Chiropractic care continues to grow!
1845 Daniel David Palmer was born in Port Perry, Ontario, Canada on March 7, 1845.
1882 His son, Bartlett Joshua Palmer, was born in What Cheer, Iowa on September 14, 1882.
1896: In an attempt to improve his hearing, Dr. D.D. Palmer administers two adjustments to the spine of Mr. Harvey Lillard, who becomes the first chiropractic patient.
1896 (Spring): Reverend Samuel Weed suggests the word ‘chiropractic,’ from Greek words for “treatment” and “by hand,” which D.D. Palmer uses to coin the phrase that we now know.
1896 (July): D.D. Palmer starts the Palmer School of Magnetic Cure, with Leroy Baker as his first chiropractic student.
1906: D.D. Palmer is arrested for a violation of medical law that required medical doctors to report themselves, and put in prison for 23 days. Palmer remains adamant that he is a “chiropractor” and not a medical doctor, and therefore not subject to that law.
1906 : During his father’s imprisonment, B.J. Palmer takes up the position as Principal of the Palmer School.
1906: To protect chiropractors being charged with the unlicensed practice of medicine, The Universal Chiropractors' Association (UCA) is founded in Davenport, Iowa, provide legal protection and, eventually, educational and political advocacy.
1907: Shegetaro Morikubo, DC, is the first known chiropractor acquitted of the charges of unlicensed practice. The 1906 graduate of the Palmer School of Chiropractic was acquitted by a jury in LaCrosse, Wisconsin after putting up a legal defense that avails chiropractic, used many times in future trials and even legislative efforts.
1910: D.D. Palmer releases his famous book, The Chiropractor's Adjuster: The Science, Art & Philosophy of Chiropractic.
1910 : X-rays were first applied for taking images of the body’s skeletal system.
1913 (April 20): Kansas passes the first chiropractic statute, but assembling Board of Chiropractic Examiners is halted when the governor refuses to appoint members of the board because, in his opinion, all chiropractors had practiced illegally before the statute’s passage.
1913 (Oct. 20): D.D. Palmer passes away from typhoid fever at his home in Los Angeles. His son B.J. Palmer, DC, will later be unjustly accused of his death.
1915 : The concept of Major Subluxation was first proposed, described as: "Displacements of spinal segment which is causing deterioration of the innate self healing power are only a few in the skeletal system in the body."
1915- Arkansas and North Dakota were the first states to issue chiropractic licenses to graduates of chiropractic schools.
1918-1922: When World War I ends, the U.S. government pays tuition for veterans, boosting enrollment in chiropractic colleges like the Palmer School of Chiropractic, which reaches 3,000 students. In fact, 80 chiropractic colleges are in operation by 1922.
1922: The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is formed, in large part to oppose Dr. B.J. Palmer and the Universal Chiropractors' Association.
1924 (August): B.J. Palmer, DC, first introduces the neuro-calometer.
1925: Wisconsin and Connecticut are the first states to pass rudimentary statutes protecting the sciences, laws that will one day spread to 24 states.
1926 (September): B.J. Palmer loses his bid for re-election as secretary of the Universal Chiropractors' Association. Within a week, he establishes the Chiropractic Health Bureau, which was later renamed the International Chiropractors Association (ICA).
1930: The National Chiropractic Association (NCA) is born when the existing UCA and the ACA combine.
1931: The Rise of Chiropractic, an early history of the profession, is published by Chittenden Turner.
1933: The upright full-spine X-ray is introduced by Warren L. Sausser, DC, in New York City.
1940 (July 20): The Allied Chiropractic Educational Institutions (ACEI) issue an ultimatum to the National Chiropractic Association and its Committee on Education that instruction in physiotherapeutics and the expanding of the chiropractic curriculum must stop. It’s the start of a heated, three-decade fight over chiropractic educational standards.
1941: The NCA publishes the first edition of Chiropractic Education: Outline of a Standard Course, authored by John J. Nugent, DC.
1944: The Chiropractic Research Foundation, known today as the “FCER,” is established by the National Chiropractic Association.
1945: When World War II ends, the G.I. Bills helps tens of thousands of returning veterans pursue higher education and, once again, enrollment in chiropractic colleges skyrockets.
1945 (December): The National Chiropractic Insurance Company (known as the NCMIC Group today) is chartered by the National Chiropractic Association. Starting in 1946, this new company is authorized the Iowa Commissioner of Insurance to sell malpractice insurance.
1947 (Aug. 4): The NCA House of Delegates establishes the Council on Education, the precursor to today’s Council on Chiropractic Education.
May 27, 1961: B.J. Palmer passes away in Sarasota, Florida. The son of D.D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, lived a turbulent, enigmatic life, including being falsely accused oh his father's death. But posthumously, his commitment to chiropractic inspires others in the field to put aside their differences and come together, uniting into what would be the American Chiropractic Association three years later.
1962-63: The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) is founded, granted a charter by the officers of the Council of State Chiropractic Examining Boards (COSCEB).
November 1963: The American Medical Association (AMA) forms a Committee on Quackery, with the sole intention of discrediting and impeding the profession of chiropractic, hoping to drive it out of business.
1963-64: The present-day American Chiropractic Association is born after the NCA and a splinter group from the ICA merge.
1965: Two Louisiana chiropractors, William D. Harper, MS, DC, and Joseph Janse, DC, ND, must testify in federal court in regards to the "England Case.,” in an attempt to overturn the state’s prohibitive medical practice act, which classifies chiropractic as the practice of medicine. Unfortunately, despite Harper and Hanse’s testimony, the case is lost, forcing chiropractors in Louisiana to practice underground and illegally until 1974, when a chiropractic statue legitimizes the field.
1971: The New York State Department of Education grants accreditation to the National College of Chiropractic. Therefore, the National College of Chiropractic became the first chiropractic school in the nation to achieve this federally-recognized designation.
1972: For the first time, Congress rubber stamps payments to chiropractors for treatments offered to Medicare patients.
August 26, 1974: The U.S. Commissioner of Education first recognizes the authority of The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) to accredit chiropractic schools.
1974: Reversing the milestone case a decade earlier, Louisiana authorizes the practice of chiropractic, becoming the 50th and final American state to do so.
1974: The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), is formally recognized by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. That same year, the Foundation for Accredited Chiropractic Education is overhauled and renamed as the Foundation of Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER).
1975: The U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare sponsors a comprehensive research seminar on spinal manipulation, the International Spinal Manipulation Conference. Aimed at raising awareness for the need for more research, the Chiropractic Research Council (CRC) is formed thanks to this initiative, with the purpose of assimilating research directors from the best chiropractic colleges in the country.
1978 : The government of New Zealand issues the "New Zealand Report" on chiropractic. (For more information, see: Inglis, BD, Chiropractic in New Zealand: Report of the Commission of Inquiry, Government Printer, New Zealand, 1979)
1979: The Foundation of Chiropractic Education and Research grows its research program, including a new competitive scientific review process for submitted proposals.
1988 : The World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) is organized, with 50 member countries.
1990 : A milestone British study funded by the Medical Research Council, the National Back Pain Association, the European Chiropractors Union, and the King Edward's Hospital Fund for London affirms the efficacy of chiropractic.
1991 : The World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) hosts a conference in Toronto, Canada with help from the American Low Back Pain Academy.
1992: Author Walter I. Wardwell, PhD, published a scholarly volume of chiropractic history entitled, Chiropractic: History & Evolution of a New Profession.
1993 : A WFC Conference is held in London, England.
1994: The U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy & Research releases their Clinical Practice Guidelines for Acute Low Back Problems in Adults, advocating for spinal manipulative therapy for low back pain.
1995: The profession of chiropractic celebrates its 100th year anniversary, with commemorations and celebrations held in Washington, D.C., Davenport, Iowa, and other cities.
1996: The Association of Chiropractic Colleges releases a paradigm of chiropractic, which ends up being well respected and used by state, national and international chiropractic organizations.
1998: The American Chiropractic Association files a lawsuit against the federal government, aiming to ensure the rights of patients to receive chiropractic care and treatment with Medicare.
2004:
A comprehensive study by the U.S. government reveals that more than 40 million people have received chiropractic care, as well as the growing popularity of chiropractic and other alternative healthcare options.
2010:
A major study concludes that when patients suffering from low back pain initiate treatment with a doctor of chiropractic (DC), they save 40% on healthcare costs compared to first visiting a medical doctor. Published in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, the “Cost of Care for Common Back Pain Conditions Initiated With Chiropractic Doctor vs. Medical Doctor/Doctor of Osteopathy as First Physician studied data from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee over a two-year period, revealing a $2.3 million annual cost savings for BCBS of Tennessee by utilizing chiropractic as a first option.
2018:
Chiropractic is a crucial part of healthcare, with more than 35 million people visiting a DC annually, and a viable solution to help stem the opioid painkiller epidemic in America. Chiropractic care continues to grow!
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