Happy Birthday, Chiropractic!
On September 18, 1895, a deaf janitor named Harvey Lillard had his hearing restored after he received the first chiropractic adjustment by Daniel David (D.D.) Palmer.
Here are the events as described by Palmer:
“Harvey Lillard, a janitor, in the Ryan Block, where I had my office, had been so deaf for 17 years that he could not hear the racket of a wagon on the street or the ticking of a watch. I made inquiry as to the cause of his deafness and was informed that when he was exerting himself in a cramped, stooping position, he felt something give way in his back and immediately became deaf. An examination showed a vertebra racked from its normal position. I reasoned that if that vertebra was replaced, the man’s hearing should be restored. With this object in view, a half‑hour’s talk persuaded Mr. Lillard to allow me to replace it. I racked it into position by using the spinous process as a lever and soon the man could hear as before. There was nothing ‘accidental’ about this, as it was accomplished with an object in view, and the result expected was obtained. There was nothing ‘crude’ about this adjustment; it was specific,…”
At first, D.D. thought he had stumbled upon the cure for deafness. News traveled quickly about Harvey Lillard’s miraculous recovery, and deaf individuals came from all around to be “cured.” However, not everyone who was deaf had their hearing restored. Instead, they reported recovery of other maladies that were plaguing them: dysentery, colds, flu, heart issues, digestive disorders, etc… This is when D.D. knew he had stumbled onto something great. He had discovered the “cure” for the cause of all dis-ease and a method to improve the human condition.
Within a few years, D.D. Palmer started the Palmer School of Chiropractic, the first chiropractic school, located in Davenport, Iowa. One of the first graduates of the school was his son, Bartlett Joshua (B.J.) Palmer. D.D. is known as the founder of chiropractic, and B.J. is known as the developer of chiropractic. B.J., a progressive thinker, had a huge vision for chiropractic and its potential to help people, communities, and entire nations. The following excerpt, The Big Idea, from one of his books is one of his more famous writings.
The Big Idea
A slip on the snowy sidewalk in winter is a small thing. It happens to millions.
A fall from a ladder in the summer is a small thing. It also happens to millions.
The slip or fall produces a subluxation. The subluxation is a small thing.
The subluxation produces pressure on a nerve. That pressure is a small thing.
That decreased flowing produces a dis-eased body and brain. That is a big thing to that man.
Multiply that sick man by a thousand, and you control the physical and mental welfare of a city.
Multiply that man by one hundred thirty million, and you forecast and can prophesy the physical and mental status of a nation.
So the slip or fall, the subluxation, pressure, flow of mental images and dis-ease are big enough to control the thoughts and actions of a nation.
Now comes a man. And one man is a small thing.
This man gives an adjustment. The adjustment is a small thing.
The adjustment replaces the subluxation. That is a small thing.
The adjusted subluxation releases pressure upon nerves. That is a small thing.
The released pressure restores health to a man. This is a big thing to that man.
Multiply that well man by a thousand, and you step up the physical and mental welfare of a city.
Multiply that well man by a million, and you increase the efficiency of a state.
Multiply that well man by a hundred thirty million, and you have produced a healthy, wealthy, and better race for posterity.
So, the adjustment of the subluxation to release pressure upon nerves, to restore mental impulse flow, to restore health, is big enough to rebuild the thoughts and actions of the world.
The idea that knows the cause, that can correct the cause of dis-ease, is one of the biggest ideas known. Without it, nations fall; with it, nations rise.
This idea is the biggest I know of.
– B.J. Palmer, 1944
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