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The history of spinal manipulation dates back as far as 17,500 BC. Hippocrates believed that a misaligned spine affected the health of an individual. Modern day chiropractic goes back over 100 years, when the first adjustment was given by Dr. Daniel Palmer on September 18, 1895.
Many people have heard the story of how D.D. Palmer "discovered" chiropractic back in 1895. He had a thriving practice in Davenport, Iowa as what was then called a "magnetic" healer. One night, he was working late in his office when the janitor, Harvey Lillard, passed by. The old man was deaf and Palmer was curious as to how he had lost his hearing.
It turns out, Lillard explained, he was picking something up one day when he heard a "pop" in the back of his neck. Almost immediately, he noticed a decrease in his ability to hear and shortly afterwards could barely hear a thing. It had happened years before, and Lillard went to other doctors but finally had given up and accepted the fact he would have to live without sound.
Palmer pondered the situation. If something "popped" in Lillard's neck and made him lose his hearing, could that "something" be popped back so he could hear again? It was an intriguing premise and he began an examination of the old janitor's neck. He felt for anything that might be "out of place." After a while, he began working on the spinal bones in the area, and eventually "adjusted" one of them. Lillard regained his hearing.
That is what got D.D. Palmer interested in learning how the positions of the vertebrae affect nerve function.
This is a similar case of a man whose speech was restored through chiropractic! The case was reported in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics in 1991 and later summarized in the Health & Wellness report edited by Dean Black, Ph.D.
A 46 year-old man suffered from "spasmodic dysphonia," a constriction with the vocal chords that interferes with speech. He went from hoarseness to not being able to speak at all. The condition became so serious that any attempt to talk would make it difficult for him to breathe properly.
After seeing several medical doctors at two university hospitals, he decided to give chiropractic a try. The chiropractor found a vertebral subluxation (misalignment of the vertebra) in his upper spine. After only two adjustments, he was able to speak-although still with some difficulty. After the fifth adjustment, his speech had been completely restored.
It's nice to realize that, had they lived in the same era, these two men-one with new powers of speech and the other with restoring hearing-would have been able to talk and listen to each other...thanks to chiropractic.
"Healing revolutions are nothing new in America. Around the turn of the century, Americans had much greater freedom of choice in health care."
-Ted Koren, D.C.
Daney Chiropractic & Nutrition w104 East Dudley wMaumee, Ohio w419.891.1010
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