Origins
Chiropractic has an ageless place in health care. Hippocrates, the “father of modern medicine” utilized “manipulation” in his treatments. Spinal manipulation, chiropractic’s primary treatment, is used instead of drugs or surgery to promote the body’s natural healing process. One of the earliest indications of soft tissue manipulation is demonstrated by the ancient Chinese Kong Fou Document written about 2700 B.C., which was brought to the Western World by missionaries. Chiropractic became more recognized in the late 1800’s when Daniel David Palmer gave an “adjustment” to what was felt to be a misplaced vertebra in the upper spine of a deaf janitor. The janitor then observed that his hearing improved.
ChiropracticDerived from the Greek words “Cheir” meaning HAND |
These two prints, which were taken from the original and discovered at the Tai Chung Medical School in Taipei, China, are estimated at more than 3,000 years old. They were inscribed on the breast plate of a tortoise shell. They illustrate the various forms of ancient spinal adjustments.