What is Chiropractic?

    Chiropractic is an approach to healthcare that focuses on the body's natural healing abilities. In modern times, it was Dr. Daniel D. Palmer (1895) who proposed that because of the integral interrelationship between the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system, dysfunction in the former can cause dysfunction in the latter. This, in turn, can lead to disorders in other systems of the body. Within limits the body is a self-healing organism and Chiropractic tries to remove interferences to the body's own inborn healing abilities.Chiropractic is a modern health practice with historical roots. Ancient Egyptian and Chinese art works illustrate spinal manipulations. In the fifth century B.C., already Hippocrates developed theories of spinal mechanics and the role of manipulation in the overall health of the human body. However, as other forms of medicine developed further, manipulation stayed in the background until 1895, when Dr. Palmer adjusted the spine of a man who had lost his hearing after his neck 'popped' in an accident. The patient's hearing was successfully restored, and Dr. Palmer began teaching the clinical applications of his ideas. Since then Chiropractic has dramatically grown as a health care profession, with now more than 50,000 doctors practicing in the U.S. alone. For the past 100 years, people of all ages have benefited greatly from Chiropractic's drugless, non-surgical approach to better health. Often new patients initially visit a Chiropractor to relieve pain and soon realize that Chiropractic does more. By removing nerves interference from the spinal column, and sometimes from other joints as well, Chiropractors help patients achieve and maintain good health and improve physical performance. Chiropractic in fact has a fundamental focus on preventive care and well being. (information compiled from brochures of chiropractic educational institutions