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On September 18, 1895, D.D. Palmer performed the first ever chiropractic adjustment at his office in Davenport, manipulating the spine on a deaf janitor and thereby creating a system of therapy in which disease is considered the result of abnormal function of the nervous system.
Although accounts of what happened differ, the positive impact of the manipulation on Lillard's hearing spurred Palmer to continue investigating the science of his discovery. Today, chiropractics is practiced around the world and the Palmer College of Chiropractics in Davenport has played a major role in the local economy.
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D.D. Palmer: Father of Chiropractics
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Palmer told biographers that he was investigating the medical history of a deaf man when he learned that the patient, Harvey Lillard, had been working in a cramped area 17 years earlier and felt a pop in his back and had been nearly deaf ever since. Palmer said he found a lump on Lillard's spine which indicated spinal misalignment and the possible cause of the hearing problem. When Palmer manipulated the spine, Lillard reported that he could hear the wheels of horse-drawn carts in the street below.
Years later, Lillard's daughter, Valdeenia Lillard Simons, disputed the account, saying that her father had told her he was telling jokes to a friend outside Palmer's office and Palmer, who was reading, joined them. When Lillard reached the punch line, Palmer laughed heartily and slapped the janitor on the back. A few days later, Lillard told Palmer that his hearing had improved, and Palmer decided to begin exploring the art of chiropractics. Simons complained at the time that her father had been promised he would beneift financially from
what she claimed was an accidental discovery. However, he never received any remuneration
Next, Palmer began considering a heart problem he was suffering from and discovered that one of his own vertebra was pressing against the nerves near the heart. He adjusted the vertebra and reported immediate improvement to his health. "I began to reason if two diseases, so dissimilar as deafness and heart trouble, came from impingement, a pressure on nerves, were not other disease due to a similar cause? Thus the science (knowledge) and art (adjusting) of Chiropractic were formed at that time."
The word "chiropractic" was the suggestion of Palmer's patient and friend, Rev. Samuel Weed, who suggested combining the words cheiros and praktikos (meaning "done by hand") to describe Palmer's treatment method, creating the term chiropractic.
In 1896, D.D. added a school to his magnetic healing infirmary, and began to teach others his method. It would be become known as Palmer School of Chiropractic, now Palmer College of Chiropractic. Among the first graduates was his son, B.J. Palmer, who would later head the school.
D.D. Palmer