130 YEARS AGO TODAY, on September 18, 1895, the healing art of Chiropractic was given birth through the magnetic healing hands of Dr. Daniel David Palmer. He corrected a “lump” (a subluxated vertebra) that had appeared in his deaf janitor’s neck as he was bent forward and some boxes fell on his head. As the story goes, Dr. Palmer pushed on the lump (subluxated vertebra) to restore the vertebra to its proper alignment in his neck, and Harvey Lillard’s hearing returned. Since he had performed this vertebral adjustment with his hands only, he came to call his spinal manipulation “Chiropractic,” which derived from the phrase, “done by hand.” “D.D. Palmer asked a patient and friend, Rev. Samuel Weed, to help him name his discovery. He suggested combining the Greek words cheiros and praktikos (meaning “done by hand”) to describe Palmer’s treatment method, creating the term “chiropractic.” (Wikipedia)
“DD’s son, “BJ” (Bartlett J. Palmer) — while his father wanted to keep his newfound healing technique private — took up his father’s discovery and developed chiropractic into a professional healing philosophy, science and art. BJ came to be known as the “Developer” of Chiropractic, in that he expanded the field, emphasizing research, education, and public outreach. He introduced X-rays and other scientific methods into the profession and was instrumental in developing the Palmer School of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, as an internationally recognized institution. His efforts helped standardize chiropractic education and broaden public acceptance of chiropractic care. This succinctly sums up Chiropractic’s humble beginnings. For more details of its history go to www.cedarhealth.ca+2.
What BJ really focused on and gave voice to in his many books was and is the science and “Innate Philosophy” of the art of adjusting the subluxated vertebrae of the human spinal column to remove the interference to the flow of innate intelligence through the spine and nervous system and to the malfunctioning part of the physiology, bringing the healing currents of life from “above, down, inside and out.” This came to be called “Palmer’s Law of Life.” BJ was a very ambitious, if a bit arrogant, individual.
I will focus on the science and philosophy of the art of Chiropractic in this blog series. Chiropractic has a most colorful and dramatic history, which I write about in my booklet Rediscovering the Soul of Chiropractic. My article had made its debut in the year 2000 issue of TODAY’S CHIROPRACTIC.
I’m looking forward to sharing with you some of Chiropractic’s colorful and often turbulent history, along with my experience, often seemingly miraculous, as a chiropractor and “carrier of the torch,” of the philosophy of this wonderful healing methodology. Until my next post,
Be love. Be loved.
Anthony Palombo, D.C.
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Healing Tones 
Comments on: "“Above, Down, Inside, Out”" (1)
Yes, to celebrating a legacy of health, aligning bodies and inspiring lives! Palmer’s vision is still strong and growing 130 year later!