Chiropractic dates back to 1895 when an American named Daniel David Palmer, practising magnetic healing in Iowa, treated a janitor, Harvey Lillard, for hearing loss that had occurred 17 years previously.
Lillard explained that he had lost his hearing when he felt something ‘give way’ in his back whilst working in a cramped, stooping position. Palmer examined him and determined that a vertebra in his spine was misaligned. Palmer reasoned that if the vertebra was replaced the man’s hearing would be restored. So, using a thrust on the vertebra Palmer adjusted the bone and it is reported that Lillard’s hearing returned. Thus, the first chiropractic adjustment was deemed to have been made.
Chiropractic has now spread worldwide into Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Europe to name but a few. In the UK, any person wishing to study Chiropractic before 1965 had to attend a college in the US but in 1965 the Anglo European School of Chiropractic (AECC) was set up in Bournemouth. Subsequently other colleges have been established and prospective students may now study at colleges in Bournemouth, Abingdon (Oxford), Manchester, London, Teeside, South Wales and Londonderry (Ireland).
The profession is regulated by the General Chiropractic Council (GCC), established after the passing of the Chiropractors Act of 1994; with its directive to set standards, protect patients and promote the profession. All Chiropractors must register with the GCC, who demand strict educational criteria for registration and monitor subsequent practise. It is an offence for anyone not on this register to call him- or her-self a Chiropractor.