De grondlegger van de chiropractie is de Amerikaan Daniel David Palmer (1844-1913). Zijn theorie is gebaseerd op die van Hippocrates, de 'Vader van de geneeskunde', namelijk dat de oorzaak van ziekten in de wervelkolom gezocht kan worden.
De wervelkolom beschermt het ruggenmerg, dat samen met de hersenen het centraal zenuwstelsel vormt. Indien zich in de wervelkolom functiestoornissen voor doen, dan ontstaat er, zo stelde D.D. Palmer, ook storingen in de doorstroming van de zenuwimpulsen door het ruggenmerg en de daaruit aftakkende zenuwen.
Door deze functiestoornissen in de wervelkolom op te heffen, kunnen zenuwimpulsen onbelemmerd hun doel bereiken, waardoor organen en weefsels goed kunnen functioneren.
English:
The writings of Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.), Galen (130-200 A.D.), and even ancient manuscripts of the Egyptians, Hindus, and Chinese reveal some principles common to chiropractic. Its place in modern health care is largely attributed to Dr. Daniel David Palmer, who founded the first chiropractic collegein Davenport, Iowa, in 1895.
In the late 1800s, Dr. D.D. Palmer was a healer and a teacher trying to understand the cause and effect of disease. His first chiropractic adjustment was performed in 1895 on a man who was deaf. The loss of hearing was associated with his back "giving out" while working several years prior to meeting up with Dr. Palmer. Dr. Palmer was able to restore his hearing by realigning the man's spine.
The second such adjustment provided relief for another patient who was suffering from heart trouble. Dr. Palmer theorized that "if two diseases, so dissimilar as deafness and heart trouble, came from impingement, a pressure on nerves, were not other diseases due to a similar cause?"
He began developing his adjustment techniques and was soon getting results with many different conditions, from colic to ear infections to headaches. Dr. Palmer went on to found the Palmer School of Chiropractic in Iowa. Because of its success in healing, the new profession grew quickly.
All 50 states and many countries recognize chiropractic as a health-care profession. Today, there are more than 50,000 chiropractors in the United States alone, and there are 26 chiropractic colleges worldwide. Chiropractic is one of health care's fastest-growing fields simply because it's safe, natural, drugless, non-invasive, and effective. |
