Fun Facts About Chiropractic Care

July 15, 2024

Did you know that chiropractic care is recognized and is legally regulated in 49 different countries? Here in the U.S., all 50 states allow licensed chiropractors to offer care. It wouldn’t be surprising if you didn’t know those things: most people probably wouldn’t. Read on as a local Burnsville, MN chiropractor goes over some fun facts about chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Has Been Around A Long Time

We’ll delve into the more modern history of chiropractic in a bit. Let’s start at the beginning … with Hippocrates, who is often called the Father of Modern Medicine. Back in 450 BC, he wrote the following phrase: Look Well To The Spine For The Cause Of Disease.

Hippocrates also said that the function of the skeleton and the spine is to form the shape of the body and keep us upright.

Joint manipulation wasn’t only seen in Greece. It is also mentioned in the oldest known medical text, the Edwin Smith papyrus of 1552 BC. The text describes the Ancient Egyptian treatment of bone-related injuries: they were wrapped and set in casts, much as broken bones are today.

Modern Chiropractic History

Moving further ahead in history, we can trace modern chiropractic practices back to the late 19^th century. In 1895, a healer named Daniel David—or DD for short—Palmer accidentally performed what is now known as a chiropractic adjustment.

Two years later, Palmer started the very first school of chiropractic. That college, the Palmer College Of Chiropractic, is still active today and is considered the leader in chiropractic education.

All In The Family

DD Palmer passed his interest in chiropractic to his son, Bartlett Joshua Palmer, D.C., who was called B.J. B.J.’s son, David D. Palmer, D.C., also became involved. The fourth generation of Palmers, David’s daughters, are still active in the school today, and have all served the college or sat on its board of trustees.

Healing Arts

The story of Palmer’s first patient is pretty interesting. The first person Palmer adjusted was a janitor named Harvey Lillard. Lillard, who was African American, owned a cleaning company that serviced the building where Palmer was practicing magnetic healing.

The two were chatting one day, and Dr. Palmer noticed that Harvey had a vertebrae that was out of place. He asked Harvey about it. Harvey told Palmer that one day, about seventeen years prior, he had been picking up a wagon wheel when he heard a pop in his neck and immediately lost his hearing.

Palmer examined Harvey’s neck and found what we now refer to as a subluxation, which is a vertebrae that is out of place. Palmer deduced that this was the source of Harvey’s deafness, and thought he could fix the issue by manipulating the spine and moving that vertebra back into position. The result? Harvey got his hearing back! He told Palmer that he could hear the “racket on the streets.”

Word soon spread about the incident, and before long people were coming to Palmer from all over the place.

It’s More Popular Than You May Realize

It’s estimated that more than one million chiropractic adjustments happen every day.

It’s Not Just For Neck/Back Pain

Chiropractic treatment can be used to treat a variety of issues, including headaches, whiplash, strains and sprains, sports injuries, arthritis, and more.

There Are A Lot Of Chiropractors In The World

According to research, there are about 100,000 registered Chiropractors in the world. There are over 70,000 here in the U.S., with about 10,000 students attending accredited schools to study chiropractic care every year.

It’s Very Safe

Chiropractic treatments are extremely safe. In fact, the odds of someone getting a fatal neck injury from treatment by a registered, licensed chiropractor are just one in a million. In fact, out of hundreds of thousands of patients, less than 50 known injuries have been recorded.

You may have heard the saying about bad news traveling fast. That applies here. There are between one and three reported cases of stroke every year … but that is out of over one million patients. To put it another way, the odds of getting injured by a chiropractor are about 40 in 100,000. The number for those being injured by primary care doctors is 153 out of 100,000

More Women Than Men Use Chiropractic

Well over half of chiropractic patients are female. (The exact number is sixty percent.) Most patients are middle-aged, or between the ages of 45 and 64. For younger patients, the majority are between 12 and 17.

It Can Save You Money

Patients save about $83.5 million a year by going to a chiropractor instead of an MD for chronic back pain. Chiropractic care also lowers pharmaceutical costs by as much as 58%.

It Takes Years Of Training

Before becoming a licensed chiropractor, one is required to complete at least 4200 hours of study, including lab and clinical work. Internships must be completed during a doctoral program, within four years.

These standards are quite rigorous. They are set by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Individual states may also have their own rules and regulations.

The Feedback Is Positive

Chiropractors are the top rated medical professionals for treating lower back pain. Over three-quarters of chiropractic patients—or 77 percent, to be exact—feel that the treatment they received was very effective.

It Helps Veterans

The VA passed legislation allowing chiropractic treatment in VA medical facilities back in 1999. Today, 70 VA hospitals offer chiropractic treatments.

It Can Treat Injuries

This one is a bit of a jaw-dropper. Injured workers are a whopping 28 times less likely to need surgery if they go to a chiropractor first, rather than a doctor.

It Can Help Pregnant Women

Did you know that chiropractic treatment can provide relief to pregnant women? In fact, some chiropractors have undergone special training and focus on helping women cope with the strains and stresses that growing a baby puts on the body. Misalignments in the pelvis can reduce the amount of space the baby has in the womb and can also cause complications with delivery.

Aside from that, chiropractic treatment can help reduce nausea, relieve back and neck pain, and even reduce the chances of having to deliver by C-section.

It’s NFL-Approved

Do you like football? It may interest you to know that every single NHL team has a chiropractor on staff.

It’s All In The Name

The essence of chiropractic care is clear in the name. The word chiropractor is drawn from ancient Greece. The word cheir means ‘hand’, while ‘praktos’ means ‘done.’ Together, they mean done by hand.

That Cracking Sound Isn’t What You Think

Even if you’ve never been to a chiropractor, you are probably familiar with that cracking sound your bones make sometimes. This isn’t actually the sound of bone cracking. It’s the release of gas that has built up inside your joints.

Schedule An Appointment With Your Burnsville, MN Chiropractor

Do you want to learn more about chiropractic treatment? Are you suffering from back or neck pain? Please do not hesitate to reach out. Here at Amesbarry Chiropractic, your Burnsville, MN chiropractic care center, we’ve got your back!

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