Making Adjustments For The Opioid Crisis

Although it may seem like a recent development to many, chiropractic actually celebrated its 123rd birthday on September 18th. To put that into perspective, in 1895 Grover Cleveland was in the middle of his second non-consecutive term as President of the United States, the first U.S. patent for an automobile had just been granted, and nearly two-thirds of Americans still lived in rural areas.

- Sherry Mcallister

The long-standing practice now finds itself offering hope in addressing one of the biggest problems currently plaguing the United States.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHIROPRACTIC

While various forms of spinal or joint manipulation had been around for hundreds of years, there was never an attempt to create a philosophical or scientific rationale for their effects until D.D. Palmer used his extensive study of anatomy and physiology to document and codify chiropractic.

According to the Association for the History of Chiropractic, Palmer’s first official patient was a janitor who had become deaf nearly 20 years before when he felt something “give” in his back. In September 1895, Palmer gave the janitor an “adjustment” to a vertebra in his upper back, after which the man reported he could hear better, and a new form of healthcare was born.

Palmer continued to study and learn, and two years later he established the Palmer School of Cure (now the Palmer College of Chiropractic) in Davenport, Iowa, where it remains to this day. Interest in this new healing modality grew quickly.

Palmer’s son Bartlett Joshua (B.J.) was one of his first students, and many practitioners of medicine and osteopathy joined as well.

The first state licenses were issued in 1913, and by 1931 a total of 39 states had provided legal recognition to doctors of chiropractic (DC). Today, all 50 states—along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands—officially recognize chiropractic as a healthcare profession.

This recognition couldn’t come at a better time.

ENTER THE OPIOID CRISIS

It’s no secret that the U.S. is facing what can only be described as an epidemic of opioid abuse. Headlines in major media outlets have been relentless in bringing attention to alarming statistics such as: