History and Development of Chiropractic Chiropractic, though a
relatively modern profession, is not a new health care practice.
For over 2,000 years, healers have adjusted the skeleton,
including the spine, to stop pain and improve health.
Adjustments in Ancient History Healers in ancient times
understood the relationship between health and the spine, long
before Dr. Palmer, discoverer of chiropractic, began his
experiments. In Greece, the healer and philosopher Herodotus was
said to have cured disease by manipulating the spine, both with
his hands and with exercise. Aristotle was critical of this
practice because it "made old men young and thus prolonged their
lives too greatly." In China, Japan and India, "bone-setting"
was practiced by healers. A bone-setter is one who manipulates
the skeleton, including the spine, both adjusting the structure
for health and also reducing dislocations and fractures. To a
bone-setter, the skeleton is the rock upon which the body is
built, and it must be aligned and balanced