Harvey Lillard (pictured above) was the first person ever to be treated with chiropractic care. The founder of chiropractic was Daniel David Palmer, originally from Port Perry, Ontario. Here’s the story…
Lillard maintained the building where Palmer had his office. In September 1895 he told Palmer that he had lost most of his hearing and was almost completely deaf. Lillard added that he “could not hear the racket of a wagon on the street or the ticking of a watch.” When asked how he had become deaf he replied that,17 years before, while bent over in a cramped, stooping position he heard something “pop” in his spine and immediately lost most of his hearing. Palmer thought Lillard’s hearing loss was due to a spinal misalignment that blocked the spinal nerves which control the inner ear – which became known as the Vertebral Subluxation. Palmer decided to push the vertebra back into place and, after a few days, Lillard said that his hearing was better and almost completely restored. Lillard described:
I was deaf 17 years and I expected to always remain so, for I had doctored a great deal without any benefit. I had long ago made up my mind to not take any more ear treatments, for it did me no good. Last January Dr. Palmer told me that my deafness came from an injury in my spine. This was new to me; but it is a fact that my back was injured at the time I went deaf. Dr. Palmer treated me on the spine; in two treatments I could hear quite well. That was eight months ago. My hearing remains good. HARVEY LILLARD, 320 W. Eleventh St., Davenport, Iowa.
Well, there you have it. Chiropractic has been helping people improve from many health conditions over the past 120 years. The thing that sets chiropractic apart from other health care professions, is that chiropractic does not treat conditions. The principle of chiropractic is pure and powerful: remove neurological interference caused by spinal subluxations and allow the body to function better and heal itself more effectively.
Chiropractically yours,
Dr. Rob
