Elisabeth Jean-Charles
Doctor of Chiropractic

Presentation

Chiropractic is a manual medicine

Throughout the world and since the dawn of time, illness and pain are treated and relieved by applying hands to the body. The most ancient traces of manual medicine are Chinese and Egyptian. In China, drawings dating from 3300 BC to 3200 BC suggest joint manipulation, which Chinese doctors have traditionally continued to practice. In Egypt, a fresco dating from 3500 BC suggests elbow manipulation. In the ancient western civilizations, Greece provides the first evidence of vertebral manipulation 400 years before Jesus Christ.

Daniel David Palmer founder of chiropractic

David Daniel Palmer

Daniel David Palmer was born on March 7th 1845 in Canada and died on October 20th 1913 in the United States. David Daniel Palmer is the founder of chiropractic. He developed his philosophy. He created the science and art of correcting abnormal function by manual adjustment, using the spinal processes as levers.

illustration 1st adjustment Harvey Lillard D Palmer

Illustration of the first chiropractic adjustment on William Harvey Lillard by D.D. Palmer on September 18, 1895 in Iowa.

https://www.palmer.edu/

The birth of chiropractic

David Daniel Palmer had been working as a magnetizer in Iowa for 9 years when he discovered the basic principles of chiropractic.

At that time, Daniel David Palmer met a janitor in the building where his office was located, Harvey Lillard, an African-American, who had been deaf for 17 years. Harvey Lillard would have confided to D.D. Palmer that it was after a false move that he would have felt something drop in his back and immediately lost his hearing.

D.D. Palmer after examining Harvey Lillard observed that a vertebra was out of its normal position. He thought that by repositioning this vertebra the man's hearing should be restored. After convincing Harvey Lillard he proceeded with the first chiropractic adjustment. Harvey Lillard's hearing would indeed be restored. 

Shortly afterwards D.D. Palmer receives a case of heart trouble. Again he examines the spine and finds a displaced vertebra pressing on the nerves leading to the heart. He adjusts the vertebra and the relief is immediate. D.D. Palmer then began to think that if two such dissimilar diseases came from interference, from pressure on the nerves, other diseases could be due to similar causes. The science (knowledge) and art (adjustment) of chiropractic were born. 

In 1897 the first chiropractic school opened its doors "Palmer College of Chiropractic". Although the first patient, Harvey Lillard, was a black, African-American man, the teaching at Palmer College of Chiropractic remained closed to African-American students until the middle of the 20th century.

(1) source: Beyond the "Jim Crow" experience: blacks in chiropractic education - PubMed-https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11613378/

Chiropractic today in the world

Chiropractic is an official partner of the World Health Organization (WHO).

With more than 100,000 practitioners, chiropractic is a manual health care profession that is widely practiced internationally.

Based on a comprehensive understanding of how the body works and the relationships between the spine, the nervous system and certain health disorders.

Chiropractic aims at the detection, treatment and prevention of dysfunctions of the neuro-musculo-skeletal system, in particular of the spinal column, and the resulting disorders.

Chiropractic in France

Chiropractic arrived in France in the first decades of the twentieth century, it was transmitted to doctors by a Canadian living in Paris, Dr Douglas. Chiropractic will continue to develop. In 1983, the IFC Institut Français de Chiropraxie (which later became the IFEC) was created to offer training in the profession of chiropractor. Still today it is the only school that trains chiropractors in France.

  • 2002 The title of chiropractor is recognized and reserved for holders of a diploma by the Kouchner law relating to patients' rights and the quality of the healthcare system.
  • 2011 Chiropractors become the only therapists authorized to manipulate the spinal column without medical advice.
  • 2013 Chiropractors register their diploma with regional health agencies and are given an ADELI number
  • 2019 A chiropractic consultation opens at the Bicêtre hospital 

Chiropractic remains little known in France (often confused with osteopathy and physiotherapy) due to the small number of practitioners.

Chiropractic is the profession that publishes the most articles in basic research on the validity and therapeutic effects of neuro-articular corrections. 

legalized chiropractic

Chiropractic adjustment a precise and painless gesture

Chiropractic treatment is based mainly on spinal manipulation, also known as chiropractic adjustment, and mobilization of the body's joints.

Chiropractic treatment is non-drug and non-invasive.

Chiropractic adjustment is a precise and painless gesture that requires a specific touch and extraordinary dexterity.

Its purpose is to:

► restore the circulation of nerve impulses by eliminating interference created by vertebral subluxations

► restore optimal joint mobility.

The vertebral subluxation or "blockage"

It is a lack of alignment or mobility between two vertebrae of the spine. It hinders the circulation of nerve impulses and, among other things, can cause muscle contractures, pain, inflammation, osteoarthritis and disturbances in the functioning of various organs and systems of the body.

The chiropractor is trained to detect these subluxations (or blockages) and correct them. The chiropractor maintains good "spinal hygiene" which would result in proper alignment of the vertebrae and optimal joint mobility. Chiropractic care focuses on the spine.

Three types of stress cause the onset of subluxation or "blockage."

► physical stress: accident, fall, false movement, unusual effort, bad posture ...

► emotional stress: death, loss of a job, relationship difficulties, repressed feelings...

► chemical stress: unbalanced diet, pollution, tobacco...

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