National Institute of Chiropractic Research The Embryology of Chiropractic: From Magnetic Healing to Palmer’s Third Theory Joseph C. Keating, Jr., Ph.D. Secretary & Historian National Institute of Chiropractic Research Member, Board of Directors Association for the History of Chiropractic

A Presentation to the Saskatchewan Chiropractic Association March 22, 2003

National Institute of Chiropractic Research My thanks to the National Institute of Chiropractic Research for its support of this project

Arlan W. Fuhr, D.C. Tom Lawrence, D.C. Herbert K. Lee, D.C. I wish to thank a number of people for their contributions of archival materials, criticism and insights; among these folks are: Arlan W. Fuhr, D.C. Tom Lawrence, D.C. Herbert K. Lee, D.C. William S. Rehm, D.C. Louis Sportelli, D.C.

The author is solely responsible for the content of this presentation

Health care in the 19th Century was primitive Health care in the 19th Century was primitive. Treatment was often more harmful than the disease itself; a visit to the physician was a last resort

Benjamin Rush, M.D. (left) advocated “heroic medicine”; Samuel Thompson offered botanical alternatives, books on herbal remedies and “friendly botanical societies”

Heroic Medicine Heroic medicine sought to release the toxins in the body by bloodletting, harsh purgatives and emetics. Physicians of this school of thought believed that the harshness of the remedy should be in proportion to the severity of the disease, so the sickest patients got the strongest doses of medicine. George Washington died when his MDs drained too much blood from his body.

Samuel Hahnemann, M.D. (1755-1843) introduced homeopathy and the law of similars (“similia similibus curantur”) in Germany. His ideas offered a gentle alternative to heroic medical practice and became popular in America in the early 19th century

A Homeopathic Medicine The principle of homeopathy, the “law of similars,” may be stated as “like cures like” Dr. Hahnemann’s theory and practice involved administering “infinitesimal doses” of substances that produced symptoms like those of the patient’s disease

B Homeopathic Medicine A few homeopathic remedies were adopted by allopathic physicians (e.g., nitroglycerine for angina) 19th century American homeopaths were usually better educated than allopaths (took their training in European universities) AMA branded homeopathy as quackery in the 1850s; homeopaths invented the term “allopathy”

Franz Anton Mesmer, M.D., 1734-1815 Patients also welcomed the “animal magnetism” of Dr. Mesmer. Mesmer’s 1776 dissertation at the University of Vienna was entitled “The influence of the planets upon the human body by means of a magnetic fluid.” He developed thriving magnetic practices in several European cities.

Magnetic Healing (Animal Magnetism) Mesmer’s theories were refuted by a French scientific commission, which included Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia Mesmerism was introduced to America by itinerant lecturer Charles Poyen of France in the 1830s

Magnetic Healing (Animal Magnetism) B Magnetic Healing (Animal Magnetism) magnetic practitioners were briefly licensed in a few American states both Andrew T. Still, founder of osteopathy, and D.D. Palmer, founder of chiropractic, practiced magnetic healing

Paul Caster of Burlington, Iowa built a thriving magnetic practice in the 1870s, and may have inspired D.D. Palmer to take up the healing art

Mary Baker Eddy offered Christian Science as an alternative to the harsh methods of mainstream, “orthodox” medicine

Ellen G. White, founder of the Seventh Day Adventists, and her collaborator, John Harvey Kellogg, M.D. of cornflake fame, recommended prayer and healthy lifestyles

The Physical Culture movement, championed by Bernarr MacFadden, was in full swing at the turn of the century

Patent medicines were popular and unregulated in the USA before 1906; if they didn’t cure, at least they made the symptoms easier to endure, since they frequently included liberal doses of alcohol or narcotics

Good for whatever ails ya!

The Kickapoo Indian Medicine Show (circa 1890) was one of many traveling vaudeville troupes which sold patent medicines

Immunizations were introduced in the final quarter of the 19th Century, often mandated by law and contrary to the will of the public

The Brothers Mayo, William & Charles of Rochester, Minnesota, introduced surgical innovations (e.g., appendectomy) in the 1870s; they were considered quacks for cutting into the abdomen

Bonesetting is indigenous to many cultures, as this 1932 image from Africa suggests. If you’ve got a knee, who needs a pisiform or an Activator?

Bonesetting was imported to America from Europe and also learned from Native American tribes; here a French manipulator treats a patient, circa 1880

This uneducated bonesetter of 19th century England, “Crazy Sarah Mapp,” othewise known as the “doctress of Epsom,” irritated her medical competitors with her many successful cases. Her talents were celebrated in a musical comedy: You surgeons of London who puzzle your pates, To ride in your coaches and purchase estates, Give over for shame, for pride has its fall, And the doctress of Epsom has outdone you all…

Popular London bonesetter Sir Herbert Atkinson Barker battled the British Medical Association in the pages of English newspapers in the early 1900s. His autobiography, Leaves of My Life, details this fight. He was knighted by the King for free health services rendered to Royal Army rejectees and veterans of World War I.

Andrew T. Still (left) founded osteopathy in 1874 and opened a school in 1892; one of his first students was homeopath Andrew P. Davis, M.D., future chiropractor and rival of D.D. Palmer

Benedict Lust, M.D., N.D., “father of naturopathy in America,” established naturopathy in 1896, based on the hydro-therapies of Father Kniepp of Germany; Dr. Lust later operated the American School of Chiropractic in New York City

So, you thought maybe this was Karl Marx? 

Born in rural Pickering, Ontario on 7 March 1845, Daniel David Palmer relocated with his family from Port Perry to the Mississippi River Valley circa 1865; he worked as a store keeper, bee keeper and school teacher before taking up the healing art circa 1885 (D.D. Palmer was NOT born in Port Perry)

The Palmer Family

The Palmers move to the USA The American Civil War (1861-1865) caused a flooding of the labor market in Canada by draft dodgers The Palmer family relocated from Port Perry, Ontario to the Mississippi River Valley in 1865

The Palmers move to the USA B The Palmers move to the USA D.D.’s younger brother Thomas (“T.J.”) became a prosperous newspaper publisher in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) D.D., an avid reader, was interested in the spiritualist movement popular in the mid-west in the wake of the Civil War

Who’s that young whippersnapper at far left?

Dr. Palmer, Magnetic A D.D. first practiced magnetic in Burlington, Iowa in 1885 or 1886, but soon relocated to the Ryan Building in Davenport, Iowa He may have been self-taught in magnetic, but he studied a variety of alternative healing methods (including osteopathy and Christian Science) He sought a “scientific” explanation for the “cures” he believed he achieved with magnetic

B Dr. Palmer, Magnetic Palmer lived in the “age of machines,” the dawning industrial revolution and the rapid spread of railroads, steamboats, telegraphy and telephony The culture was influenced by phrenology, which suggested the possibility of a scientific understanding and control of human behavior

C Dr. Palmer, Magnetic Spiritualism suggested that family members killed in the war might be contacted Darwinism offered a form of cause and effect that went beyond simplistic “push/pull” notions

Dr. D.D. Palmer used his sensitive fingers to locate inflammations, which he “cooled off” by pouring his personal excess vital magnetic force into them. It was a precursor to the “specificity” of chiropractic diagnosis and treatment (adjusting)

During his years of magnetic practice, Palmer developed his technique of tracing nerves to and from their presumed spinal origins and dysfunctional end-organs. Nerve tracing became one of D.D.’s two principal chiropractic assessment methods

From: The Magnetic Cure, 1896 DR. PALMER Has possessed the gift of Magnetic Healing for twenty five years; the last nine years he has devoted his entire attention to the healing of the sick. He cures many persons in so short a time that it seems miraculous. Anyone wishing references of cures can have them. If you will look this paper over carefully it will give you an idea of magnetic healing, and save me answering many questions.

D.D.’s waiting room, early 1890s

From: The Magnetic Cure, 1896 A. Livezey, M.D. of Yardley, Pa., writes: “...Dr. Palmer seeks out the cause, the diseased organ upon which the disease depends, and treats that organ. Magnetics generally treat all cases alike, by general stroking, passes or rubbing. I think Dr. Palmer’s plan is much more rational, and should be the most successful.”

Mr. Harvey Lillard gets adjusted, 1896 (That’s not a typo: it was 1896)

1896? What ever happened to 18 September 1895? Is Keating re-writing chiropractic history? Where does he get his information?

From: *The Chiropractic, January 1897 DEAF SEVENTEEN YEARS. 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 *Published by D.D. Palmer

Who cares when the first chiropractic adjustment was given? Agreed, this is historical trivia; in the larger scheme of chirohistory, it probably doesn’t matter whether it was 18 September 1895 or the early months of 1896 However, the discrepancy should alert us to the possibility that some of chiropractic history is distorted, perhaps deliberately, perhaps unintentionally

The Reverend Samuel Weed, a Presbyterian minister and patient of D. D The Reverend Samuel Weed, a Presbyterian minister and patient of D.D. Palmer, is credited with offering the Greek stems from which Palmer named his new healing art

Earliest events in chiropractic history January-April 1896: D.D. adjusts Harvey Lillard April 1896: D.D. Palmer coins the term “chiropractic,” meaning done-by-hand July 1896: D.D. incorporates the Palmer School of Magnetic Cure (PSMC) January 1897: Palmer offers to teach chiropractic; tuition is $500 for the three-month course at the PSMC

The Palmer School and 40-room in-patient infirmary was located on the fourth floor of the Ryan Building when this photo was taken in 1900

(A journal is a gear box) What had changed conceptually from magnetic to chiropractic? Palmer tells us in The Chiropractic, 1902: How do Magnetic and Chiropractic treatments differ? If a journal heats we pour on water to cool it; in the human machine we pour on magnetism to relieve inflammation. With the chiropractic treatment we adjust the journal and box so that they will not heat; in the human machine we adjust each part to its proper place so that all works in harmony without friction (emphasis added). (A journal is a gear box)

What had stayed the same What had stayed the same? Was there a constant between magnetic and chiropractic? YES: D.D. Palmer’s concept of magnetic healing and his three theories of chiropractic were all about… Inflammation!

Characteristics of D.D. Palmer’s Several Theories of Chiropractic - Part 1 Concept 1897- 1902 1903- 1906 1908- 1914 therapeusis? Yes No method of treatment? manipu-lation adjustment Innate? absent nerves; Intelligence circulatory obstruction?

Characteristics of D.D. Palmer’s Several Theories of Chiropractic - Part 2 Concept 1897- 1902 1903- 1906 1908- 1914 machine metaphor? Yes No nerve pinching? foraminal occlusion? ?

Characteristics of D.D. Palmer’s Several Theories of Chiropractic - Part 3 Concept 1897- 1902 1903- 1906 1908- 1914 nerve vibration? ? Yes religious plank? absent optional? obligatory? tone? (vital) Absent

What was D. D. ’s third theory What was D.D.’s third theory? Consider these quotes from his 1914 book, The Chiropractor “No chiropractor pretends to replace displaced intervertebral disks.” “Nerves are never pinched or impinged upon in the foramina. Foramina are never narrowed.” “WE DO NOT ADJUST THE VERTEBRA. The vertebra itself, so far as a chiropractor knows, is never displaced, dislocated or subluxated.” “Any extreme movement of articular surfaces enlarges the foramen or foramina, causes nerves and blood vessels to become stretched, irritated, increasing its carrying power.”

Further quotes from D.D. Palmer’s 1914 book, The Chiropractor “The moral and religious duty of a chiropractor” (Chapter 1) “Chiropractic deals with biology. It is the only comprehensive system which answers the time-worn question ‘what is life.’” “As a philosophy it is the science of all sciences. It deals with subjective, ethical religion - the science which treats of the existence, character and attributes of God, the All-pervading Universal Intelligence…”

What was D.D.’s third theory? Nerves may be impinged upon (not pinched) by misaligned joints When impinged upon, nerves may become too taut or too slack, thereby altering their vibrational messages Nerves too tense (taut) deliver too much impulse to end-organs, and thereby cause inflammation Nerves too slack cause “under functionating” and sometimes cold, hard tumors

“I have never felt it beneath my dignity to do anything to relieve human suffering. The relief given bunions and corns by adjusting is proof positive that subluxated joints do cause disease.” (Palmer, 1910, p. 322)

Tone Palmer’s 1910 text indicates that tone was his central concept: “Life is the expression of tone.” Palmer borrowed the term from 19th century physiologists Palmer’s “tone” may be understood as the neurally mediated health of all cells and tissues Inflammation constitutes a loss of tone; D.D. Palmer’s chiropractic was a theory of inflammation!

Did D.D. Palmer steal chiropractic from the osteopaths? No!

How were Still’s osteopathy and Palmer’s chiropractic similar How were Still’s osteopathy and Palmer’s chiropractic similar? How did they differ? A D.D. Palmer manipulated any body part to avoid friction and inflammation Andrew T. Still believed that the the brain was a pharmacopoeia Dr. Still manipulated any body part in order to keep the “channels” (nerves and blood vessels) open from brain to end-organ Still and Palmer were equally broad in the range of clinical disorders to which they would apply their manipulative skills

B How were Still’s osteopathy and Palmer’s chiropractic similar? How did they differ? D.D. Palmer pioneered the quick, segment-specific form of thrusting manipulation known as adjusting (Still also spoke of “adjusting”) Dr. Still and the osteopaths drew their manipulative methods from diverse sources; early osteopathic techniques were characterized by slower, “long-lever” moves There has been considerable “cross-fertilization” of techniques between DCs and DOs in the century since

From: The Chiropractic, January 1897 Published Monthly By PALMER'S School of Magnetic Cure (Incorporated under the Laws of the State of Iowa) FOR THE PURPOSE OF Teaching How to Get Well and Keep Well Without Taking Poisonous Drugs ________ Office, School and Place of Publication: Fourth Floor, Ryan Block, Corner Second and Brady Streets DAVENPORT, IOWA

blood vessels, muscles, nerves, bones, etc. Please note in the following passage that D.D. Palmer is willing to manipulate just about any part of the body in order to prevent friction, which leads to heat, which is an important characteristic of inflammation. He identifies the various parts he will “manipulate in order to adjust” to their proper position: blood vessels, muscles, nerves, bones, etc.

From: The Chiropractic, January 1897 Our healing is done entirely by the hands; there are no drugs used; you can eat or drink what you please within reason… Any one can step into our treating rooms. There you will see in each a table, two stools, and the magnetic manipulator. The diagnosis and treatment is often done inside of five minutes. We find what is wrong - perhaps some bone, muscle, or ligament needs replacing, some nerve stretched, or blood vessel compressed. By having a knowledge of the anatomy of the human machine we can locate the exact spot where the wrong is which causes the trouble. Disease is only a result of inharmony, something wrong.

Please note in the following passage that D. D Please note in the following passage that D.D. Palmer uses a “machine metaphor” to describe his new chiropractic method. Note also his distinct concern about avoiding friction and maintaining the circulation of the blood.

From: The Chiropractic, January 1897 …To-day the cause of diseases are located and those causes corrected just as surely as any mechanic would find the cause of inharmony or wrong working in a piano, wagon, watch, engine, or other machine. A human being is a human machine and, like a machine, would run smoothly, without any friction, if every part was in its proper place. If every bone, every nerve, and all the blood vessels, muscles, etc., were just right, there would be nothing wrong. We look the human machine over and find what parts are out of place, why the blood does not circulate freely to all parts, why the nerves cry out with pain

D.D.’s early advertising fliers were intended to attract students as well as patients. He charged patients a few dollars for a course of treatments, but much more for teaching his clinical methods, which he initially considered trade secrets.

From: The Chiropractic, January 1897 CAN THE NEW IDEA BE LEARNED? There are many who can learn and do just what we are doing - how to fix the human machine and make it run smooth. How long will it take to learn what we know? That depends upon the ability of the student, how much they know of anatomy and how much attention he or she will give to the business. Some will learn it in a month: it will take others 3 months, and some would never make it a success. Those that can’t learn to do what Dr. Palmer is doing in 3 months better not try...

From: The Chiropractic, January 1897 CAN THE NEW IDEA BE LEARNED? What will it cost to learn? To any one whom we consider has the ability to learn and make it a success we will teach all we know and make him able to do all we can for $500. In one to three months our students will know one hundred times more of cause and cure of diseases than the medical man who spends three to five years’ time and from $1,000 to $3,000. We will teach him to diagnose in one-tenth of the time it takes a medical man and one hundred times more certain. The cures will be made more permanent…

Among the early chiropractic students at the Palmer School of Magnetic Cure was this young man, seen here when he came home to Davenport for a visit at Christmas, 1900

Early Palmer graduates

Palmer graduates circa 1905; Barbara Brake at far left, Charles Ray Parker at far right

Another early graduating class at the Palmer School; M. R. McBurney, D Another early graduating class at the Palmer School; M.R. McBurney, D.O, D.C. is standing at far left; he later signed D.D.’s death certificate

Palmer was arrested in Pasadena when one of his patients died; charges were dismissed on a technicality

“The body is heat by nerves and not by blood!” In June 1902 D.D. Palmer left Davenport and relocated to Pasadena, California, where he soon ran afoul of the law; he relocated his home and practice to Santa Barbara where, in 1903, he “discovered” that: “The body is heat by nerves and not by blood!”

Santa Barbara class, July 1903; Oakley Smith (future founder of naprapathy) demonstrating; Minora Paxson is second from right; Harry Reynard at far right

Palmer’s Second Theory of Chiropractic The second theory emerged from D.D.’s “discovery” that the body is “heat by nerves and not by blood”; thereafter Old Dad Chiro was solely interested in osseous pressure on nerves D.D. had earlier referred to “luxations” of the spine, but adopted Langworthy’s use of “subluxation” to refer to the putative chiropractic lesion Subluxation was a term found in the medical literature in the 1700s

Palmer’s Second Theory of Chiropractic (continued) B Palmer’s Second Theory of Chiropractic (continued) Innate Intelligence and later Universal Intelligence (God) reflected a return to the vitalism of D.D.’s early magnetic practice Palmer introduced Innate Intelligence and Educated Intelligence circa 1904; he had previously referred to “innate nerves” and “educated nerves,” roughly analogous to autonomic vs. voluntary nervous systems

Meanwhile, back in Davenport, B. J. Palmer, D. C Meanwhile, back in Davenport, B.J. Palmer, D.C. had taken charge of the Palmer School, and returned it to financial viability, with help from local businessman Howard Nutting, Willard Carver’s uncle.

By 1903, Palmer had competition in the school business, especially from Solon M. Langworthy, D.C.’s American School of Chiropractic in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Langworthy published the first professional journal of chiropractic, the Backbone, in 1903; the Palmers followed suit in 1904 with The Chiropractor

Modernized Chiropractic Langworthy employed Oakley Smith, D.C. as his dean and Minora Paxson, D.C. as chair of obstetrics & gynecology; the trio authored the first textbook on chiropractic, entitled: Modernized Chiropractic

1899 Palmer graduate Oakley Smith, D. C 1899 Palmer graduate Oakley Smith, D.C. “discovered” the ligatite in 1905, and from this created the profession of naprapthy. The ligatite involved connective tissue (muscles, ligaments) impinging upon nerves, an alternative to subluxation

Langworthy & the American School of Chiropractic, Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Introduced the first organized curriculum and first textbook of chiropractic First published use of the term subluxation in the chiropractic literature (in the Backbone) Almost secured the first chiropractic statute (Minnesota, 1905), but Palmer intervened and Governor Johnson vetoed the bill

Langworthy & the American School of Chiropractic, Cedar Rapids, Iowa: B Taught non-adjustive techniques (e.g., traction) and “nature cure” methods (original “mixers”) Gave no credit to D.D. Palmer for chiropractic (suggested “napravit”/Bohemian origins)

The Palmers commenced a vigorous advertising campaign The Palmers commenced a vigorous advertising campaign. The image at right appeared in The Chiropractor, as well as in Benedict Lust’s naturopathic journal, The Herald of Health

1906 Palmer graduate John F. A 1906 Palmer graduate John F.A. Howard founded the National School of Chiropractic in 1906 in the same Davenport building where D.D. had adjusted Lillard

Dr. Howard moved the National School to Chicago in 1908 for better access to cadavers

By 1918 the National School, soon to be renamed the National College of Chiropractic, offered diplomas in “Chiropractic & Physiological Therapeutics”

Back in Davenport, Old Dad Chiro was arrested, tried and convicted in 1906 for the unlicensed practice of medicine; the basis for his conviction was an ad in The Chiropractor in which he claimed to cure. He was sentenced to pay a fine or go to jail. He chose jail.

After 23 days in Scott County Jail, D. D. paid his fine After 23 days in Scott County Jail, D.D. paid his fine. Troubles with B.J. led him to sell his share of the school, and he departed for Medford, Oklahoma, where brother T.J. Palmer helped him establish a grocery business. He saw a few patients on the side, but pined for the school business.

Attorney-chiropractor Willard Carver invited his friend and former client, D.D. Palmer, to join him in the school Carver had established with L.L. Denny, D.C. in Oklahoma City Carver- Denny “Kiro- Practic” College and Infirmary

Instead, Palmer founded the Palmer-Gregory College of Chiropractic in Oklahoma City, in collaboration with Alva Gregory, M.D., D.C. Their association was brief, and by November 1908 D.D. had relocated to Portland, Oregon

It was in Portland that Old Dad Chiro founded the D. D It was in Portland that Old Dad Chiro founded the D.D. Palmer College of Chiropractic, and published a monthly journal, The Chiropractor Adjuster, from which his 1910 classic, 1,000-page text drew its contents

Old Dad Chiro’s first partner in the Portland school was Leroy Gordon, D.C. (left)

Old Dad Chiro’s second partner in the D. D Old Dad Chiro’s second partner in the D.D. Palmer College of Chiropractic was John LaValley, D.C.

In 1910 or 1911, D.D. relocated to Los Angeles, where he taught classes for a time at the Ratledge System of Chiropractic Schools, founded in 1911 by Carver graduate T.F. Ratledge, D.C. This school later became the Cleveland Chiropractic College of Los Angeles

Palmer’s Final Theory of Subluxation Subluxated vertebrae do not narrow intervertebral foraminae, but impinge nerves Subluxations alter the tension in nerves, thereby altering their vibrational frequency Innate Intelligence’s messages to end-organs are altered by subluxations

Palmer’s Final Theory of Subluxation Subluxations may be caused by: a) toxins, b) physical insults (trauma), c) auto-suggestion Disease producing subluxations may occur in any joint, but especially in those of the spine and the feet

Old Dad Chiro attended the Palmer School’s homecoming in 1913; a false rumor began that he had been struck by an auto driven by B.J. during a chiro-parade

D.D. Palmer died in Los Angeles on 20 October 1913; the cause of death was “Typhoid Fever” and “tendency for years to brain congestion”

The cover of The Chiropractor for December 1913 announced D. D The cover of The Chiropractor for December 1913 announced D.D. Palmer’s passing

The rumor was circulated by Joy Loban, D. C The rumor was circulated by Joy Loban, D.C., former philosophy instructor at the Palmer School; three grand juries asked to indict B.J. Palmer for patricide refused to bring charges against the “Developer”

Nonetheless, B.J. carried the stigma that he had murdered his father for the rest of his life; above one of the few photos of 3 generations of Palmers

Unfortunately, the home where D. D Unfortunately, the home where D.D. and wife Molly lived in Los Angeles (and where he died) is now the site of an exit ramp on the 110 Freeway in Los Angeles

“Old Dad Chiro” (D.D. Palmer), founder of chiropractic, born 7 March 1845 in Pickering, Ontario, died 20 October 1913 in Los Angeles