Chiropractic had its birth in the heart of rural America, Davenport, Iowa, over a century ago. The founder, or "discoverer" as he liked to refer to himself, of the healing art was D.D. Palmer. Palmer was an avid reader whose ideas were inspired by spiritualism, magnetism, and Chinese philosophy as well as the latest scientific research of the day. Though he was concerned with the well-being of others, Palmer condemned the medical practices of his day which in his words, "make one disease to cure another" (Peterson and Wiese 68). He embraced the practice of magnetism, opening a clinic attracting the ill and handicapped.

Palmer administered the first chiropractic adjustment in 1895 on the building's janitor, Harvey Lillard, who had become deaf earlier in life. Lillard explained that he had exerted himself in a cramped stooping position and felt something give in the back of his neck. He had been deaf ever since. Detecting a bump caused by a misplaced vertebra, Palmer convinced the man to let him push it back into place. In so doing, Lillard's hearing returned. Thinking he had found the cure for deafness, Palmer gathered all the hearing impaired he could find and performed similar adjustments on any misplaced vertebrae, or subluxations as they would soon be called, he found. Although none of his ten subjects ever regained their hearing, many proclaimed relief from other ailments including chronic heart troubles.

The recoveries of his patients led Palmer to develop his own theories about disease and wellness that countered the popular germ theory of the day. Palmer maintained that all disease was caused by some dysfunction of the body, and if the body is free from subluxation and dysfunction, no germ could overcome it. The philosophy of chiropractic is threefold. The first premise is that "there is but one cause in disease, the bodies (sic) inability to comprehend itself and/or its environment" (Barge 149). This simply means that germs do not cause disease, though they may often be aggravating factors, but one's own body and its dysfunction hold sole responsibility. Secondly, "there is but one cure in disease, the bodies (sic) ability to heal itself" (Barge 149). As Feuling argues, drugs and other drastic medical measures merely serve to cover up the symptoms of disease, and never truly address the source of disease (17). The problem with a child who chronically suffers from ear infections is not an over-abundance of germs in the environment, but an inability of the body's immune system to function properly. Barge continues, "there is only one thing any doctor can do for a patient…and that is to remove an obstruction to healing, thus facilitating it" (149). In the case of chiropractic, the doctor removes subluxations of the spine that are hindering the body's ability to function properly.