09/18/2025
Chiropractic Founders Day, celebrated annually on September 18th, marks a pivotal day in healthcare history.
It was on this day in 1895 that D.D. Palmer, the visionary founder of chiropractic, performed the first chiropractic adjustment, giving birth to a profession that has transformed the health and lives of millions.
This year, as we celebrate Dr. Rod's 28 years of care to his patients and Back In Motion's 17 years in Brookings, we honor not only the origins of chiropractic but also the remarkable strides the profession has made in improving the quality of life for patients around the world.
D.D. Palmer’s first chiropractic adjustment, performed on Harvey Lillard, a man who had suffered hearing loss, sparked the development of a revolutionary approach to healthcare. By adjusting Lillard’s misaligned vertebra, Palmer restored the man's hearing. Palmer believed that spinal health was integral to the body’s ability to heal itself and that proper alignment of the spine could correct a wide range of health issues. This philosophy remains at the heart of chiropractic today, with chiropractors worldwide dedicated to promoting health and healing from the body itself.
