18 September 2026
Every year on September 18th, Chiropractic Founders Day is celebrated to commemorate the beginning of chiropractic care. 2026 marks the 131st anniversary of D.D. Palmer’s first recorded chiropractic adjustment in 1895. Today, we honour the founders who helped establish the profession today, and celebrate chiropractic’s continuing contribution to movement and wellbeing.
The origins of chiropractic care
Chiropractic care is generally believed to have been founded in 1895 when Daniel David Palmer gave the first chiropractic adjustment to his first patient, Harvey Lillard, a caretaker in the building where Palmer was working in Davenport, Iowa.
Palmer had been a schoolteacher, a beekeeper, and a magnetic healer when he developed his ideas about the relationship between the spine, the nervous system, and health. Palmer believed that problems in the spine could affect the nervous system and therefore cause more general health problems. He referred to these spinal misalignments as “subluxations” and made them a fundamental component of his early chiropractic philosophy. These ideas helped shape the profession, but chiropractic has changed significantly since the late nineteenth century.
Today, chiropractic care is focused primarily on the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, particularly back and neck pain.
The Evolution of Chiropractic Care
Since 1895, chiropractic care has changed significantly, shaped by research, training and developments in technology. Milestones in the history of the profession have helped establish chiropractic as a recognised healthcare field in many countries around the world. It was also introduced to the UK in the early twentieth century and has continued to grow and develop in the UK.
Current chiropractic education is heavily weighted toward anatomy, biomechanics, patient assessment and evidence-informed care. Along with those changes, emerging technologies like digital posture assessment and diagnostic imaging have improved the way chiropractors assess and treat patients. Today, chiropractic care combines its traditional focus on the spine with modern techniques and a patient-centred approach to wellbeing.
The Benefits of Today’s Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care supports people of all ages to maintain healthy joint and spinal function. Chiropractors can help you improve your mobility and flexibility through personalised treatment methods that can make your daily activities more comfortable and help you maintain an active lifestyle.
Chiropractic care is also frequently used to treat common musculoskeletal aches and pains. Treatment is personalised to each person’s needs and goals and is a non-invasive form of healthcare that helps to support long-term wellbeing, movement and quality of life overall
Looking to the future of Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care continues to develop as research, clinical guidance and technology improve, changing the way musculoskeletal problems are assessed and managed. New tools may help chiropractors in gathering information about a patient’s movement, symptoms and progress. Research continues to influence how different approaches to care are understood and used in practice. Additionally, there is also an increasing focus on assessing the individual rather than treating a particular symptom in isolation. Work, activity levels, previous injuries, day-to-day movement and the patient’s own goals are all factors that can help guide decisions about care.
As the profession continues to develop, evidence-informed assessment and clear communication with patients will likely remain an important part of modern chiropractic practice.
Join Us in Celebrating Chiropractic Founders Day 2026
As we mark Chiropractic Founder’s Day 2026, it is an opportunity to reflect on the people who helped establish the profession and on how chiropractic care has developed since its beginnings in 1895. It also gives us the chance to recognise the chiropractors and support staff who continue to work with patients every day, as well as to thank our own patients for the trust they place in us.
If you would like to learn more about chiropractic care, or whether it may be appropriate for a problem you are experiencing, why not get in touch with us to discuss your situation or arrange an appointment?
