Palmer College of Chiropractic West

Academics

Chiropractic

Chiropractic, the world’s foremost natural health care science, is rooted in history as far back as the ancient Greeks. But most significantly, in the late 1800s, the spine and nerve system were given specialized, intense research and study. Daniel David (D.D.) Palmer, tutored in his youth in the classics and health sciences and later a teacher himself, was a man with an investigative nature whose intellect focused on the healing arts. After years of studying human health and disease, he formed a hypothesis and systematized the knowledge upon which the modern chiropractic science, art and philosophy are based.

Chiropractic concerns itself with the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and function (primarily coordinated by the nervous system) of the human body and how that relationship affects the restoration and preservation of health.

Chiropractic employs neither drugs nor surgery. It is concerned with the entire environment of the body and is based on a properly functioning nervous system, which begins with the brain and courses through the spinal cord encased within the spinal column. No part of the body escapes the dominance of the nervous system. Spinal biomechanical dysfunction—improper function of the spine due to slight misalignments called subluxations—can cause a state of poor health in an area far removed from the spine and spinal cord itself and can reduce the ability of the body to adapt to an ever-changing environment. The slightest malfunction of the spine may alter the regular transmission of nerve impulses, preventing that portion of the body from responding with its full inherent capacity.

A chiropractic spinal adjustment (the application of a precise force to the specific part of the spinal segment) corrects the vertebral subluxation, permitting normal nerve transmission, innate recuperative capability and effective health and adaptation of the person.

The chiropractic student, during five rigorous academic years of study normally completed in three and one-third calendar years, is trained to know all structures and functions of the human body and to recognize the interrelationship of all parts. Chiropractic education centers on the concept of health, not disease. Chiropractors provide a highly appealing primary health care approach because they do not perform surgery or prescribe medicine. Chiropractic is sought increasingly as the public’s awareness of their responsibility for health maintenance grows. If, however, a Doctor of Chiropractic determines the patient requires attention from another branch of the health care professions, that recommendation or referral is encouraged.

Upon receiving the chiropractic doctorate, most graduates enter private practice to fill the indicated need of the health care consumer. Others may elect to become an associate of an established chiropractor, while some may decide to enter chiropractic education in a teaching, research or administrative capacity. No matter the choice, the individual is a participant in and contributor to the world’s health care delivery system, providing a health service in harmony with natural laws. An estimated 19.5 million people visit doctors of chiropractic in the United States each year.

Chiropractic is the care of choice as the majority of people today look for an alternative to medicine. We invite you to explore a profession which focuses on lifetime health rather than short-term disease treatment.

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