For our Chinese-speaking readers, please click on the following links for more information on chiropractic.
Hong Kong Chiropractors' Association (www.hkca.org)
The Chiropractic Doctors' Association of Hong Kong (www.cda.org.hk)

Chiropractic has gone a long way since 1917 when chiropractors were urged by their Alameda County (California) Chiropractors Association to literally go to jail for chiropractic, which they did instead of paying a fine. The founder of chiropractic, Daniel David Palmer, had already paved the way earlier on being the first chiropractic martyr.

In 1895, the “big idea” was born when D D adjusted Harvey Lillard, a janitor, who had lost his hearing suddenly after bending over. Running his hands down Lillard’s back, he found an abnormal protrusion in his spine and concluded a vertebrae was misplaced. The adjustment he did restored Lillard’s hearing. The term chiropractic was coined later in 1896 by D D Palmer’s friend, a Reverend, which meant “to work by hand”.

D D’s son, Bartlett Joshua Palmer, is known for his work in developing and popularising chiropractic. One of his mottos was “Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise”. Chiropractors irked the medical profession by referring to themselves as doctors of chiropractic since the time of BJ Palmer working up tension that lasted until the 1970s at least.

A court judgment was passed in 1987 giving sweet victory to 5 Illinois chiropractors who had filed an antitrust lawsuit in 1976 against the American Medical Association. The judge found the AMA guilty of engaging in a conspiracy “to contain and eliminate the chiropractic profession”. By 1974, in any case, chiropractic had been legalised in all 50 states of America.

Today, chiropractic is likewise legalised in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and England. Indeed, a New Zealand government-authorised commission in 1979 stated that “it has become plain that much medical criticism of chiropractors is based on simple ignorance of what they do”. Chiropractors are also gaining recognition in the sporting arena winning the privilege to serve in the Olympic medical teams.

Chiropractic has continued to spread throughout the world arriving in England in the early 1900s. In Singapore, chiropractic was established by an American lady named Carol Elder-Birnbaum in 1978. The last three or four years has seen an expansion in the local chiropractic scene with the appearance of Asian chiropractors, marking a departure from the early days of chiropractic here. It has surely but steadily gained a presence through aggressive marketing practice.

Dr Serene Ng, a UK graduate of the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic, Bournemouth, similarly immersed herself in the local chiropractic community recently, being the first local female chiropractor to do so.

Currently, the chiropractic scene is vibrant, dynamic and diverse, with chiropractors from all over the world working here including America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, and South Africa, alongside TCM doctors or sinsehs, who sometimes also refer to themselves as chiropractors, in a largely unregulated landscape for chiropractors.

Chiropractic in England
The first chiropractic students from England who travelled to the United States to study chiropractic did so at the turn of the century at around 1906. The number of those who could afford to make the journey was small. In 1920, there were six chiropractors in England and one in Ireland. During the War years, travel to the United States was made much more difficult. Accessible chiropractic education to Europeans became a priority and was discussed at a forum in Switzerland in 1963. By that time, the chiropractors in England had decided to establish a school in Bournemouth. Between 1960 and 1965, preparatory work was done to build up sufficient funds to make the chiropractic school a reality. The curriculum of the school was to be modelled after the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College and was a four-year full-time course. In 1969, the e was dropped from the word chiropractice.

The number of chiropractors practising in England rose dramatically following the successful establishment of the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic in 1965. The United Kingdom has more chiropractors now than in the other European nations. The British Chiropractic Association (BCA), founded in 1925, represents over 50% of United Kingdom chiropractors, and according to it, registers 1150 practising members. In 2006, 2,300 chiropractors were registered with the General Chiropractic Council, a body established by parliament to regulate and develop the chiropractic profession. Since 2001, the title of “chiropractor” has been protected by law in England.

The European Council on Chiropractic Education (ECCE) maintains standards of chiropractic education within Europe. Besides the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic in Bournemouth, other chiropractic institutions accredited by the ECCE include the Institut Franco-Européen de Chiropratique in France, the Syddansk Universitet Odense in Denmark and the University of Glamorgan in Wales. The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) accredits colleges in the United States. For a list of accredited colleges around the world, the Chiropractic Association (Singapore) provides a geographical listing - http://chiropractic.org.sg/accredited-chiropractic-institutions.html.

As chiropractic education matures and develops, a certain degree of specialization within the profession is now possible. Various Masters programmes have been developed in recent years including musculoskeletal  rehabilitation, sports and rehabilitation, orthopaedics and paediatrics. Some courses are open to non-chiropractors. Chiropractic is an evolving profession which eventually will offer programmes in other areas of specialisation.