What was the first chiropractic patient?

What was the first chiropractic patient?

• A. Samuel Weed
• B. DD Palmer
• C. Harvey Lillard
• D. BJ Palmer

Answer: (C)

This question tests knowledge of the origin of chiropractic and who began the practice. The first chiropractic patient was Harvey Lillard. In 1895, D.D. Palmer performed the initial spine adjustment on Lillard, who had been deaf for many years. Palmer attributed Lillard’s deafness to nerve interference from a misaligned vertebra and believed that correcting the vertebral alignment would restore function. After the adjustment, Lillard reportedly experienced some improvement in hearing, which is why this case is recognized as the birth of chiropractic. Samuel Weed wasn’t a patient—he helped coin and promote the term “chiropractic”—and BJ Palmer was a later figure in the field, not the first patient.

This question tests knowledge of the origin of chiropractic and who began the practice. The first chiropractic patient was Harvey Lillard. In 1895, D.D. Palmer performed the initial spine adjustment on Lillard, who had been deaf for many years. Palmer attributed Lillard’s deafness to nerve interference from a misaligned vertebra and believed that correcting the vertebral alignment would restore function. After the adjustment, Lillard reportedly experienced some improvement in hearing, which is why this case is recognized as the birth of chiropractic. Samuel Weed wasn’t a patient—he helped coin and promote the term “chiropractic”—and BJ Palmer was a later figure in the field, not the first patient.