History and Background
Manual medicine dates back to Hippocrates and also has roots in ancient China. In modern times, manual medicine was founded in the United States in the late 1800s.
Two main branches were formed concurrently.
In 1847, Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., a frontier physician, founded the first college of osteopathic medicine the American School of Osteopathy, in Kirksville, Missouri. His intent was to "improve upon the present systems of surgery, midwifery, and treatment of general diseases." The college is known today as the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (A.T. Still University).
In 1898, Daniel David Palmer founded the Palmer School of Chiropractic, in Davenport, Iowa. He believed that subluxations and misalignments of the joints lead to disease which could be cured by manual manipulation of the spine.
The majority of manual manipulation in the United States is performed by chiropractors.