What is chiropractic health care?

The chiropractic model of health, first developed by Daniel D. Palmer in 1895, centers around the concept that the human body is designed to strive towards a healthy state and excel in this process of survival.

Palmer suggested that the human body contains all of the necessary intelligence to heal and self-regulate if given the chance. This theory is unlike what most of us were exposed to as children in the industrialized world. "Conventional wisdom" teaches us that healing results from taking a medication. Chiropractic theory implies just the opposite: that the healing force comes from within the body.

There are exceptions to Palmer's rule, but the basic premise is a universal truth: bioelectrical energy from the brain, passing through the spinal cord and spinal nerves, provides the source of power in life and health. Palmer observed that if the flow of this energy is obstructed or irritated, disturbance or "dis-ease" will result in the body.

Chiropractic theory suggests that normalizing the flow of electrical impulses, or letting the nervous system be "at ease," is an essential step in the process of becoming and staying well. Shephard Clinic's health philosophy has been built around this historic theory because it has been proven time and time again.

Chiropractic is one of the fasting growing health care professions in the western world. It will double in size in the next 10 years, meeting the demands of a public that wants a safe alternative to relieve human suffering.

Scott B. Shephard, D.C.