The number of those benefiting from chiropractic care continues to rise as more and more people discover the importance of good spinal health. If you’re a patient of chiropractic, you probably know a lot about what the therapy can do for you—but what about the profession itself? Here are some chiropractic fun facts you definitely didn’t see coming.

    1. The term “chiropractic” is a combination of two Grecian words: cheir which means hand, and praktoswhich means done. “Done by Hand”… fitting, right?
    2. DD_PalmerThe first chiropractic adjustment was given in 1895 by Daniel David Palmer (the father of Chiropractic!) who helped a janitor, Harvey Lillard, regain his hearing after a back accident he suffered 17 years prior.
    3. Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs) go through a minimum of 4,200 hours of classroom, lab and clinical internships during their 4-year university program.
    4. The chiropractic profession in the UK is small and growing slowly. With just over 3,000 chiropractors the ratio per head of population is one chiropractor for every 22,000. In Canada the ratio is one chiro- practor every 4,000 of population.
    5. There are about 95,000 doctors of chiropractic in active practice across the globe, and about 10,000 students are currently enrolled in chiropractic education programs in the United States alone.
    6. It is estimated that 90% of all world-class athletes routinely use chiropractic care to prevent injuries and boost their performance.
    7. Unbeknownst to quite a few, infants can benefit greatly from chiropractic care. It makes sense—birth can be pretty hard on a little body! The adjustment is adapted to suit their needs and is perfectly safe.
    8. Each day, over one million adjustments take place across the globe.
    9. Chiropractic is recognized and regulated by law in over 40 countries!
    10. An injured worker is 28 times less likely to have spinal surgery if the first point of contact is a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC), rather than a surgeon.