What is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is a science, art, and philosophy of things natural. It is one of the fastest growing health care professions in the world due to the growing realization of its effectiveness as a natural, non-invasive and drugless approach to health and life. Chiropractic is America`s third largest primary health care profession, exceeded in numbers only by dentists and medical doctors. Doctors of chiropractic practice a conservative, non-surgical method of care based on the premise that the body is capable of achieving and maintaining health through its own innate recuperative powers, provided that it receives the necessary elements including proper nutrition, clean air, water, rest, exercise, and a properly functioning nervous system.

A History of Chiropractic in South Carolina

The Chiropractic profession was officially licensed in South Carolina in 1932. However, the Chiropractic census in the state probably started with five or six chiropractors in the 1910’s. After WWI, the chiropractic colleges experienced an exponential growth in enrollment, and several prominent chiropractors graduated from these post-war classes.

Dr. A.J. Keown, the first secretary of both the South Carolina Chiropractic Association and the South Carolina Board of Examiners, shows a total of 30 chiropractors on the membership roll of the association in 1932. However, records show fifty-three chiropractors were grandfathered by the licensure act of 1932.

In late 1931, Drs. H.L. Hennies and R.E. May called a meeting of South Carolina chiropractors to discuss organizing a chiropractic association. After the name Palmetto Chiropractors Association was rejected, the group adopted the name South Carolina Chiropractor Society. This name was changed in January 1932 to the South Carolina Chiropractic Association and it remained such until 1948 when the association was officially incorporated as the South Carolina Chiropractors’ Association. One final name change was made in 1989 when the association chose to return to its previous designation, South Carolina Chiropractic Association. 

Moving ahead, the 1990’s signaled a turning point for the chiropractic profession nationally and in South Carolina. Study after study began to provide scientific proof as to the effectiveness and efficiency of chiropractic care, giving the profession new ammunition in the battle for acceptance. The chiropractic profession began to experience a new level of acceptance and respect not only from the public but from the legislative and medical communities as well. The SCCA was awarded with increased membership, growing from 158 members in 1989 to 363 members in 1995, and 420 members in 2004.

-compiled from A History of Chiropractic in South Carolina
published by the SCCA, 1997