100 Years of the ICA: Building Chiropractic Practices That Will Carry the Profession Forward
In 2026, the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) celebrates a remarkable milestone: 100 years of advocating for chiropractic and the patients chiropractors serve.
Founded by B.J. Palmer in Davenport, Iowa, in 1926, the ICA grew from a vision to establish and protect chiropractic as a distinct healthcare profession. Over the century that followed, chiropractors fought for professional recognition, licensure, greater patient access, education, and research, all while generations of doctors continued the day-to-day work that ultimately defines the profession: caring for patients.
This anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate the past. But it should also prompt an important question:
What will chiropractors do with the next 100 years?
A Century Built on Clinical Skill and Patient Care
The history of chiropractic stretches even further back than the ICA. Chiropractic Founders Day is celebrated on September 18 to commemorate D.D. Palmer's first chiropractic adjustment in 1895. His son, B.J. Palmer, went on to play a major role in developing the profession and founded the organization that became the ICA.
Since then, chiropractic has grown from its beginnings in Davenport into an international healthcare profession. Today, the ICA reports that Doctors of Chiropractic are licensed throughout the United States and District of Columbia, as well as Canada, and that chiropractic is recognized and regulated in more than 40 countries.
That progress was built on the work of thousands of chiropractors committed to developing their clinical skills and caring for the people who walked through their doors.
But excellent clinical skills alone may not be enough to determine how many people chiropractic reaches in its next century.
You Can't Help the Patient Who Never Walks Through Your Door
Most chiropractors enter the profession because they want to help people. They spend years building clinical knowledge and keep learning throughout their careers. Yet once they open a practice, they discover that being an excellent clinician and building a thriving healthcare practice require two different skill sets.
A chiropractor can be exceptionally good at patient care and still struggle with attracting new patients, patient retention, staffing, systems, marketing, finances, or practice growth.
And that creates a larger issue.
If your practice isn't growing, how many people in your community who could potentially benefit from chiropractic care are never being reached?
Building a successful practice isn't separate from your mission as a chiropractor.
It can be one way you fulfill it.
Stronger Practices Can Bring Chiropractic to More People
The ICA's history demonstrates what can happen when chiropractors think beyond individual adjustments and work to expand access to the profession.
For 100 years, the organization has advocated for chiropractic, worked to remove barriers to patient access, and supported the profession's growth and development. The ICA says its continuing focus includes removing barriers to access, expanding research, and advancing knowledge around chiropractic care.
Individual chiropractors can contribute to that same goal in their own communities.
A healthy, growing practice can reach more people.
More new patients can discover chiropractic. More existing patients can receive consistent care. A growing practice can hire and train additional staff, educate its community, introduce new services where appropriate, and create the infrastructure needed to serve more people without exhausting the doctor.
Practice growth, viewed this way, isn't simply about increasing revenue.
It's about increasing your capacity to help.
Clinical Excellence Deserves Business Excellence
Sometimes, healthcare has an uncomfortable divide between being a great clinician and being a good business owner. There shouldn't be.
Sound practice management supports good patient care.
Clear systems help patients receive consistent service. Well-trained staff can create a better patient experience. Strong finances allow a practice to invest in technology, education, and people. Effective marketing helps people looking for care to discover the practice.
Good leadership also lets the chiropractor spend more time doing what they were trained to do, rather than constantly putting out administrative fires.
The goal isn't growth for growth's sake.
The goal is to build a strong enough practice to deliver excellent care consistently and expand its ability to serve.
The Next 100 Years Start in Today's Practices
The chiropractic profession has traveled an extraordinary distance since 1895, and the ICA's centennial provides an opportunity to recognize 100 years of advocacy for the profession.
But anniversaries aren't only about looking backward. They're also about deciding what comes next.
The chiropractors who built this profession created something that survived enormous challenges and ultimately reached patients worldwide. Today's chiropractors have inherited that legacy. The next responsibility is to expand it.
That means continuing to develop outstanding clinical skills. It means protecting the patient-centered principles that have sustained chiropractic for generations.
But it also means learning how to build healthy, well-managed, and growing practices that can bring those skills to more people.
The first 100 years built the foundation. Today's chiropractor can build on it and help bring chiropractic to the patients who will define the next 100.
At Effective Practice Management, we support chiropractors on this journey. Take the Free Practice Analysis to discover where your practice could use support.