American Chiropractic Association

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA), based in Arlington, VA, is the largest professional association in the world representing doctors of chiropractic. Its mission is to preserve, protect, improve and promote the chiropractic profession and the services of Doctors of Chiropractic for the benefit of the patients they serve.

Purpose and Mission
The stated purpose of the ACA is to provide leadership in health care and a positive vision for the chiropractic profession and its natural approach to health and wellness. On behalf of the chiropractic profession, the ACA accomplishes its mission and purpose by affecting public policy and legislation, by promoting high standards in professional ethics and quality of treatment, by funding chiropractic research and by carrying out a strategic plan to help ensure the professional growth and success of the chiropractic profession.

Organization Overview
The American Chiropractic Association was founded in 1963. Today, the ACA has more than 16,000 members. It is the largest professional association in the world representing doctors of chiropractic.

The House of Delegates, the legislative body of the Association, is composed of 125 delegates representing all 50 states, ACA’s Specialty Councils, and the Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA). The House of Delegates meets twice per year, including a session during the Association’s annual meeting each September.

The ACA formally recognizes 9 specialty areas of the chiropractic practice through its specialty councils: pediatrics, rehabilitation, internal disorders, diagnostic imaging, neurology, nutrition, occupational health, orthopedics, sports injuries and physical fitness.

ACA News is the flagship publication of the association. Other publications include the Journal of the American Chiropractic Association Online(JACA Online) and Week in Review. The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT), the chiropractic profession's pre-eminent research journal owned by National University of Health Sciences and published by Elsevier, is included on the list of membership benefits available to all ACA members.

ACA is proud to endorse select consumer products and companies. Not every product qualifies for an ACA endorsement. The ACA may extend endorsement of a product or service only after a thorough review by ACA staff, ACA specialty council and committee members, and other qualified doctors of chiropractic. Click here for a current list of ACA-endorsed products.

The American Chiropractic Foundation is the charitable arm of the association. The Foundation provides grants for research, education, and scholarships.

History
Today’s American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is an organizational descendant of one of the first national chiropractic membership societies – the Universal Chiropractors Association (UCA), established at the Palmer School of Chiropractic in 1906.

From the humble beginnings of UCA – an organization designed to thwart political medicine’s efforts to jail chiropractors – organized chiropractic would progress to offer doctors educational opportunities, malpractice insurance, research funding, and accreditation for chiropractic colleges. These developments were largely the result of various successors to the UCA, especially the National Chiropractic Association (NCA: 1930-1963), which is the immediate predecessor of today’s ACA.

In 1963, the National Chiropractic Association reorganized into the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). Today’s ACA provides lobbying, public relations, professional and educational opportunities for doctors of chiropractic, funds research regarding chiropractic and health issues, and offers leadership for the advancement of the profession.

''Keating JC. The gestation and difficult birth of the American Chiropractic Association. Chiropractic History 2006 (Winter): 26(2): 91-126''