Chiropractic care in South Dakota dates back to 1874, when Dirk Tieszen, Sr. treated injuries aboard an immigrant ship from Russia and later cared for patients in Marion, South Dakota—decades before D.D. Palmer formally introduced chiropractic in 1895. From 1874 to 1913, Dr. Tieszen set fractures and adjusted spines, never charging patients and opening his home to those in need.

His legacy continued through his sons, Peter Tieszen and Dirk Tieszen, Jr., founders of the first two Tieszen Clinics in Marion.

The first graduate chiropractor to practice in South Dakota was Dr. Elsworth Dowd, a 1904 graduate of the Palmer Institute, followed by his son Dr. Roy Dowd, who practiced for more than 60 years in Waubay and Webster.

In 1921, South Dakota passed its first chiropractic licensing law, led by a group of dedicated doctors. That same year, the South Dakota Chiropractors Association (SDCA) was officially chartered. Dr. George Rensvold became the state’s first licensed chiropractor and served on the first Board of Chiropractic Examiners. By 1923, records show 103 chiropractors, many of them female. 

Since its founding, the SDCA has played a central role in advancing chiropractic legislation, ethics, and professional standards—protecting the profession and expanding patient access to care across the state.