FAQ
Chiropractic Frequently Asked Questions
Chiropractic is the nation’s third largest primary health care profession, surpassed in numbers only by practitioners of medicine and dentistry. Over half of its ranks have graduated since 1977, and there are approximately 50,000 chiropractors in North America alone with many more throughout the world. Recent studies indicate that upwards of 15% of the U.S. population has consulted a chiropractor.
What is chiropractic care?
There’s nothing mysterious about chiropractic. It’s a natural method of health care that focuses on treating the causes of physical problems, rather than just treating the symptoms. Chiropractic is based on a simple but powerful premise. With a normally functioning spine and healthy nerve system, your body is better able to heal itself. That’s because your spine is the lifeline of your nervous system. It controls feeling, movement, and all function through your body.
How does chiropractic work?
Chiropractic works by restoring your body’s inborn ability to be healthy. When under the proper control of your nervous system, all the cells, tissues, and organs of your body are designed to resist disease and ill health. The chiropractic approach to better health is to locate and remove interferences (subluxations, misaligned vertebrae) to your nervous system. With improved spinal function, there is improved nervous system function. The goal of the chiropractor is to remove interference that may be impairing normal health through specific chiropractic adjustments, allowing your body to heal itself. A healthy spine and a healthy lifestyle are your keys to optimal health!
Who Should Visit a Chiropractor?
Researchers tell us that over 80% of the general population will suffer from one of the great variety of vertebrogenic disorders for certain periods of their life. Vertebrogenic disorders mean disorders of the body that are caused in whole or in part by spinal faults.
In addition to pain and discomfort in the neck and back, these disorders include tension headaches, migraine headaches, dizziness, neuralgia, pain in the shoulders and arms, certain types of pain in the chest and abdomen, pain in the hips, knees and legs (sciatica), disc disorders, certain digestive disorders and problems with menstrual cycles. The connection between these seemingly unrelated conditions and the spine is that the nerves, which serve all areas of the body, can be irritated directly or indirectly by spinal disorders.
Even people suffering from arthritis find great relief with chiropractic care, although complete cures from arthritis are not possible.
Frequently spinal problems start in childhood, years before clinical symptoms appear. Identified early, most of these disorders are reversible, and it is for this reason that spinal examinations for children are imperative.
How much training does a Chiropractor receive?
Chiropractic training is extensive. Each student begins with at least two years of undergraduate college, followed by four to five years of specialized Chiropractic training. Naturally Chiropractic students take all the basic science courses – anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and microbiology. They also take intensive courses in diagnosis, radiology, orthopedics, neurology, nutrition and public health. Each student then participates in a clinical internship followed by a licensing exam.
Your doctor of chiropractic is trained to restore the health of your spine through special, gentle chiropractic methods, called adjustments. Adjustments help relieve the irritations that cause pain, normalize and heal the function of many body systems. Anyone can receive chiropractic adjustments regularly, from babies to the elderly; even pregnant women are benefiting from regular chiropractic adjustments and experiencing a healthy and natural pregnancy free of back pain.
Can Chiropractic help?
If areas of abnormal spinal function are identified, your doctor will recommend a chiropractic care program of spinal adjustments. Your plan of care is based upon your age, condition, lifestyle, and unique spinal problem(s).
What is a chiropractic adjustment?
A chiropractic adjustment is the art of using a specific force in a precise direction, applied to a joint that is subluxated, “locked up,” or not moving properly. The purpose of this safe and natural procedure is to eliminate interference to the nervous system, improving spinal function and overall health. “Gentle spinal adjustments boost your body’s immunity”
The primary course of care will be specific chiropractic adjustments. This will help return individual spinal bones to their proper motion and position. There are hundreds of ways of using carefully directed and controlled pressure to restore better position and motion to “stuck” or fixated spinal joints. This may require a quick thrust, or in other instances a slow, constant pressure. Sometimes, only one area of the spine is adjusted, and other times the entire spine will receive attention.
Some adjusting approaches can result in a faint “popping” sound. This sound is created by the shifting of gas and fluids in the joint. The presence or “loudness” of this sound has little meaning and varies with each patient.
Is Chiropractic care safe?
Chiropractic adjustments are safer than aspirin, muscle relaxers, and back surgery. Dozens of research studies have documented the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic adjustments. When compared with traditional approaches, chiropractic care is remarkably safe. In fact, millions of chiropractic adjustment are safely delivered to satisfied patients every day!
Do children need chiropractic care?
Since significant spinal trauma can occur at birth, many parents have their newborns checked for vertebral subluxation. Naturally, chiropractic adjusting procedures are adapted for the child’s spine. Many childhood health complaints that are brushed off can be traced to the spine. Health problems that emerge in adulthood could often be prevented by having your children’s spine checked by a chiropractor early. Most parents report that their children enjoy their chiropractic adjustments and are healthier than their peers.
Are all patients adjusted the same way?
No. The doctor evaluates each patient’s unique spinal problem and develops an individual course of care. Each chiropractic adjustment builds on the one before. The resulting recommendations are based upon years of training and experience. Each patient’s care is uniquely different from every other patient.
Is chiropractic safe?
Yes. Chiropractic has an excellent safety record. It is the result of a conservative and natural approach to health that avoids invasive procedures or addictive drugs. As proof, one merely has to compare malpractice rates between chiropractors and other health care professionals. Chiropractors’ malpractice premiums are a small fraction of those for medical doctors.
What causes the sound during an adjustment?
Actually, adjustments do not always produce a sound. Often, however, adjustments do create the sound of a spinal “release,” or “popping” sound. The sound is caused by gas rushing in to fill the partial vacuum created when the joints are slightly separated. This sound is painless and totally harmless.
Can I adjust myself?
No. Since a chiropractic adjustment is a specific force, applied in a specific direction to a specific joint, it is virtually impossible to adjust oneself correctly and accurately. It is possible to turn or bend or twist in certain ways to create a “popping” sound that sometimes accompanies a chiropractic adjustment. Unfortunately, this type of joint manipulation is usually counterproductive, often making an already unstable spine even more unstable, and can sometimes be dangerous. Adjusting the spine is not for amateurs!
Is chiropractic care addictive?
No. If only it were, there would be more healthy people around and chiropractors would not get patients who last saw a chiropractor “a few years ago when their back went out.” It is possible to get used to feeling more balanced, less stressed, and more energetic as a result or regular chiropractic care. Chiropractic is not addictive, however, good health is.
Can a person who had back surgery see a chiropractor?
Yes. It’s an unfortunate fact that up to half of those who had spinal surgery discover a return of their original symptoms months or years later. They then face the prospect of additional surgery. This too common occurrence is know as “Failed Back Surgery Syndrome.” Chiropractic may help prevent repeated back surgeries. In fact, if chiropractic care is initially, utilized back surgery can often be avoided in the first place.
Does chiropractic work for all types of health problems?
No, however chiropractic care is successful with a very wide variety of health problems not necessarily considered “back” problems because of improved nerve system function. With a normal nerve supply the body’s natural healing capacity can improve a variety of health problems.
Is it OK to see a chiropractor if I’m pregnant?
Anytime is a good time for a better functioning nervous system. Pregnant mothers find that chiropractic adjustments improve their pregnancy and make delivery easier for themselves and their baby. Adjusting methods are always adapted to a patients size, weight, age, and condition of health.
What is the difference between a chiropractor and an osteopath?
Chiropractors base their care on the detection correction, and prevention of vertebral subluxations (spinal misalignments). We use specific spinal adjustments to correct the spine, to improve nerve system functions and reduce nerve interference. Osteopaths use drugs, surgery, and other traditional medical therapies and only occasionally use manipulative procedures.
Why do chiropractors take x-rays?
Chiropractors take x-rays to reveal the internal structure and alignment of the spine. We are also concerned about underlying disease processes and disorders of the spine such as spinal deterioration, arthritis of the spine, abnormal development, bone spurs, disc disorders, tumors and spinal curvature. X-rays also provide a blueprint for correcting the spine back to optimal health and alignment.
Is a good work-out the same as getting adjusted?
No. Exercise is an important part of good health, yet without normal spinal function a physical workout merely puts additional wear and tear on improperly functioning spinal joints.