Common Chiropractic Questions
- What is chiropractic?
Chiropractic is the science, art & philosophy or correcting subluxations (misalignments of bones, producing nerve pressure or irritations) by adjustments (a precise method of realigning misaligned body structure, particularly the spinal vertebrae). This method is especially helpful in correcting:
- headaches
- backaches
- pain & stiffness in neck
- pain between shoulders
- pain in hips or legs
- pain & numbness in hands and feet
- pain in shoulders or arms
- muscular pains in chest or abdomen
- Is the Chiropractor a Doctor?
Yes. A minimum of six years of education to become a Doctor of Chiropractic is required by law in all states and most places around the world where chiropractic is practiced.
The Doctor of Chiropractic first spends at least two years in pre-chiropractic studies at a college or university. Then he attends a college of chiropractic for four more years. Besides the rigorous classroom studies during his last two years, he must serve as an extern at an outpatient clinic where he experiences results from thousands of chiropractic treatments with hundreds of patients. At the satisfactory completion of these six or more years of education and extern training, the degree of Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) is conferred.
The Doctor of Chiropractic studies all the basic sciences and must pass the State Board of Examiners' basic sciences examination. This is the same basic sciences examination other doctors, including MDs, are required to pass. In addition a Doctor of Chiropractic must then pass the rigid State Board of Chiropractic examination. The Doctor of Chiropractic receives a license to practice only after all studies and training requirements have been scrupulously met, and the state's examinations have been passed.
- Does chiropractic treatment require a referral from an MD?
No, a patient does not need referral by an MD before visiting a doctor of chiropractic. Chiropractors are first contact physicians, and are so defined in federal and state regulations. Following a consultation and examination, the doctor of chiropractic will arrive at a diagnosis under chiropractic care, or refer the patient to the appropriate health care provider.
- Is chiropractic treatment safe?
Yes, chiropractic treatment is safe and effective. While any form of health treatment contains a degree of inherent risk, there is little danger in chiropractic care when administered by a licensed practitioner. To assure competency, all states require that DC's be board-qualified, licensed, and regulated according to stringent criteria. Statistics show that patient risk is substantially lower in chiropractic as opposed to medical care, where the use of prescription drugs and surgery pose a greater risk.
- Do Chiropractors ever use drugs in patient care?
No drugs or medications are ever used, or prescribed, in chiropractic care. Chiropractic recognizes the possible benefits from drugs with contagious or infectious diseases, but most drugs only temporarily block pain which merely masks or distorts symptoms.
Covering up symptoms, in turn, is misleading and may keep you from getting the proper treatments needed to correct the underlying cause of your pain. Turning off a fire alarm doesn't put out the fire! Chiropractic searches for, finds, and corrects causes. Chiropractors understands that only nature heals and will use only natural means to restore health.
- What happens during my first visit?
During your first visit, the chiropractic doctor will ask you about your health and find out what is concerning you. The chiropractor will also ask about your family history, dietary habits, other care you may have had (chiropractic, osteopathic, medical, etc.), your job, and other questions designed to help determine the nature of your illness and the best way to go about treating the problem.
A physical examination will be performed, which may include x-rays, laboratory analysis and other diagnostic procedures. In addition, a careful spinal examination and analysis will be performed to detect any structural abnormalities which may be affecting or causing your condition. All of these elements are important components of your total health profile, and vital to evaluating your problem.
- Are adjustments painful?
Most spinal adjustments are not painful at all and, as a matter of fact, patients feel very good and often free pain almost immediately. Adjustments are also very safe with no harmful or dangerous side effects.
To give an adjustment the chiropractor locates a vertebra, or any other bone, which has slipped from its normal position and is causing nerve pressure and irritation and carefully and skillfully moves that vertebra or back bone into its position. In most cases this is done by making contact in a very special manner, usually with the hands, directly over the affected vertebra or other bone, and making a gentle movement.
This gently pushes the vertebra back into its proper place and allows the nervous and other bodily systems to function properly.
- How permanent are the results?
Chiropractic locates and corrects the nerve interference causing many health problems. When the correction is completed and the nervous system is restored to normal function, the body will cure itself: that's the chiropractic premise. Therefore, complete correction is usually permanent. However, you must recognize the possibility that a repetition of the same or similar habits, occupational hazards, falls, accidents, or other traumas can cause a recurrence of the condition.
Your conscientious compliance with your doctor's recommendations, especially between adjustments, and your follow-through with maintenance care and periodic spinal examinations after your initial, concentrated, intensive care is completed, will contribute greatly to the permanence of the correction and your future good health.
- Is chiropractic treatment appropriate for children?
Yes, children can benefit from chiropractic care. Children are very physically active and experience many types of falls and blows from activities of daily living as well as from participating in sports. Injuries such as these may cause many symptoms including back and neck pain, stiffness, soreness or discomfort. Chiropractic care is always adapted to the individual patient. It is a highly skilled treatment, and in the case of children, very gentle.
- Once you see a chiropractor, do you have to go for the rest of your life?
No. The extent to which you choose to benefit from your chiropractic care is ultimately up to you. Each & everyone of us is solely responsible for the quality of our health & well-being. What we find is that many of our patients experience freedom from pain and discomfort through chiropractic care. So, many of them choose to come in regularly to keep their body functioning at its optimum level.
- Do insurance plans cover chiropractic?
The majority of all insured American workers have coverage for chiropractic services in their health care plans. For example, the federal government's Office of Personnel Management offers chiropractic coverage for federal employees in both the Mail Handlers and BCBS benefit plans. In addition, there is a chiropractic benefit in Federal Workers' Compensation, and chiropractic care is available to members of the armed forces at more than 40 military bases, and is available at nearly 30 veterans' medical facilities.
- Is it bad to "crack" your back or neck a lot?
This question is frequently asked because people associate the "cracking" or "popping" of one's back or neck with a chiropractic adjustment. The two are not the same thing. If a person has a desire to "crack" his/her neck or back it is often because one area of their spine is fixated or jammed causing another area to move too much and "pop", sometimes by itself. It's the fixated or jammed area that needs to be properly adjusted by a chiropractor so that the other parts of the spine will not be hypermobile and noisy. When you "crack" your back you may be relieving the tension for a little while. Do you notice how it keeps coming back? That is because you are not giving yourself a specific chiropractic adjustment. The cause of the spinal tension, the fixated or jammed (subluxated) vertebrae, has not been corrected. Any person who makes a habit out of "cracking" or "popping" their back or neck needs to go to a Doctor of Chiropractic to have their spine checked. Even a chiropractor cannot adjust him/herself.
- What should I do if I'm experiencing some of these symptoms?
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We'll do a thorough examination of your medical history and symptoms, and suggest the best treatment to help you experience relief fast. Come in to our office for an honest evaluation of what can be done naturally to help you experience relief without drugs, surgeries or invasive procedures.