Things You’re Not Supposed To Know About Chiropractors
Their education is equal to their medical colleagues … and might be better in some areas.
This might be difficult to accept, but chiropractic students spend markedly more hours in the classroom than medical students, especially in the areas of anatomy, physiology, orthopedics, and x-ray. Of course, their training is different since “Chiros” concentrate on muscles, bones, joints, and nerves. Their education only touches on medication, emergency situations, etc. Many are beginning to think this gives them a better background in physical rehab.
They do more than crunch backs and necks
While chiros are known for treating back and neck problems with joint manipulation, most are well versed and board certified to perform physical therapies. They are also licensed to function as primary care physicians. Based on their education many use nutrition as a form of treatment.
It’s safe
Even though ghost stories of adjustments gone wrong are common, the actual risk of injury from chiropractic treatment is rare. Generally, the malpractice insurance that doctors have to pay is based, among other things, on their field. Chiropractors as a group pay the less for malpractice insurance than any other type of physician. Why? Lawsuits claiming injuries or negligence are less common against chiropractors.
They took the AMA to court — and won — twice
For decades chiropractors were campaigned by the AMA (American Medical Association) as not being “real doctors” and met fierce resistance from medical organizations. Chiropractors claimed the AMA was trying to snuff out the competition with fear tactics and bogus research. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with them in 1987… and again in 1990. It was found that the AMA was guilty of illegal antitrust activities against the chiropractic profession, ordered an injunction on their activity, and forcing them to print the courts findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
M.D.’s and D.C.’s are now working together
It’s becoming more common to find integrated offices, where M.D.’s, D.O.’s, and D.C.’s are working side-by-side. Many medical offices now try to provide multi-specialty approaches to treatment. With natural forms of treatment becoming more popular, drugless forms of treatment have become preferred by many over pain-medication.
Things To Ask When Checking Out Chiropractors
• ”Does the office offer a free consultation?
• ”Ask if they have digital x-ray available onsite, because they’re dealing with the spine.
• ”Ask how long the doctor has been in practice, as experience is important. Ask if the doctor participates regularly in continuing education.
• ”Does the office or doctor use any advanced technology like Class IV laser? Cold laser is the antiquated laser.
• ”Some of them use only one tool. If all you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. That happens a lot in our profession. Does the doctor use one technique or a more comprehensive, holistic list of tools? Is the doctor certified in any soft tissue modalities, which complement the skeletal modalities. Typically, muscular/skeletal mean you treat all of that.
• ”Do they offer a reduced fee membership model? That’s the wave of the future.
• “Have they treated your specific condition before, if you know what it is?”
• “People should find someone who has an affiliation with a larger corporation like American Chiropractic Association.
• “Look for someone who’s not ordering imaging right away, unless there are certain red flags that indicate you need imaging.
• “You want to find someone who’s goal-oriented for you, someone who will help encourage an active treatment plan, who will help restore you to a normal function not just treat pain.
• “You don’t want someone who encourages the use of lumbar support or braces for long-term prevention of back pain, but will teach you how to learn and exercise so you don’t need a chiropractor.
• “Look for interdisciplinary care. As a chiropractor, I should be part of someone’s healthcare team. The skills and knowledge I possess and continue to learn should be complementary to what they receive from their physician. If you can’t tell the difference between the care you receive from a chiropractor and a physical therapist, you’re in the right place, though our study is broader.
• “They should be open to referring people out. If I possess the skills and tools that will help patients the most, I’ll keep them in house, but if I know they can receive better care elsewhere, then I’d send them elsewhere.
• “There’s a formula to care for everyone. Some have intermittent bouts of back problems, but if we can develop a formula such as a frequency of spinal adjusting and exercise, and mindfulness to know what it needs at certain times, you’ll likely have better results.
• “Go online and read reviews. People tend to post pretty honest things about their experience.”
• “You want someone who will sit down and explain treatments. They will use insurance instead of saying it’s a cash-only plan.
• “Read the chiropractor’s biography online to see if that will be a good fit. They might say what they’re into and that can help. It’s a good way to take a look. You can see the certifications that can include if they do taping, soft tissues, ultrasound and other modalities. You can gauge a lot about a chiropractor through their website.
• “A lot of times, they have tours. You can see how their office looks. You want to be comfortable with the provider, like with any provider.
• “A lot of people, when they call here and ask to speak with the doctor, that’s not a bad thing. The doctor may not be able to speak with you that minute, but you know it will be a good fit if they’ll call you back before you come into the office. It should be all about the patient.”
• “If it’s a worker’s compensation injury, you’ll have to see if they accept those. Some don’t.
• “If it’s a cash or general insurance basis, the best way is by word-of-mouth. Talk with family members and friends. See who keeps them moving.
Things You Need to Know Before Visiting a Chiropractor
Considering you’re always on the go, it’s no surprise that your crazy-busy lifestyle morphs your body into an achy, stiff mess on the reg. Perhaps you’ve thought about seeing a chiropractor but aren’t sure if it’s a great idea given last year’s news cycle about a woman who died after visiting one. But it’s time to clear the air. Here’s everything you should know about seeing a chiropractor, from choosing the right one for you to all the safety precautions you should consider upfront.
“The practice is founded on the premise that the nervous system controls every other aspect of the human body, so a properly functioning nervous system allows for the body to function optimally.” Besides back and neck pain, chiropractors can help with things like radiating pain, numbness, tingling, burning, and tendonitis
Adjustments are done manually (using hands) or mechanically (using a small instrument), and involve applying force to the joints, bones, and muscles in and around your spine to improve overall physical function.
While research from the Annals of Internal Medicine shows chiropractic care for musculoskeletal conditions can help back pain (in some cases, more than pain killers), there’s been little to no widely accepted research showing that chiropractic treatments are effective for any other conditions—say, ear infections or insomnia
board-certified in integrative and holistic medicine. That said, if it’s something you’re interested in, don’t be afraid to bring it up with your doc—they should at least take the time to consider whether chiropractic care could serve as an appropriate alternative therapy for your issue, says
What’s the truth about chiropractors?
Chiropractors attend graduate-level health colleges to treat disorders of the bones, nerves, muscles, and ligaments. They graduate as doctors of chiropractic degrees, but they are not medical doctors.
While chiropractors are widely known for treating back and neck pain, they also treat bone and soft tissue conditions. In this article, we explore myths and truths of chiropractic care. We also describe the training that chiropractors undergo, how safe these treatments may be, and the research behind the practice.
What certifications must chiropractors have?
A common myth is that chiropractors do not undergo a significant amount of training. In fact, they typically complete about 8 years of higher education before they are licensed. Chiropractors tend to have 4 years of undergraduate education.
hiropractic program specifics
Divided by year, a chiropractic graduate program usually involves:
First year: Courses in general anatomy, chiropractic principles, biochemistry, spinal anatomy.
Second year: Courses in chiropractic procedures, pathology, clinical orthopedics, imaging interpretation, and research methods.
Third year: Courses in clinical internships, integrated chiropractic, pediatrics, dermatology, practice management, and ethics and jurisprudence.
Fourth year: A clinical internship, in which a student studies under a chiropractor and completes rotations in a hospital or veterans’ clinic.
WHAT IS CHIROPRACTIC CARE AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?
So have you guys ever heard when you talk to your friends “Man, I went to the chiropractor and it was the most amazing thing ever. They cured my diabetes.” No, you don’t hear that do you? Or you’ll have some people that’ll say “The chiropractor is the most amazing thing ever, they made my sciatica go away.” But if you spend enough time talking to people about chiropractic you really will get stuff like “Wow I feel better, I move better, I function better, I don’t get sick as often, my chronic disease is doing better.”
a chiropractor and I just want to take a quick second today to talk about what chiropractic is and what chiropractic isn’t. I think the hard part about that is that people think when they go to the doctor, they have something they want to get rid of. Right? They say they have back pain and want to get rid of it. Or they have high blood pressure and want to get rid of it. But what if the problem isn’t that when you go to the doctor you have something you need to get rid of. What if the problem is you’ve lost something you should have and that’s affecting your body’s ability to function properly?
Chiropractic is about function, it’s about the ability of your body functions. The first thing we should talk about it “what is health?” And traditionally what we’re taught is that health is about looking good or feeling good. “As long as I feel good then I’m healthy.” But is that really what health is? Don’t we all know people who feel good in the morning? They wake up, like my grandfather, but then have a stroke by noon? So they felt great that morning yet still end up in the hospital by noon that day. Or how many people wake up that morning and feel fantastic and then go to the doctor that same day and they go “Oh by the way your blood work came back with cancer” cause you can’t feel cancer and you can’t feel heart disease. So just quickly, so we’re on the same page, health has nothing to do with how you look or how you feel.
Although that’s how our culture or our society judges health. If you look up health by definition, the World Health Organization defines health by function. So, if your body is 100% then you have health. So the World Health Organization’s definition of health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” For my patients in my practice the reason why we get such overall health change is because we teach them how to get their bodies functioning optimally. I always say in the office, “health is not owned, it’s rented. And you’re paying rent on your health everyday.” So every day you’re either doing things to improve the quality of the function. Eat right, exercise, get your spines adjusted. Or you’re not doing anything about your health and instead of building health or optimizing function, you’re actually getting sicker over time. If that makes sense.
So, that all being said, we all know that we should eat right, because eating right builds health and function. We should exercise, because exercising builds health and function. There’s even old sayings by our grandparents. “You are what you eat” right? So, we know that we’re supposed to eat right we’re supposed to exercise. One thing is that when I talk to people in the community and when my patients first come into the office, they don’t realize that your spine dictates the function of your health. It’s just one more piece of the puzzle that people don’t know needed to fit there.
