Are Chiropractors Doctors? What is a Chiropractor?
Chiropractic Specialities | How Chiropractic Works | What is a Chiropractic Adjustment?
Are Chiropractors Doctors? A Doctor of Chiropractic or DC, is a highly educated, highly trained health care professional who specializes in identifying and treating neuromuscular disorders and related symptoms. Treatment often focuses on manual adjustments of the spine. However, treatment can include a wide variety of modalities and address areas other than the neck and back. It’s no surprise, then, that the word chiropractic roughly translates to done by hand. The connection between chiropractors and their patients is a special one; most practitioners pride themselves on providing holistic care and getting to know patients as people rather than treating a single symptom and calling the problem solved.
Chiropractic: A Healthcare Profession
Chiropractic is a healthcare profession that cares for a patient’s neuromusculoskeletal system; the bones, nerves, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. A chiropractor helps manage back and neck pain through the use of spinal adjustments to maintain good alignment. Chiropractic is focused on the body’s ability to self-heal and includes other treatments like nutrition and exercise. Are Chiropractors Doctors? Chiropractors attend graduate-level health colleges to treat bones, nerves, muscles, and ligament disorders. Above all chiropractors are widely known for treating back and neck pain, they also treat bone and soft tissue conditions.
Chiropractic Specialties & Certifications
Unlike medical doctors, chiropractors don’t have to choose a particular interest or specialization. However, those who have a passion for a particular type of treatment or patient population may pursue formal education in that area. In addition, certifications include in-depth studies of joint pain and gait problems, sports medicine, pediatrics, electrodiagnostics, diagnostic imaging, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, acupuncture, nutrition, internal disorders, orthopedics, occupational health, and neurology.
How Chiropractic Works
Chiropractic is based upon the understanding that good health depends, in part, upon a normally functioning nervous system. Chiropractic works by helping to restore your own inborn ability to be healthy. When under the proper control of your nervous system, all the cells, tissue, and organs of your body are designed to function well and resist disease and ill health. The Chiropractic approach to better health is to locate and help reduce interferences to your natural state of being healthy. A common interference to the nervous system is the twenty four moving bones of the spinal column. A loss of normal motion or position of these bones can irritate or impair the function of the nervous system. This can disrupt the transmission of controlling nerve impulses.
What Do Chiropractors Do?
Are Chiropractors Doctors? Chiropractors are the spinal health experts. Helping to restore proper spinal biomechanics and improved nervous system function begins with a patient’s case history. This gives the chiropractor a background about your health, such as surgeries, accidents, the onset of your condition and other details affecting your current health. After reviewing your history and discussing your specific problem, a thorough orthopedic, neurological and chiropractic examination is performed. X-rays may be taken to uncover structural and functioning problems associated with the spinal column. These examinations help identify areas of spinal malfunction and resulting nervous system deficit. The findings of these examinations are explained and a plan of chiropractic adjustments may be recommended. Progress is monitored with periodical examinations and follow-up reports.
What is a Chiropractic Adjustment?
A chiropractic adjustment is the skill of using a specific force in a precise direction, applied to a joint that is fixated, “locked up”, or not moving properly. This adds motion to the joint, helping the joints to gradually regain more normal motion and function. There are many ways to adjust the spine. Usually the chiropractor’s hands or a specially designed instrument delivers a brief and highly-accurate thrust. Some adjusting methods are quick, whereas others require a slow, constant or indirect pressure. After years of university training and clinical experience, each Chiropractor becomes highly skilled in the delivery of a variety of adjusting approaches.
What is The Goal of Chiropractic Care?
The goal of a chiropractic adjustment is to restore normal joint function and muscle balance. Treatments are believed to reduce stress on the immune system, reducing the potential for disease. Chiropractic care aims to address the entire body, including a person’s ability to move, perform, and even think. Recommendations for your at-home chiropractic care may incorporate exercise, hot/cold therapy, massage, nutrition as well as the use of proper posture and movement skills. Therefore, you are key to your care. In other words, you can gain back the quality of life you want and deserve.
Is Chiropractic Care Safe?
Chiropractic care is “remarkably safe.” Chiropractic has an excellent safety record. It is the result of a conservative approach to health that avoids invasive procedures or addictive drugs. In relation to the treatment of neck and back pain, studies have shown that a course of chiropractic care was 250 times safer than a course of anti-inflammatory drugs.
Who Can Receive Chiropractic Treatment?
Almost anyone of any age can benefit from chiropractic treatment. Chiropractors experienced in pediatric care can help babies overcome colic, nursing issues, and sleep problems; while older children may see a chiropractor for chronic ear infections, help meeting milestones such as crawling and walking, or simply to ensure proper spinal hygiene while growing.
Pregnant women can benefit from chiropractic care, too. The Webster technique is a specific type of sacral adjustment designed to help mothers-to-be achieve ideal pelvic alignment. Adjustments could alleviate pelvic pain and sciatica and even create more room for the baby to move, allowing a breech baby to rotate into a better position for delivery. Even older adults are eligible for chiropractic care. As long as the patient is otherwise healthy, low-velocity adjustments could help with pain and mobility, though chiropractors know to look out for contraindications such as osteoporosis, the use of anticoagulants, or serious medical conditions, such as cancer.
What Results can I Expect from Chiropractic Care?
In conclusion, if you’re new to chiropractic care, you’ll want to know what type of result you can expect. Individual experience varies from person to person, but most people can expect some benefits soon after beginning care and for these to consolidate further as therapy continues. Similarly, research shows that Chiropractic care is more effective and economical and also gives longer lasting results for disorders of the spine than other forms of health care.
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What is a Chiropractor?
Chiropractors are primary contact practitioners (which means they can see patients without a referral from a GP). They focus on treating the spine by using their hands to examine and treat health conditions related to the bones, muscles and joints (musculoskeletal problems). Chiropractors are trained to recommend exercises to treat and rehabilitate health conditions related to the bones, muscles and joints, as well as to provide nutritional, dietary and lifestyle advice.
How does chiropractic work?
Chiropractic adjustment is a procedure in which trained specialists (chiropractors) use their hands or a small instrument to apply a controlled, sudden force to a spinal joint. The goal of this procedure, also known as spinal manipulation, is to improve spinal motion and improve your body's physical function.
How do I know if I need a chiropractor?
When to see a chiropractor? If you suffer from neck, back, or knee pain that has an unexplained cause and not due to advanced osteoarthritis, you may benefit from seeing a chiropractor. Just make sure you see one that is licensed to practice.