About Chiropractic

What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on disorders of the nervous and musculoskeletal system, and the effects that these disorders have on your overall health. Most patients present to a chiropractor's office because of a complaint of back pain, neck pain or headaches, but pain is not the only thing that a chiropractor treats. Chiropractor's are highly trained to "align the spine," which in turn reduces inflammation/irritation on the spinal cord or nerve roots that pass out of the spinal column and innervate every gland, organ, tissue, blood vessel, etc. in the body. Chiropractors practice a drug-free, hands-on approach to health care that includes a thorough patient examination, diagnosis and treatment. Chiropractors have broad diagnostic skills and are further trained to recommend a range of therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, as well as nutritional and dietary counseling. Chiropractors frequently treat individuals with neuromusculoskeletal complaints like headaches, joint pain, neck pain, low back pain and sciatica as well as patients with osteoarthritis, sprains and strains, spinal disk conditions, tendonitis, TMJ and carpal tunnel syndrome. By aligning the spine and reducing irritation on the nerves, chiropractors help your body to function at it's optimum by allowing messages from the brain to reach the various parts of the body quickly and efficiently. This optimal functioning allows the body to heal itself, thus often reducing or alleviating a variety of non-neuromusculoskeletal conditions such as: allergies, ear infections (otitis media), asthma, digestive disorders, bed wetting, etc.

Chiropractors are highly trained in the technique known as a "spinal adjustment." The adjustment is used to restore joint mobility to joints that have become restricted. Chiropractors make small, specific adjustments in order to help properly align the spine and restore mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness and allowing tissues, etc. to function at their optimum. Spinal misalignment can occur for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, trauma due to a fall or accident, a car wreck or due to the traumas of daily living, such as repetitive movements or sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture for an extended period of time.

History of Chiropractic Care
"Chiropractic" comes from the Greek word Chiropraktikos, which means "effective treatment by hand." Chiropractic can be traced back to the beginnings of recorded time. Writings from China and Greece written in 2700 B.C. and 1500 B.C. mention spinal "manipulation" and th maneuvering of the lower extremities to ease low back pain. The "Father of Modern Medicine," Hippocrates, who lived from 460 to 357 B.C., published writings detailing the importance of chiropractic care. In one such writing he stated "Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases."

Chiropractic in the United States has been practiced for over 100 years. Daniel David Palmer founded the first chiropractic college, the Palmer School of Chiropractic, in 1897 in Davenport, Iowa. Palmer is still considered to be one of the "most prominent chiropractic colleges in the nation." Chiropractic has gained wide popularity and acceptance over the course of the twentieth century and was found to be exceedingly cost effective by the 1993 Manga study (published in Canada). This study concluded that "chiropractic care would save hundreds of millions of dollars annually with regard to work disability payments and direct health care costs." Doctors of chiropractic have become leaders in the field of non-invasive healthcare promoting science-based approaches to a variety of conditions.

Education of Doctors of Chiropactic
According to the American Chiropractic Association, "Doctors of chiropractic [D.C.s] must complete four to five years at an accredited chiropractic college. The complete curriculum includes a minimum of 4,200 hours of classroom, laboratory and clinical experience. Approximately 555 hours are devoted to learning about adjustive techniques and spinal analysis in colleges of chiropractic. In medical schools, training to become proficient in manipulation is generally not required of, or offered to, students. The Council on Chiropractic Education requires that students have 90 hours of undergraduate courses with science as the focus.

Those intending to become doctors of chiropractic must also pass the national board exam and all exams required by the state in which the indivdual wishes to practice. the individual must also meet all individual state licensing requirements in order to become a doctor of chiropractic.

An individual studying to become a doctor of chiropractic receives an education in both the basic and clinical sciences and in related health subjects. The intention of the basic chiropractic curriculum is to provide an in-depth understanding of the structure and function of the human body in health and disease. the educational program includes training in the basic medical sciences, including anatomy with human dissection, physiology, and biochemistry. Thorough training is also obtained in differential diagnosis, radiology and therapeutic techniques. This means, the doctor of chiropractic can both diagnose and treat patients, which separates them from non-physician status providers, like physical therapists. According to the Council on Chiropractic Education, DCs are trained as Primary Care Providers."