If you have been in a traffic accident and suffered whiplash, or you twisted and strained your back at work resulting in neck, shoulder, or back pain, you may want to consider visiting a chiropractor to evaluate your condition.
Chiropractic practitioners are healthcare providers that treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system. These professionals focus on the spine, muscles, nerves, and soft tissue surrounding and supporting the spine.
If you have never been seen or treated by a chiropractor, this article is for you. If so, we cover many of the fundamental questions you will likely have about chiropractic medicine, their diagnostic methods, the types of treatment they perform, and whether the chiropractic approach is right for you.
Chiropractic Care and Treatment
The word “chiropractic” is Greek for “treatment by hand.” Chiropractors focus on providing correct physical alignment of the spine and joints to maintain health.
Professional Training
Education
A chiropractor must earn a Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) to practice. Chiropractors must have completed two years of undergraduate study. Increasingly, many are four-year college graduates when they enter chiropractic training.
Chiropractic training typically lasts four years and is accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education. The first two years emphasize classroom study and lab work in basic science classes, such as anatomy, physiology, public health, and biochemistry. The final two years are spent in more specialized study, such as spinal manipulation and spinal adjustments, and extensive clinical experience.
Licensure
Each state is responsible for providing and overseeing chiropractic licensure and quality of care. Licensing requirements vary from state to state. Some states have arrangements that permit chiropractors licensed in another state to also practice in theirs.
As part of their licensing requirements, many states accept all or part of the tests administered by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, although some states may have additional requirements
Continuing Education
To maintain their licenses, chiropractors must take continuing education courses each year. Accredited chiropractic associations and institutions offer these courses.
Specialization
Chiropractors can earn “diplomate” certification that involves more specialized training. Areas of study include orthopedics, neurology, sports injuries, occupational and industrial health, internal disorders, nutrition, and other specialty areas.
Chiropractic Treatment
Types of Injuries and complaints chiropractors treat
Chiropractic care is often used to treat primarily back, neck, shoulder, and joint pain involving the arms and legs. Chiropractors also treat health problems associated with the body’s muscular, nervous, and skeletal systems, particularly the spine.
According to chiropractic healthcare, if the spine is not aligned or the muscular or nervous systems become problematic, the patient may complain of pain, discomfort, or other health concerns.
Soft tissue injuries resulting from car accidents
People often seek a chiropractor’s care after a motor vehicle accident. Many people prefer chiropractic care for soft-tissue injuries, including whiplash injuries, usually caused by the sudden hyperextension motion of the cervical spine.
Chiropractors are holistic practitioners
Chiropractors are holistic practitioners, which means they look at the whole body. They also try to help patients avoid disease through preventive care.
Preventive care often involves examining a patient’s diet, stress levels, and the amount of sleep and exercise they receive.
Diagnosis and treatment
Chiropractors are not medical doctors and therefore are not licensed to prescribe drugs or perform surgery. However, they can perform diagnostic work and treatment through clinical examination of their patients, laboratory testing, diagnostic imaging, and other forms of physical testing.
Chiropractors often work closely with physicians
Chiropractors can be the first line of care for neck and back injuries. They will readily refer patients to the appropriate medical doctor, such as neurologists and orthopedic physicians, when it is determined chiropractic care is not suitable for a patient’s condition.
How To Choose A Chiropractor
Choosing the right chiropractors for you is an important decision. Even if family, friends, co-workers, or neighbors refer you to a chiropractor, you’ll still want to determine which one they recommend best suits your physical complaints.
You can find a wide variety of local chiropractors online
Most chiropractor websites provide valuable information on their practice, the types of conditions they treat, and the specific chiropractic methods they use to treat their patient’s particular complaints but also their overall health and well-being.
Once you select a chiropractor, and assuming you would like to learn more about their practice, you are ready for the next step by contacting their office and asking to meet with the chiropractor for an initial consultation – which in most cases is free.
Common First-Time Questions Answers
What is an adjustment?
A chiropractic adjustment, also called manipulation, is the practice of using a specific high-velocity, low-amplitude thrust on a joint with the ultimate goal of improving the functioning of that joint. An adjustment usually adds motion to the joint and gradually returns it to a more normal position and movement.
Not all adjustments are the same. There are many different techniques used in performing an adjustment.
Does the adjustment hurt?
The adjustment can sometimes cause minor discomfort but is not usually considered painful. Most of this discomfort will often go away after the adjustment.
Is chiropractic care safe?
Chiropractic medicine is said to be a natural approach to better health. They credit their success and popularity to focusing on a conservative but holistic approach to health without resorting to invasive procedures or drugs.
What can’t chiropractors do?
Chiropractors are not medical physicians. They cannot prescribe drugs or perform invasive procedures such as injections, transfusions, or surgery.
Chiropractors are not licensed to treat life-threatening conditions or diseases. Patients diagnosed with such situations should be seen by a medical physician immediately.
Although chiropractic law varies from state to state, chiropractors have co-managed muscle and bone conditions with medical doctors for optimal patient care.
While doctors of chiropractic medicine recognize the value of some medications to relieve suffering or sustain life, they do not prescribe any medicines that are not available over the counter.
What is a muscle spasm?
A muscle spasm is an involuntary movement or contraction resulting from trauma or irritant. Muscle spasms can occur in two forms: (1) clonic or (2) tonic. Clonic spasm results from a contraction followed by relaxation in an alternating pattern. A tonic spasm is that which is sustained without relaxing.
What can X-rays show?
X-rays play a significant role in treating patients with bone and muscle complaints. X-rays will show the spinal position, referred to as the spine’s lordotic curve, as well as possible fractures, arthritis, and other changes in bones and the surrounding soft tissues.
What are the signs and symptoms of muscle injury?
Almost any degree of moderate force can cause some tearing of the body’s soft tissue, muscles, and tendons. This occurs commonly with activities that require pushing or pulling against excellent resistance, such as quickly lifting a heavy box from the ground.
Damage can also occur due to engaging in activities that require sudden twisting of the back – for example, turning excessively, as may happen while golfing.
What To Expect from Your First Visit
Initial assessment of the patient
- The initial assessment is to learn about the patient’s medical history and current complaints.
- The chiropractor will perform a physical examination of you to determine the current condition of your upper or lower spine.
- The chiropractor will then focus on any specific structural abnormalities discovered that might impair your normal function or cause your current complaint of pain.
Let’s go into more detail on what you can expect during your initial consultation with the chiropractor.
Taking Your History
A chiropractor will first take a history to obtain more information on your chief complaint and overall health. The doctor will ask detailed questions about your complaint and your family history, diet, and visits you may have had with other physicians. All these questions will allow the doctor to understand your condition better and determine the best way to treat the problem.
Physical Examination
A physical examination then follows, which, if necessary, may include X-rays, laboratory analysis, or other diagnostic procedures. The doctor may also perform postural and gait analyses to better understand your skeleton health.
A chiropractor will most definitely perform a spinal examination and analysis to detect any structural abnormalities that may impede your normal function or be causing your current complaint.
X-Rays
X-rays play a significant role in working with patients with bony and muscular complaints. X-rays can show fractures, tumors, arthritis, and other changes in bone and the surrounding soft tissues.
Examining Soft Tissue Tendons and Muscles
Moderate forces that result in a twisting or an abrupt back-and-forth motion can, depending on your physical position at the time the force was received, can cause some tearing of the body’s soft tissue, muscles, and tendons. This occurs commonly with activities requiring a sudden push or pulling against substantial resistance, such as quickly lifting a heavy box from the ground or pushing against a heavy object.
A sudden back and forward cervical whipping motion resulting from a rear-end collision is one of the most common injuries that chiropractors treat.
Palpating Soft Tissue and Examining Range Of Motion
Chiropractic doctors spend years learning how to palpate, which is the act of feeling with the hands, by applying various amounts of manual pressure through the body’s surface to determine the size, shape, position, and mobility.
Choosing any limitations in a patient’s range of motion is vital in deterring the type of treatment needed.
Physical Adjustment
An adjustment is a chiropractic procedure that uses a controlled force with a particular direction and velocity aimed at one specific joint or region to restore that joint or area to its proper motion and function.
There are various types of adjustive techniques used by doctors today. The doctor you see will likely explain what kind of adjustment you need and why.
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