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Chiropractic is the leading alternative health therapy available today. In 2000, more people visited alternative health practitioners than medical doctors with more than 30 million people seeking chiropractic care.
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Chiropractic health care consistently achieves a 90 percent patient satisfaction rating. Compared to those who sought care from medical doctors, those who visited a chiropractor were more likely to feel treatment was helpful, more likely to be satisfied with their care, and less likely to seek care from another provider for that same episode of pain. -
Studies show that chiropractic patients are hospitalized less than the general population. -
Chiropractic is one of the most effective forms of healthcare today and is also one of the safest forms of treatment available today.
Source: American Chiropractic Association, 2001; Spine Magazine, 2000
WHAT IS CHIROPRACTIC AND HOW CAN IT HELP ME?
Chiropractic health care is based on the scientific fact that our nervous system controls or influences the function of every cell in our body. Interference to the nervous system (caused by the vertebral subluxation complex) will affect how the nervous system relates to the cells to which it travels.
The Chiropractic model of health is centered on the philosophy that the human body is created and equipped to heal itself given the right opportunity and circumstances. Doctors of Chiropractic promote the healing process by minimizing nerve interference through chiropractic adjustments and educating patients on the importance of proper nutrition, exercise, sleep and positive mental attitude. The entire body and a person's lifestyle are examined in determining the problem and appropriate treatment.
This holistic, common sense approach to health is the reason more and more people are looking to chiropractic to obtain and maintain total body health.
The benefits of chiropractic go far beyond relieving back and neck pain and can help people of all ages from infants to the elderly. Chiropractic is proven effective in the treatment of many common ailments including:
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Headaches
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Low Back Pain
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Mid and Upper Back Pain
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Neck Pain
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Shoulder and Arm Pain
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Leg Pain (Sciatica)
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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
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Dizziness
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Joint Stiffness
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Muscle Spasms
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Numbness and Tingling
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Low Energy
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Stress
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Scoliosis
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And many other common health issues
WHAT IS A DC?
Doctors of Chiropractic are first-contact physicians who possess the
diagnostic skills to differentiate health conditions that are amenable
to their management from those conditions that require referral or
co-management. Chiropractors provide conservative management of
neuromusculoskeletal disorders and related functional clinical
conditions including, but not limited to, back pain, neck pain and
headaches.
Doctors of Chiropractic are expert providers of spinal and other therapeutic
manipulation/adjustments. They also utilize a variety of manual,
mechanical and electrical therapeutic modalities. Chiropractors also
provide patient evaluation and instructions regarding disease
prevention and health promotion through proper nutrition, exercise
and lifestyle modification among others.
HISTORY
Chiropractic is a natural form of health care with a rich history.
Spinal manipulation, chiropractic's primary treatment, is used
instead of drugs or surgery to promote the body's natural healing
process. One of the earliest indications of soft tissue manipulation
is demonstrated by the ancient Chinese Kong Fou Document
written about 2700 B.C., which was brought to the Western World
by missionaries. Chiropractic became more recognized about 100
years ago when Daniel David Palmer gave an "adjustment" to what
was felt to be a misplaced vertebra in the upper spine of a deaf
janitor. The janitor then observed that his hearing improved.
The word "chiropractic" is derived from the Greek words
"cheir" and "praktkos" meaning "done by hand". From these simple beginnings,
chiropractic became more sophisticated as a formal educational
program evolved, requirements by the schools were developed, and
state and governing laws were established.
Chiropractic now ranks as the second largest of the three primary health care providers in the United States (medicine, chiropractic, dentistry).
EDUCATION
Doctors of Chiropractic must meet some of the most rigorous educational standards imposed on any health care professional licensed in the country. Chiropractors receive at least six years of college-level training in the healing arts; many far exceed the minimum. Chiropractors are required to pass national and state board examinations to receive a license to practice.
The chiropractic curriculum includes extensive coursework in anatomy, physiology, diagnosis, pathology, x-ray and techniques in addition to multiple hours of hands on experience with patients within a clinical setting.
An average of 4,485 hours are required for a D.C. degree, as compared to about 4,248 hours required for an M.D. Neuromuscular procedures requires years of training and experience.
BENEFITS OF CHIROPRACTIC
Chiropractic gets results. During a chiropractic adjustment, misaligned vertebrae are unlocked and released from their misaligned position. When vertebrae are returned to their proper alignment, normal nerve supply is restored. This allows patients to experience pain relief, greater joint mobility and maximum healing potential.
Now, with today's growing emphasis on treatment and cost effectiveness,
manipulation is receiving much more widespread attention. In fact,
after an extensive study of all currently available care for low back
problems, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research--a
federal government research organization--recommended that low
back pain suffers choose the most conservative care first. And it
recommended spinal manipulation as the ONLY safe and effective,
DRUGLESS form of initial professional treatment for acute low back
problems in adults!
Chiropractic manipulation, also frequently called the chiropractic adjustment, is the form of manipulation that has been most extensively used by Americans for the last one hundred years. Satisfied chiropractic patients already know that
DCs are uniquely trained and experienced in diagnosing
health problems and are the doctors most skilled in using manipulation for
the treatment of many common health disorders. To learn more
about how chiropractic manipulation may help you, please feel free to contact us at the Bair Chiropractic Center.
RESEARCH
The chiropractic profession has performed rigorous research since its early days. However, at least in one sense, the research within the profession is still very much in its infancy, because the profession "lost" much of its early work for lack of an appropriate forum in which to publish it. Today the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics is the sole chiropractic research publication indexed in Index
Medicus, Current Contents, BIOSIS, and Excerpta Medica.
However, other journals such as Spine, which is indexed in the major medical data bases, do public chiropractic-related research.
Recent emphasis in research trials has been on manipulation and back pain, manipulation and
various organic disturbances, and reliability and validity. In 1984, Brunarski identified 50 trials of
spinal manipulation (Brunarski, 1985); the number has increased since then. Studies by
Bergquist-Ullman and Larsson (1977), Godfrey et al. (1984), Hadler et al. (1987), Mathews et
al. (1987), and Waagen et al. (1986) were all important in establishing a definitive role for
manipulation in the management of low back pain. The argument for including chiropractic in British National Health Service coverage was based on recent work by Meade et al. (1990), comparing chiropractic care to hospital outpatient care. The research of Koes (1992) served a similar role in the Netherlands. Further, the RAND report (cited in Haldeman et
al., 1992), a recent and large undertaking examining all published literature on the use of
manipulation for low back pain, made definitive comments situations.
Research has examined patient perceptual issues in the use of chiropractic care. Notable here is the research of Cherkin and MacCornack (1989), who reported that patients seeing
chiropractors for low back pain were happier with the treatment they received than were similar
patients seeing medical doctors for similar problems.
Continuing quality research and patient care will
negate any opposition to chiropractic. The
current processes by which
chiropractors are reviewing
standards of care and chiropractic
procedures should help solidify the
public standing of this field.
Source: American Chiropractic Association and WebMD
For more information on chiropractic and how you can be helped contact us or visit www.amerchiro.org |
