What is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts which is concerned with human health and disease processes. Doctors of Chiropractic are physicians who consider man as an integrated being and give special attention to the physiological and biochemical aspects including structural, spinal, musculoskeletal, neurological, vascular, nutritional, emotional and environmental relationships.

The practice and procedures which may be employed by Doctors of Chiropractic are based on the academic and clinical training received in and through accredited chiropractic colleges and include, but are not limited to, the use of current diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Such procedures specifically include the adjustment and manipulation of the articulations and adjacent tissues of the human body, particularly of the spinal column. Included is the treatment of intersegmental aberrations for alleviation of related functional disorders.

Chiropractic is a drug-free, non-surgical science and, as such, does not include pharmaceuticals or incisive surgery. Due regard shall be given to the fact that state laws, as well as the nation's antitrust laws, may allow Doctors of Chiropractic to utilize ancillary health care procedures commonly referred to as being in the common domain.

What is a Doctor of Chiropractic?

Chiropractors 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.

Chiropractors 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.

What are the educational requirements to be a Doctor of Chiropractic?

Have you ever wondered just how well educated your Chiropractor is? The facts may surprise you!

• Today's chiropractic physicians attend a four-year undergraduate program majoring in either Anatomy & Physiology, Biology or Chemistry. Then they transfer into a graduate school of Chiropractic to obtain five more years of graduate level education and must complete an internship within a Chiropractic facility before obtaining their Doctoral degree
• Once the degree requirements have been satisfactorily met, the Doctor must then pass rigorous National and State written and practical exams before he or she can practice the healing art science of Chiropractic.
• Only Chiropractic concerns itself with the interrelationship of structure and body functions, and only Chiropractic effectively utilizes natural, drugless methods of treatment… primarily spinal adjustments
• Doctors of Chiropractic readily acknowledge that the early, formative years of Chiropractic education, like those of medicine, left much to be desired. But this is true of every science and every profession
• Look below at these typical basic educational requirements for medical school graduates as compared to those for Doctors of Chiropractic.
  

MEDICAL	SUBJECT	CHIROPRACTIC
Class Hours		Class Hours
508	Anatomy	520
326	Physiology	420
335	Pathology	271
325	Chemistry	300
130	Bacteriology	114
374	Diagnosis	370
112	Neurology	320
148	X-Ray	217
144	Psychiatry	65
198	OB/GYN	65
156	Orthopedics	225
2,756	TOTAL	2,887

(Information gathered from 22 medical schools and 11 chiropractic schools by the National Health Federation)

What conditions do Chiropractic Doctors treat?

• Low Back Pain
• Neck Pain
• Sports Injuries
• Sleeplessness
• Headaches
• Herniated Discs
• Pinched Nerves
• Degenerative Disc Disease and Arthritis
• Sciatica
• Carpel Tunnel Syndrome
• Shoulder Pain
• Tennis and Golfer's Elbow
• TMJ Syndrome
• Sinus Pain
  

What can I expect on my first visit?

On your first visit to our office you will be welcomed as a member of our family and our receptionist will greet you with a warm smile. The visit will last approximately an hour and will begin with a comprehensive consultation and complete health history. During this consultation, the doctor will discuss with you the nature and extent of your condition in order to determine if chiropractic care is an appropriate treatment for you.

If necessary, 2 X-rays will then be taken of the area in question. The doctor will then analyze the X-rays to determine the best method of treatment, and will review the findings with you on your second visit. A personal treatment plan will be developed for you to specifically correct the issues at hand. Treatment methods may include spinal adjustments, massage therapy, electrical muscle stimulation, mechanical traction and other therapeutic modalities.

After the consultation and X-rays, you will then receive a relaxing and therapeutic full body massage by one of our licensed massage therapists.

What is an adjustment?

An "adjustment," as doctors of chiropractic use the term, means the specific manipulation of vertebrae which have abnormal movement patterns or fail to function normally. Doctors of chiropractic spend years learning motion palpation (the art of examining by movement or touch) and other forms of spinal examining procedures, so that they can administer specific and appropriate spinal adjustments.

Once the DC has identified the problem, he/she will begin care by way of these adjustments or "manipulations." Particular attention will be paid to that area of your spine where a spinal derangement or "subluxation" has been detected. The adjustment is usually given by hand or "activator" type instruments, and consists of applying pressure to the areas of the spine that are out of alignment or that do not move properly within their normal range of motion.

Doctors of chiropractic use many sophisticated and varied techniques, and the specific procedure to be used will be determined and explained completely to you following a careful evaluation of your radiographs and physical findings.

Do Adjustments hurt?

Under normal circumstances, adjustments don't hurt. The patient may experience a minor amount of discomfort during the adjustment which lasts only seconds. Adjustments or manipulations are extremely safe. The risk factor is estimated to be in excess of 1 million to 1.