Chiropractic: Fact and Fiction
More and more people today are including chiropractic care in their healthcare routine, and collaboration between chiropractors and medical providers is developing rapidly as the chiropractic profession becomes increasingly integrated into the health care system.
As a result, many people find themselves wondering whether they should seek chiropractic care. Unfortunately, much of the information that is widely available about chiropractic is based on third-hand accounts and unfounded myths, some of which are addressed below:
1. Fiction: Chiropractors are not real doctors. Fact: Earning a Doctor of Chiropractic degree requires 6 to 8 years of college education. Doctors of Chiropractic must pass National Board Examinations as well as state testing.
2. Fiction: Chiropractic medicine is not supported by scientific research. Fact: The benefits of chiropractic are backed by empirical data and independent research (randomized controlled trials) that demonstrate both its effectiveness and its safety.
3. Fiction: Chiropractors only treat back and neck pain. Fact: This misconception is a direct result of the success of chiropractic in treating neck and back problems. Chiropractic care actually focuses on the neuromuskuloskeletal (nerves, muscles, and bone) system as a whole. Chiropractic wellness care takes preventative measures to ensure that various health problems do not occur in the future.
4. Fiction: Chiropractic adjustments can cause serious side effects, including strokes. Fact: Chiropractic is widely recognized as a safe form of health care available. While no form of health care, including conventional medical care, is completely without risk, the likelihood of having a stroke from chiropractic care is infinitesimally low. In short, the risk of serious injury following chiropractic treatment is certainly much lower than the risk from invasive medical procedures or surgery
5. Fiction: Chiropractors crack your bones. Fact: Chiropractic techniques sometimes involve adjustments of the spine or extremity joints (where two bones connect). These adjustments affect connective tissue that holds the joint together, not the bones. The ’pop’ sound sometimes heard during an adjustment is created by the opening of the joint space. Adjustment is just one of many different chiropractic techniques.
Many other fallacies and misconceptions about chiropractic exist, but these will gradually disappear as more and more people experience the benefits of this form of healthcare and as other doctors (and insurance companies) continue the trend toward endorsing and corroborating chiropractic care.