With all of the controversy over prescription drugs and surgery in the news lately, people are looking for an alternative treatment for their healthcare concerns. Patients are becoming more cautious and less likely to try prescription drugs or surgery as a first option.  With approximately 250,000 recorded deaths caused by prescription drugs, medical doctor/staff error and surgery each year in this country, can you blame them? This number was quoted in an article published in The Journal of the American Medical Association by Dr. Barbara Starfield of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. This places medical doctors as the third leading cause of death, behind cancer and heart related conditions. 

Back pain is a major epidemic in the United States.  According to the American Journal of Public Health, 1999, vol 89, no.7, in the United States, over 100 million work days are lost due to back pain each year. In the United States, approximately 80% of the adult population will experience back pain in their lifetime.  Only the common cold is seen more often in medical doctor’s offices.  Although Chiropractors treat many other conditions and symptoms, they are most well known for the successful, drugless treatment of back pain. 

So what is Chiropractic?  It is the most popular form of alternative health care and the third most popular form of health care overall.  Only traditional medicine and Dentistry are more widely used. The Association of Chiropractic Colleges states that "chiropractic is a health care discipline which emphasizes the inherent recuperative power of the body to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery."  In other words, it is a method of treatment that helps your body heal itself.  Chiropractors take the holistic approach to treatment which means it takes the patient’s physical, mental and environmental wellbeing into account.  There are many specialties within this profession; however, Chiropractors most commonly use the chiropractic adjustment as their primary form of treatment.  A chiropractic adjustment or joint manipulation is where the doctor uses his/her hands or specific equipment to move the patient’s bones, muscles and other related bodily tissues.  The main reason a chiropractic adjustment is used is to stimulate the nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord and all of the nerves in the body, by moving the bones.  It has been shown that the nervous system controls all of the organs and cells in the body, so when the nervous system is functioning normally, it will help prevent disease and disorder in the patient.

Although many people believe chiropractors to be just “back doctors”, chiropractic care can relieve the symptoms from or aid in the removal of many diseases or disorders.  Some of the more common ailments addressed by chiropractic include headaches (tension, migraine, sinus, ect), neck pain, low back pain, sciatica, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, ankle and foot pain, arthritis, posture, carpal tunnel syndrome, obesity, colic, stress, poor immune system functioning, muscle spasm or strain/sprain, digestive and nutritional problems and the list goes on. Traditional therapies for many of these illnesses may require the patient to be on prescription medication for the remainder of their lives.  Chiropractic treatments are aimed at finding the cause of the problem and fixing it, rather than just covering up the symptoms with drugs or removing parts of a person’s body through surgery. 

Chiropractors are doctors and have gone through extensive training and must pass the national board examinations to become licensed.  Students must have at least 2 years of college education before being accepted to Chiropractic college, one school, the National University of Health Sciences, requires a bachelors degree for admittance. The Chiropractic education is typically a five academic-year program. Students study everything from biochemistry to gross anatomy to Chiropractic Science.

Chiropractic care can be sought by anyone from infants to senior citizens. There are appropriate and safe chiropractic treatments for people in all stages of life. Not only is Chiropractic very safe, but it is also more cost effective than most traditional remedies and it is commonly covered by insurance companies.  Whether you are covered through your insurance can be determined by calling the insurance company or having the Chiropractor’s office check for you.

For more information on Chiropractic care visit the American Chiropractic Association website:  www.amerchiro.org.