Chiropractic
By Paul Adams
Imagine being a health care professional who is able to help patients without drugs or surgery, using only your hands.
Chiropractic is a health care philosophy, a science, and an art that focuses on the nervous system. By adjusting the spine (through which the spinal cord runs and from which nerves exit to all parts of the body), doctors of chiropractic remove nerve impulse interference. By doing so, they help the nervous system, the controller of all of the body’s other organs and tissues, to function at its best. A well-functioning nervous system helps the body become well and stay well.
Chiropractors are called portal-of-entry doctors because they are practitioners who patients often see first for health advice. Patients are often referred to them as well, and because of their education (typically three-and-a-half academic years), they can diagnose many different diseases and either give care or refer patients to medical physicians or other specialists.
Chiropractors use natural, drug-free, nonsurgical techniques that rely on the body’s ability to heal itself. The primary means of chiropractic care is the spinal adjustment, a short and painless thrust against the spine using only the hands. Chiropractors may also recommend lifestyle changes in eating, exercise, and sleeping habits.
What conditions do chiropractors treat? The two conditions most commonly cared for by chiropractors are joint dysfunction, which chiropractors refer to as “subluxations,” and headaches. Some of the other conditions often seen are muscular strains or tears, degenerative joint disease, peripheral neuritis or neuralgia, tendinitis, high or low blood pressure, sprain or dislocation of joints, allergies, scoliosis, and bursitis.
Does chiropractic really work? Evidence of chiropractic’s effectiveness includes controlled scientific studies as well as clinical experience. For example, a study done by researchers at Harvard Medical School found that complementary and alternative care (CAM) were often more helpful for chronic, disabling conditions like headaches and neck and back pain than conventional medicine. Many reports favorable to chiropractic have appeared in this country, as well as in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and elsewhere.
What do chiropractors do? Like other health practitioners, chiropractors follow a standard routine to secure the information they need to determine how to care for their patients. They take the patient’s medical history; conduct physical, neurological, and orthopedic exams; and may order laboratory tests and x-rays. Some chiropractors specialize in sports injuries, neurology, orthopedics, nutrition, internal disorders, or diagnostic imaging.
Earnings In 2005, mean salary for chiropractors was $104,363, according to a survey conducted by Chiropractic Economics magazine. In chiropractic, as in other types of independent practice, earnings are lower in the beginning, and they increase as the practice grows.
The American Chiropractic Association encourages student interest in chiropractic medicine and other alternative therapies. Visit the Association’s website, www.amerchiro.org, and click on “Students” and again on “Chiropractic Education/Careers” for information about the profession and about accredited college programs.
2007
