About Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system, and the effects of these disorders on general health. Chiropractic care is used most often to treat neuromusculosketal complaints, including but not limited to back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, and headaches.
People looking for natural forms of healing often choose chiropractic which offers a drug-free, hands-on approach to health care. The examination of the spine to evaluate structure and function is what makes chiropractic different from other healthcare procedures. Accidents, falls, stress, tension, overexertion and countless other factors can result in misalignments of the spine, causing irritation to spinal nerve roots. Chiropractic techniques can reduce or eliminate this irritation to spinal nerves, causing your body to function more efficiently and more comfortably.
Chiropractors also place an emphasis on nutritional and exercise programs, as well as wellness and lifestyle modifications for promoting physical and mental health. While chiropractors use no drugs or surgery, they do refer patients for medical care when interventions are indicated. In fact, chiropractors, medical doctors, physical therapists and other healthcare professionals now work as partners in occupational health, sports medicine and a wide variety of other rehabilitation practices.
In 1988 the State of Alaska legislature defined the Practice of Chiropractic, as follows: “Chiropractic is a separate and distinct branch of the healing arts and that Doctors of chiropractic are skilled and highly trained primary health care providers deserving of the same degree of responsibility, authority, and respect as other health care professionals.”
Qualifications and Training to Practice Chiropractic
A chiropractic education places special emphasis on anatomy, physiology, pathology, neurology, biomechanics, X-ray, spinal adjusting techniques, and related subjects.
In order to become a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic, an individual must meet stringent academic, professional and state requirements, which generally include passing nationally standardized examinations. Currently, an individual must complete the following four major steps in order to become a licensed chiropractor:
- Complete two or more years of general college-level studies. (Bachelor’s degree required in some states.)
- Obtain a Doctor of Chiropractic degree and complete a clinical externship through an accredited four-year chiropractic college program.
- Pass the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners and/or other state-required examinations.
- Satisfy any other individual state-specific requirements for licensure.
Government inquiries, as well as independent investigations, have affirmed that today’s chiropractic academic training is of equivalent standard to medical training in all pre-clinical subjects. (Reference: National Board of Chiropractic Examiners.)
Chiropractic Philosophy
Doctors of chiropractic have a deep respect for the body’s ability to heal itself without the use of surgery or medication. It emphasizes the relationship between structure, primarily of the spinal column and the nervous system, and how that relationship affects function and health. Implicit within this statement are the significance of the nervous system to health and the effect of the subluxation complex upon the nervous system and, therefore, the body.
In simpler terms, Chiropractic is about more than just back pain. Its underlying emphasis is the nervous system. The nervous system controls the function of every cell, tissue, organ and system of your entire body (digestive, endocrine, immune, lymphatic, muscular, respiratory, reproductive, skeletal and urinary). The spinal cord is very delicate and is protected by the 24 moving bones of the spinal column (vertebrae). Between each vertebra, pairs of nerves branch off to control everything you do like breathing, bending and balancing. Improper motion or position of the bones in your spine can irritate or choke delicate nerves, interfering with the functions of the tissues, organs and systems they control. This is called a subluxation.
Trauma, stress, poor posture, diet, pollution, repetitive motion and just everyday activities can cause the bones of your spine to lose their normal position. If your nervous system becomes compromised, the organs and tissues it controls can become more susceptible to disease. This can lead to pain or symptoms of ill health. Locating minor spinal deviations early before they interfere with a proper functioning nervous system and produce symptoms, will greatly assist your body in remaining healthy.
The chiropractic philosophy, therefore, is that “being well” differs from “relieving symptoms”. Chiropractic teaches that health is not a commodity which can be purchased in a tablet or bottle; it can only be obtained and maintained by allowing the natural recuperative powers of the body to function unimpaired.
History of Chiropractic
The roots of chiropractic care can be traced all the way back to the beginning of recorded time. Writings from China and Greece written in 2700 B.C. and 1500 B.C. mention spinal manipulation and the maneuvering of the lower extremities to ease low back pain. Hippo rates, the Greek physician, who lived from 460 to 357 B.C., also published texts detailing the importance of chiropractic care. In one of his writings he declares, “Get knowledge of spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases”.
In the United States, the practice of spinal manipulation began gaining momentum in the late nineteenth century. In 1895, Daniel David Palmer founded the Chiropractic profession in Davenport, Iowa. Palmer was well read in medical journals of his time and had great knowledge of the developments that were occurring throughout the world regarding anatomy and physiology. In 1897, Daniel David Palmer went on to begin the Palmer School of Chiropractic, which ahs continued to be one of the most prominent chiropractic colleges in the nation.
Through the twentieth century, doctors of chiropractic gained legal recognition in all fifty states. A continuing recognition and respect for the chiropractic profession in the United States has led to growing support for chiropractic care all over the world. The research that has emerged from “around the world” has yielded incredibly influential results, which have changed, shaped and molded perceptions of chiropractic care. The report, Chiropractic in New Zealand published in 1979 strongly supported the efficacy of chiropractic care and elicited medical cooperation in conjunction with chiropractic care. The 1993 Manga study published in Canada investigated the cost effectiveness of chiropractic care. The results of this study concluded that chiropractic care would save hundreds of millions of dollars annually with regard to work disability payments and direct health care costs.
Doctors of chiropractic have become pioneers in the field of non-invasive care promoting science-based approaches to a variety of ailments. A continuing dedication to chiropractic research could lead to even more discoveries in preventing and combating maladies in future years. (American Chiropractic Association)