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Chiropractic is a natural, hands - on method of healing. The Greek word Chiropraktikos, meaning “effective treatment by hand” is the origin of the word chiropractic. Chiropractors correct subluxations in the spine. Subluxation is a $10 word that means the vertebra is out of place. Not necessarily dislocated, but it is not quite where it belongs.

A subluxated vertebra does not move quite normally. Have you ever had your arm in a cast? When a joint doesn’t move for weeks, it becomes hard to move it. It is stiff and sore. It is the same when joints in the spine become subluxated. Along with the stiffness and pain from a subluxation, much of the nervous system can be affected. Most of the nerves in your body must travel through openings in the spine to get to your central nervous system. When the joints of the spine become stiff, sore, and swollen from a subluxation, the nervous system is adversely affected. A chiropractor corrects subluxations.

Correcting subluxations can help to restore health. It can also prevent future health problems. If a vertebra is subluxated and doesn’t move very well, it becomes prone to degenerative changes (arthritis)

Since chiropractic does such a good job in relieving musculoskeletal pain, many think of them as bone doctors. A chiropractor is a doctor who helps the nervous system to help the body to heal itself. Any person, with any disease process like asthma, allergies, digestive disorders, headaches, and, of course, neck and back pain can benefit from chiropractic adjustments.

Usually when people say the word “doctor” they mean Doctor of Medicine. There are other kinds of doctors, doctors of osteopathy, doctors of dentistry and doctors of chiropractic. Every state licenses chiropractors as one of the three major providers of health care, along with medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy. A chiropractor, after his undergraduate education, is required to have 4,500 hours of classroom study—comparable to the number of hours a medical doctor goes to school. Several board exams must also be passed for a chiropractor to obtain a license. A Doctor of Chiropractic and Doctor of Medicine must pass the same basic science National Board Examinations. In addition, each state administers its own State Board Examination which chiropractors must also pass.

What kind of education does it take to become a chiropractor?

The Council on Chiropractic requires 4,200 hours of education. The chiropractic colleges require between 4,800 hours and 5,200 hours for graduation (depending on the college). The average total number of hours of anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology, public health, physiology, and pathology taught in the chiropractic schools is a little over 1,400. In three medical schools sampled, it was around 1,200. Chiropractors spend a significant amount of time with hands-on learning of adjusting and other manual therapy (a little under 2,000 hours on average). They must also spend time in a clinical internship.

To quote the American Chiropractic Association, “Doctor of Chiropractic — who are licensed to practice in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in many nations around the world — undergo a rigorous education in the healing sciences, similar to that of medical doctors. In some areas, such as anatomy, physiology, rehabilitation, nutrition and public health, they receive more intensive education than their MD counterparts.”

Not only is spinal manipulation/adjustment by Doctor of Chiropractic safe, it also saves money and gets patients back on their feet faster than other forms of care. Chiropractic adjustments cost less per-visit than visits to other providers of musculoskeletal care. In addition, patients receiving chiropractic care take fewer prescription drugs and undergo fewer expensive diagnostic tests.

Chiropractic is a healthy, natural thing, not an artificial thing that you can become “hooked” on. The relief chiropractic care will provide after an injury lasts quite a while, just as you would expect any other effective treatment to work. Once the health problem is brought back into control, therapy (chiropractic or any other therapy) can cease.

Chiropractic has benefits that extend beyond pain relief. It is a feeling of being in balance and of having optimum health. People who receive chiropractic adjustments are often surprised at the sense of well-being associated with being in balance. If they take care of themselves, exercise and eat right, this feeling lasts.

Some people like the feeling of being in balance and return for chiropractic care from time to time. It is like massage, exercise, or anything else that you do that is of benefit to your health. But if you think that you “have” to keep coming to a chiropractor once you start, you are mistaken.

People often think of chiropractors as treating bones, but they treat the nervous system. If you take a rubber band and put it around your arm, your hand will become numb, tingle, and then ache. You have interfered with the nerve and blood supply. Similarly, subluxations and fixations affect your body. Spinal nerves are affected, causing pain and weakness and the autonomic nervous system is affected causing dysfunction in various organs. When you place a rubber band around your arm, the effects are felt in a few minutes. Pressure from subluxations and fixations, when chronic, are usually more subtle and their effects are felt over time.

Relieving subluxations and fixations create a sense of well-being and improves health. Ask any person who has been going to a chiropractor for a long time. Chiropractic is effective for relieving pain, but its real strength lies in its ability to improve the health of the nervous system and the rest of the body. Chiropractic is a holistic profession which helps to ensure a lifetime of good health

Chiropractic treatments are extremely safe for individuals of all ages - from infants to 100-year-olds. Our treatments are safe because we only use natural and noninvasive methods of care. Research consistently shows that care from chiropractors is among the safest care available and is literally light years ahead of traditional medical care in terms of "safeness".

The treatments themselves are generally not painful. In fact, most patients look forward to their treatments as many experiences’ instantaneous relief immediately afterwards. Individuals who present with moderate to severe pain may experience some minor discomfort for obvious reasons, however, care is always gentle, safe, and noninvasive.

Chiropractic, as we know it, was developed in 1895 by Daniel David Palmer. In truth, spinal manipulation has been an effective healing art for thousands of years. In the 19thcentury there were “bonesetters” who practiced a healing art much like chiropractic. The ancient Egyptians and the ancient Chinese both practiced spinal manipulation as a healing art. Hippocrates also used spinal manipulation.

Chiropractic has helped millions of people worldwide suffering from all types of problems and not just back and neck ailments. Chiropractic works with the spinal column and its intimate relationship with the nervous system - the major controller of all bodily functions. By optimizing spinal column structure and biomechanics, irritation and stress are removed, and health can once again be achieved.

You may be surprised to learn that research studies have provided scientific evidence showing chiropractic care is not only effective in the treatment of back and neck ailments but can also provide effective relief with children suffering from ear infections, women suffering from dysmenorrhea (painful menses), and a number of other seemingly "non-spinal" conditions. While it's not prudent to guarantee relief from such conditions or claim to "treat" these conditions, chiropractic has successfully helped millions of individuals with all sorts of health conditions by positively affecting the nervous system.

Of course, Doctors of Chiropractic are best known for their success in treating back and neck problems. By using chiropractic spinal adjustments and other highly specialized chiropractic techniques, chiropractors have established themselves as the back and neck injury specialists. Many medical experts are now coming to understand the true effectiveness of chiropractic care and are recommending major changes in the way our health care system manages many common spinal problems. According to a recent Ontario Ministry of Health commissioned study on low-back pain, "A very good case can be made for making chiropractors the gatekeepers for management of low-back pain..."

While treatment lengths vary somewhat from person to person and from condition to condition, there are a few rules of thumb you can follow.

First, newer injuries, if treated appropriately and immediately, tend to respond to fewer visits if major tissue injury has not occurred. Many of these first-time injuries can be effectively managed in as little as 3 to 4 visits. Conditions that have been present for greater than 3 months and recurring conditions are generally more stubborn and difficult to manage. Resolution may require 12 visits or more.

The only sure way to determine how long your treatment will take is to schedule a consultation and/or examination.

For those of you who believe in just waiting for the problem to "go away" on its own - understand that the longer your condition has been around, the more treatments it will eventually require to resolve.