Even though the origins of spinal manipulation date back thousands of years, it was in 1895 when Chiropractic was developed after realizing that very specific adjustments to the spine could have an enormous impact on the health and well-being of the individual by directly influencing the nerve system which controls and coordinates every cell, tissue and organ of the entire body. The benefits of chiropractic go far beyond relieving back and neck pain. Chiropractic can help people of all ages from infants to the elderly.
Chiropractic is proven effective in the treatment of many common ailments including, but not limited to...
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Low Back Pain
- Mid and Upper Back Pain
- Neck Pain
- Herniated Disc
- Shoulder and Arm Pain
- Leg Pain (Sciatica)
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Degenerative Disc Disease
- Dizziness
- Joint Stiffness
- Muscle Spasms
- Heel spurs
- Numbness and Tingling
- Low Energy
- Stress
- Scoliosis
- Extremity Joints such as the Knee, Ankle, Elbow, Wrist, Hand, Foot and TMJ
- And many other common health issues
Chiropractic Facts:
To receive the doctor of chiropractic degree, candidates must complete 2 to 4 years of extensive undergraduate prerequisites as well as 4 years of graduate-level instruction and internship at an accredited chiropractic institution for a total of 8 years of college-level training.
According to the Center for Studies in Health Policy, "The DC (Doctor of Chiropractic) can provide all three levels of primary care interventions and therefore is a primary care provider, as are MDs and DOs". However, of the three primary healthcare providers, the DC is the only one that does not utilize drugs or surgery.
Chiropractic is included in Medicare, Medicaid, Federal Employees Health Care Benefits Programs, Federal Workers' Compensation and all state workers' compensation programs.
The existence of the nervous system as the primary control mechanism of the body is an undisputed scientific fact. Its relationship with the spine is the focus of the practice of chiropractic.
Doctors of chiropractic are a highly appropriate resource in matters of work-place safety, stress management, injury prevention, postural correction and nutritional counseling.
The process of chiropractic adjusment is a safe, efficient procedure which is performed nearly one million times every working day in the United States.
Chiropractic care is non-invasive, therefore, the body's response to chiropractic care is far more predictable than its reactions to drug treatments or surgical procedures.
More Facts on Chiropractic:
Definition
Chiropractic is a health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the nervous system and general health. There is an emphasis on manual treatments, including spinal manipulation.
The word chiropractic, from the Greek words praxis and cheir, means practice or treatment by hand. Like the word pharmaceutical it is used both as an adjective (e.g. chiropractic profession) and as a noun (e.g. as in the title and definition above).
Origin and Professional Organization
The profession was founded in the U.S. in 1895 and is now established in over 70 countries. National associations of chiropractors from these countries are members of a World Federation of Chiropractic, based in Toronto, Canada, which is in official relations with the World Health Organization. There are approximately 65,000 doctors of chiropractic in the U.S., 6,000 in Canada and 90,000 internationally.
Education and Licensure
In North America there is a minimum of six years full time university-level education, which includes two years of university credits in qualifying subjects and then a four year undergraduate program at chiropractic college. This is followed by national and state/provincial licensing board examinations. Postgraduate specialties include chiropractic sciences, neurology, nutrition, orthopedics, radiology, rehabilitation and sports chiropractic.
Internationally, common standards of education have been achieved through a network of accrediting agencies that began with the U.S. Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), recognized by the U.S. Office of Education since 1974. There are chiropractic colleges in Australia (2), Brazil, Canada (2), Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom (4) and the United States (16). In most countries these colleges are now in the public university system.
Licensing Laws
The practice of chiropractic is now recognized and regulated by law in many countries in all world regions. Common features of all licensing laws are primary care (i.e. the right of a patient to consult a chiropractor directly), and the right and duty to perform a diagnosis. Diagnosis includes the right to use x-ray and other diagnostic imaging and tests.
Title
The professional titles most commonly approved by law in the U.S. states and Canadian provinces are chiropractor and doctor of chiropractic. Many U.S. states also approve the title chiropractic physician. In these states the title physician is given to chiropractic, medical and osteopathic doctors in recognition of their competence and duty to perform a diagnosis.
Practice
The chiropractic profession emphasizes the natural power of the body to heal itself (homeostasis) and therefore chiropractic practice does not include the use of drugs or surgery. Patients requiring these interventions are referred for medical care. Chiropractors use natural or non-invasive treatment approaches including manual treatments, physical therapy modalities, exercise programs, nutritional advice, orthotics, lifestyle modification and other patient education. There is an emphasis on joint manipulation, for which the traditional chiropractic term is joint adjustment, because of its proven effectiveness.
Surveys in Australia, Europe and North America report that approximately 95% of chiropractic patients have musculoskeletal pain conditions (e.g. back pain, neck pain, headache, pain in the shoulder, arms or legs) as their main complaint. Research and research-based practice guidelines from various multidisciplinary expert panels in the 1990s have endorsed chiropractic management by recommending spinal manipulation, over-the-counter pain medication, exercise and early return to activities as the most effective and cost-effective management for most patients with back pain, neck pain and tension-type headache.
The other 5% of chiropractic practice involves patients with a wide variety of conditions that are caused, aggravated or mimicked by restricted range of movement in the spinal vertebrae and muscles, termed spinal dysfunction or subluxation, and the pain and other reflex effects of this expressed through the nervous system. Such conditions include dysmenorrhea, asthma and other respiratory dysfunctions, colic, constipation and other digestive dysfunctions.
For various reasons, including improved chiropractic education and research during the past 20 years and the expectations—indeed the demands—of patients, much of the former conflict between the chiropractic and medical professions has been replaced by mutual respect and cooperation. Interdisciplinary practice is now common, with chiropractic and medical doctors, physical therapists and others working as partners or referring patients as necessary in general practice, occupational health, automobile accident and other rehabilitation centers and sports medicine teams.
Even More Interesting Facts and Statistics:
| The popularity of chiropractic is at an all-time high,
• 85% of Americans will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives.
• Back symptoms are the most common cause of disability for individuals under the age of 45.
• 20% of all American military medical discharges are due to low back pain.
• More than 20 million Americans will seek chiropractic care this year.
• Chiropractic has been around for more than 100 years.
• Today there are approximately 50,000 chiropractors in the United States - 10,000 in Japan - 5,000 in Canada - 2,500 in Australia - 1,000 in the U.K. - and 100-500 in each of Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, South Africa, and The Netherlands.
• In the western world 85% of people will be disabled by back pain at some point in their lives.
Spine 12(3):264-268.
• 1992 costs associated with low back pain in the U.S. were estimated to be $60 billion.
The Manga Report - 1993.
• Nearly 30% of the U.S. population aged 18 and older have used chiropractic.
The Gallup Organization - 1991.
• WCB studies indicate a 45-55% saving in overall costs when treatments are provided by a chiropractors instead of a medical doctors.
California, 1972 - Wisconsin, 1978 - Florida,1988 - Utah,1991 - State of Victoria, Australia, 1992.
• 9 out of 10 chiropractic users feel their treatment is effective.
The Gallup Organization - 1991.
• 58% of those using chiropractic considered it an essential part of their heath insurance package.
The Gallup Organization - 1991.
• "Chiropractic patients were 3 times more satisfied with their care than patients of family practice physicians."
Western Journal of Medicine - 1989.
• "Chiropractors are now accepted as a legitimate healing profession by the public and by an increasing number of physicians."
The Manga Report - 1993.
• "Chiropractic is a growing component of the health care sector, and it is widely used by the population."
The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, and Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, January 1992.
• 94% of all spinal manipulations are performed by chiropractors.
RAND Corporation. |
The Dangerous Cliff?
’Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant;
But over it’s terrible edge there had slipped
a duke and a full many peasant.
The people said something would have to be done,
But their did not at all tally.
Some said, "Put a fence ’round the edge of the cliff,"
some, "An ambulance down in the valley."
The lament of the crowd was profound and was loud,
as their hearts overflowed with their pity;
But the cry for the ambulance carried the day
as it spread through the neighboring city.
A collection was made, to accumulate aid,
and the dwellers in highway and alley;
Gave dollars or cents – not to furnish a fence –
But an ambulance down in the valley.
"For the cliff is all right if you’re careful," they said;
"And if folks ever slip and are dropping,
it isn’t the slipping that hurts them so much
as the shock down below – when they’re stopping."
So for years (we have heard ), as these mishaps occurred,
quick forth would the rescuers sally,
to pick up the victims who fell from the cliff
with the ambulance down in the valley.
Said one, to his plea, "It’s a marvel to me
that you’d give so much greater attention
to repairing results than to curing the cause;
You had much better aim at prevention.
For the mischief, of course, should be stopped at its source,
come neighbors and friends, let us rally.
It is far better sense to rely on a fence,
than an ambulance down in the valley."
"He is wrong in his head," the majority said;
"He would end all our earnest endeavor.
He’s a man who would shirk his responsible work,
but we will support it forever.
Aren’t we picking up all, just as they fall,
and giving them care liberally?
A superfluous fence is of no consequence,
if the ambulance works in the valley."
The story looks queer as we’ve written it here,
but things oft occur that are stranger.
More humane, we assert, than to succor the hurt,
is the plain removing the danger.
The best possible course is to safeguard the source,
attend to things rationally.
Yes, build up the fence and let us dispense
with the ambulance down in the valley. |
