What Chiropractic Care Is and When You Need It

Chiropractic is a health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health. There is an emphasis on manual treatments including spinal manipulation or adjustment. (World Federation of Chiropractic, 1999)

Chiropractic services are used most often to treat conditions such as back and neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs and headaches. Chiropractors practice a hands-on, drug free approach to health care that includes patient examination, diagnosis and treatment.

Widely known for their expertise in spinal manipulation, Chiropractors are also trained to recommend therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, and to provide nutritional, dietary and lifestyle counseling. Doctors of Chiropractic do not prescribe medications of any type.

Signs You Might Need the Help of a Chiropractor

By restoring normal function to the musculoskeletal system, Chiropractors can play a major part in relieving disorders, and any accompanying pain or discomfort, arising from:

  • Accidents
  • Illness
  • Lack of Exercise
  • Poor Posture
  • Stress

A Medical Research Council clinical trial, reported in the British Medical Journal in 1990 and 1995, found that chiropractic treatment of back pain was more effective than hospital outpatient treatment. To determine the possibility of you needing chiropractic care, we have listed some of the common warning signs of an unhealthy spine:

  • A Foot Turning Out When Walking
  • One Leg Appears Shorter than the Other and Shoe Heels Wear Unevenly
  • Jaw “Clicks”
  • Desire to “Crack” Your Joints Frequently
  • Headache, Backache, Sore and Tender Muscles or Joints
  • Hip Pain
  • Inability to Twist or Turn Your Head or Hips Easily
  • Poor Posture
  • Radiating Pain, Numbness, or Tingling Through Arms, Legs, or Body
  • Back or Neck Pain or Stiffness

Interesting Chiropractic Facts and Figures

Back Pain

  • Low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide.1
  • Back pain alone accounts for more than 264 million lost U.S. work days in one year.2
  • Experts estimate that as much as 80% of the population will experience back pain at some time in their lives.3
  • Research shows that opioids do not provide clinically meaningful pain relief for people with chronic back pain.4

Effectiveness of Chiropractic Care

  • Injured workers with similar injuries are 28 times less likely to have spinal surgery if the first point of contact is a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) rather than a surgeon (MD).5
  • One study based on Washington state workers found that 42.7% of people who visited a surgeon first for work related back pain eventually had surgery, compared to only 1.5% of those who visited a chiropractor first.5

References

  • 1 Hoy D et al. The global burden of low back pain: estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. Ann Rheum Dis. 2014 June; 73(6):968-74. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-204428.
  • 2 The Hidden Impact of Musculoskeletal Disorders on Americans, United State Bone and Joint Initiative, 2018.
  • 3 Rubin Dl. Epidemiology and risk factors for spine pain. Neurol Clin. 2007; May; 25(2):353-71.
  • 4 Abdel Shaheed C et al. Efficacy, tolerability, and dose-dependent effects of opioid analgesics for low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176(7):958–968. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.1251
  • 5 Keeney BJ et al. Early predictors of lumbar spinal surgery after occupational back injury; Results from a prospective study of workers in Washington State. Spine, May 2013; 38(11):953-64. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3182814ed5.