FAQ

What are Chiropractic adjustments and are they safe?

The purpose of chiropractic medicine is to improve mobility and restore function. Chiropractic medicine focuses on the communication between the musculoskeletal system and the central nervous system. How the body functions and moves is a direct correlation to the central nervous system. Chiropractic care helps facilitate this relationship allowing the central nervous system to communicate optimally in order to rebuild, protect and sustain your body’s health.

When performed by someone trained and licensed to deliver chiropractic care, the adjustments are safe.

What is an adjustment?

The adjustment some chiropractors use causes anticipation for many new patients, but is actually much more gentle than they imagined. It involves a quick, direct thrust to a specific joint. The “popping” or “cracking” sound an adjustment makes is called a cavitation. This sound occurs when space is being created within the joint causing gasses to be released from the joint capsule. Chiropractic adjustments will not wear out your joints. They are applied specifically to improve the motion of your joints and limit the small dysfunctions that over time can lead to arthritis. It is very common to feel “lighter” or to be able to move your body with greater ease after an adjustment.

Is Chiropractic care for all ages?

Yes, many seniors are not aware of the benefits of chiropractic care, which can help them not only with pain relief, but also increase range of motion, balance, coordination, and decrease joint degeneration. Doctors of Chiropractic have also checked infants moments after birth for misalignments of the upper vertebrae as a result of the birth process. In addition to supporting overall health and well-being, parents also take their children to chiropractors to encourage healthy nervous system development.

Is chiropractic treatment ongoing?

This depends on your goals and your injury. The hands-on nature of the chiropractic treatment is essentially what requires patients to visit the chiropractor a number of times. In order to receive treatment by a chiropractor, a patient needs to physically be in the office. In contrast, a course of treatment from medical doctors often involves a pre-established plan that is conducted at home (i.e. taking a course of antibiotics once a day for a couple of weeks). There are physical, chemical, and emotional stress that takes place on the body daily, therefore, chiropractors may provide acute, chronic, and/or preventive care thus making a certain number of visits sometimes necessary. Your Doctor of Chiropractic should provide you with instructions for your care plan.

What type of training and education do chiropractors have?

The level of knowledge is rather extensive. A doctor of Chiropractic (DC) is an educated health care provider with emphasis on diagnosis and treatment of conditions related to the musculoskeletal system (the muscles, ligaments and joints of the spine and extremities) and the nerves that supply them. Educational requirements for Doctor of Chiropractic are among the most stringent of any of the healthcare professions. The typical applicant for chiropractic college has already acquired nearly four years of pre-medical undergraduate college education, including courses in biology, inorganic and organic chemistry, physics, psychology and related lab work.
Chiropractors give advice on nutrition, fitness, ergonomics and lifestyle. They also screen for conditions unrelated to the musculoskeletal system and refer out to other practitioners when necessary. Chiropractors also complete specialties/residency in other areas such as pediatrics, sport medicine, neurology, radiology, and clinical nutrition just to name a few. The training hours are similar to that of a medical doctor. Here is a review of the curricula for chiropractic school and medical school. http://omaleydc.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/dcmd.jpg