What People Should Know About Chiropractors and Chiropractic

Chiropractic is a form of health care that focuses on the relationship between the body's structure, primarily of the spine, and its function. Doctors of chiropractic, who are also called chiropractors or chiropractic physicians, use a type of hands-on therapy called manipulation (or adjustment) as their core clinical procedure. This report will give you a general overview of chiropractic, Chiropractors. Chiropractic is one of the most effective therapies often used to treat musculoskeletal conditions--problems with the muscles, joints, bones, specially spine and connective tissue such as cartilage, ligaments, and tendons. It is important to inform all of your health care providers about any treatment that you are using or considering, including chiropractic. This will help each provider make sure that all aspects of your health care are working together. 1. What is chiropractic? The word "chiropractic" combines the Greek words cheir (hand) and praxis (action) and means "done by hand." Chiropractic is an alternative medical system and takes a different approach from conventional medicine in diagnosing, classifying, and treating medical problems. The basic concepts of chiropractic can be described as follows: The body has a powerful self-healing ability. The body's structure (primarily that of the spine) and its function are closely related, and this relationship affects health. Chiropractic therapy is given with the goals of normalizing this relationship between structure and function and assisting the body as it heals. 2. What is the history of the discovery and use of chiropractic? Chiropractic is a form of spinal manipulation, which is one of the oldest healing practices. Spinal manipulation was described by Hippocrates in ancient Greece. In 1895, Daniel David Palmer founded the modern profession of chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. Palmer was a self-taught healer and a student of healing philosophies of the day. He observed that the body has a natural healing ability that he believed was controlled by the nervous system. He also believed that subluxations, or misalignments of the spine (a concept that had already existed in the bonesetter and osteopathic traditions), interrupt or interfere with this "nerve flow." Palmer suggested that if an organ does not receive its normal supply of impulses from the nerves, it can become diseased. This line of thinking led him to develop a procedure to "adjust" the vertebrae, the bones of the spinal column, with the goal of correcting subluxations.   Some chiropractors continue to view subluxation as central to chiropractic health care. However, other chiropractors no longer view the subluxation theory as a unifying theme in health and illness or as a basis for their practice. Other theories as to how chiropractic might work have been developed. 3. Who uses chiropractic and for what health problems? In 1997, it was estimated that North Americans made nearly 192 million visits a year to chiropractors. Over 88 million of those visits were to treat back or neck pain. In one recent survey, more than 40 percent of patients receiving chiropractic care were being treated for back or low back problems. More than half of those surveyed said that their symptoms were chronic. Conditions commonly treated by chiropractors include back pain, neck pain, headaches, sports injuries, and repetitive strains. Patients also seek treatment of pain associated with other conditions, such as arthritis. Low back pain is a common medical problem, occurring in up to one-quarter of the population each year. Most people experience significant back pain at least once during their lifetime. Often, the cause of back pain is unknown, and it varies greatly in terms of how people experience it and how professionals diagnose it. This makes back pain challenging to study. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) http://nccam.nih.gov/health/chiropractic/index.htm National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services NCCAM Publication No. D196 November 2003

 

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