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 What is Chiropractic?
According to The Association of Chiropractic Colleges, "Chiropractic is a health care discipline which emphasizes the inherent recuperative power of the body to heal itself without the use of drugs and surgery. The practice of chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health." The purpose of chiropractic is to optimize health.
How Chiropractic Works?
The answer can be found by looking into the relationship between the spine and the nervous system. The nervous system is the master controller of all living cells, tissues, and organs; orchestrating and coordinating all cellular functions. The spinal column encases the nervous system (spinal cord and nerve roots) and is responsible for its protection. Because of this intimate relationship, biomechanical and structural problems in the spinal column can irritate parts of the enclosed nervous system. This irritation can result from inflammation released during tissue injury or may result from direct mechanical pressure or trauma. In either case, the functioning of the nervous system is negatively influenced as is the functioning of the cells, tissues and organs which are supplied by the affected nerve(s). The resulting ailment(s) and pain depend on the cells, tissues, and organs affected as well as the extent of nervous system compromise.
In short, because the body's innate recuperative powers are affected by and integrated through the nervous system, correcting spinal abnormalities which irritate the nervous system can lead to a number of favorable results in patients suffering from various, seemingly non-spinal health conditions.
 How Chiropractic Differs?
There is a significant and very important difference between the way chiropractors and medical doctors approach health conditions and pain.
When evaluating and treating patients, chiropractors take a holistic approach which includes identifying and correcting the cause(s) of each patient's condition. In contrast, the medical approach tends to focus more on treating the symptoms of a condition rather than focusing primarily on the actual cause(s). Chiropractors believe that correcting the cause of the problem provides significant long-term benefits over only treating the symptoms which often leads to reoccurring symptoms.
 The Benefits of Chiropractic
Short-term and regular chiropractic care can have a number of benefits including:
- Spinal and extremity pain relief
- Headache relief
- Increased mobility and range of motion
- Decreased stiffness and muscle spasms
- Arthritic joint pain relief
- Increased joint health
- Increased performance and energy
- Increased balance and coordination
- Reduced degeneration and risk of injury
- Enhanced tissue healing
- Decreased tissue inflammation
Stages of Healing and How They Relate to Your Care
Upon injury or the onset of pain, the average patient will need to progress through three stages of care to achieve complete recovery. The first stage is called relief care and focuses on symptomatic relief. Relief care consists of treatments to reduce pain, inflammation, and spasm so that the majority of individuals may continue their activities of daily living. The second stage is titled corrective care and focuses on enhancing healing and correcting the cause of the discomfort. Treatment addresses the cause of the pain, promotes healing, and begins to rehabilitate the damaged tissues. This stage is very important in preventing the reoccurrence of the injury or pain. The third and final stage of care is titled wellness care. Treatment during this stage focuses on regular checkups with the goal being prevention of new injuries or degeneration and arthritis.
 Facts Pertaining to Chiropractic
- 3rd largest health care profession with approximately 50,000 chiropractors in the United States. Only behind medical doctors and dentists.
- 80% of Americans will suffer back pain at some point in their lives
- Back symptoms are the most common cause of disability for individuals under the age of 45
- More than 20 million Americans will seek chiropractic care this year.
- Chiropractic has been an effective treatment option for more than 100 years.
- 9 out of 10 chiropractic users feel their treatment is effective -- 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
- 4% of all spinal manipulations are performed by chiropractors. -- Rand Corporation
Chiropractic is Safe and Effective
The Manga Report
The Manga Report analyzed and reviewed scientific research and came to the following conclusions:
"Chiropractic manipulation is safer than medical management of low back pain. Chiropractic management is greatly superior to medical management in terms of scientific validity, safety, cost-effectiveness, and patient satisfaction."
"There is no clinical or case-control study that demonstrates or even implies that chiropractic spinal manipulation is unsafe in the treatment of low back pain. Some medical treatments are equally safe, but others are unsafe and generate iatrogenic (doctor-induced) complications for low back pain patients. Our reading of the literature suggests that chiropractic manipulation is safer than medical management of low back pain."
"... spinal manipulations are less safe and less effective when
performed by non-chiropractic professionals"
The Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of Chiropractic Management of Low Back Pain (The Manga Report). Pran Manga and Associates (1993) -- University of Ottawa, Canada.
 The Agency on Health Care Policy and Research Study
On December 8, 1994, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) of the US Department of Health and Human Services released Clinical Practice Guidelines for the management of acute low back pain. Their guidelines were developed after extensive study of diagnostic and treatment methods for acute low back pain. Their findings included:
- The risk of serious complications from lumbar spinal manipulation is rare
- Conservative treatment such as spinal manipulation should be pursued in most cases before considering surgical intervention.
- Acute Low Back Problems in Adults. Clinical Practice Guidelines. Bigos S, et al. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Publication No. 950642 (1994) -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The Chiropractic Education
The training and education endured by chiropractors is extremely thorough and demanding, and is similar to that of medical doctors with a few differences. The first two years of both programs are very similar in that they concentrate on the basic sciences with classes in anatomy, physiology, neurology, etc. Differences occur in the final two years as the focus of education focuses more on clinic sciences and diagnosis. The chiropractic education has fewer courses in pharmacology and no classes in surgery, but has more courses in chiropractic methods, rehabilitation, and radiology. Most chiropractic colleges consist of 10 semesters where 3 semesters can be completed each year by continuing school through the summer.
Prior to entering chiropractic school, each aspiring chiropractor must have completed 3-4 years of undergraduate studies in the necessary prerequisites. In Wisconsin, all new chiropractors are required to have completed an undergraduate degree.
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