Chiropractic focuses primarily on the aligning the relationship between the body’s skeletal structure and its conjunction with the neural system. Modern day and comprehensive research have led to the practice of a variety of treatment approaches; chiropractors primarily perform manipulations to the spine or other affected parts of the body to alleviate pain, improve mobility, functionality and nurturing the body’s natural ability to heal it.
A Brief History:
The term “chiropractic” connects the Greek words cheir (hand) and praxis (practice) to define a medical treatment done by hand. Hands-on therapy—especially adjustment of the spine—is fundamental to chiropractic care. The chiropractic school of thought believes that proper alignment of human body’s musculoskeletal structure enables the body to heal itself naturally without any intensive medication or surgery.
Spinal manipulation is a core treatment in chiropractic care, but it does not define the entirety of chiropractic care, rather Chiropractors usually use other methods in addition to spinal manipulation, to extend and not limit a patient’s needs on a rigid healing schedule.
Key Points:
If one were to conduct some research on this subject, then an overwhelming number of results will point towards spinal manipulation. This treatment appears to benefit patients with Lower Back Pain and may also be helpful for neck pain, whiplash-associated disorders, headaches, upper- and lower-extremity joint conditions; more commonly generalized as Pain Management.
Side effects from chiropractic treatment can include temporary discomfort in the parts of the body that were treated. It is also important to mention that people who have spinal cord compression, inflammatory arthritis or osteoporosis should not undergo any chiropractic of spinal cord manipulation treatment techniques. Besides as per experts, patients having a history of cancer should first get a clearance certificate from their medical doctor before undergoing this treatment.
All treatments are based on an accurate diagnosis of your back pain. So do not hide any medical history from your chiropractic, inform them of your ongoing medical conditions, surgeries, allergies and lifestyle. To be safe, always coordinate with your medical doctor to make sure your situation will benefit from chiropractic treatment.
Use in the United States
Chiropractic is usually considered a complementary health care in the United States. The 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), revealed that about 18 million adults and nearly 2 million children had received chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation in the past 12 months. Moreover, an analysis of NHIS cost data unearthed that adults spent approximately $11.9 billion on visits to complementary health practitioners; $3.9 billion of which was spent on visits to chiropractic manipulation in the United States
Many people who seek chiropractic care do so due to lower back pain, headaches or occasional muscle spasms. People also commonly seek chiropractic care for several other kinds of musculoskeletal pain including loose chronic back pains, loose posture, neck, and shoulder pain.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine carried out a study to draw an analysis of the effectiveness different techniques to treat neck pains; the study was conducted on 272 participants, who were divided into three groups who were administrated to spinal manipulation therapy from a professional chiropractic, exercise recommendations or medication. The clinical results, compiled after 12 weeks of trial runs revealed that about 57 percent of the patients subjected to manipulation therapy by a DC and 48 percent who exercised reported a mighty 75 percent decrease in their pains.
Treatment:
Just like a medical checkup, a chiropractor starts off with compiling patient’s medical history followed by a physical examination, which might be followed by some lab tests and diagnostics to determine which treatment will compliment you the most.
Your chiropractic treatment plan might involve one or more adjustments to carefully increase the range and quality of motion by manipulating the joints, using a very controlled yet sudden force. Most notably, not all professionals strictly restrict themselves to muscle manipulation rather some choose to incorporate exercises and nutritional counseling in chiropractic treatment plans. The result of each technique or tweak in any application of chiropractic treatment is to restore the muscle mobility and provide Pain Relief Management.
Experts from Kroll Care reveal that chiropractors generally combine the use of spinal adjustments with other manual therapies, such as:
- Electrical stimulation to ease the muscles
- The application of Heat and ice technique
- Relaxation techniques to rejuvenate the patient’s body to flush out additional lactic acid from the muscles.
- Rehabilitative and general exercise to encourage the patient to opt do-it-yourself routine to accelerate recovery.
- General Counseling.
