Everything about Chiropractor totally explained
Chiropractic (from
Greek chiro- χειρο- "hand-" +
praktikós πρακτικός "concerned with action") is a
complementary and alternative medicine health care profession that focuses on
diagnosis,
treatment and prevention of
mechanical disorders of the
musculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on the functions of the
nervous system and general health. It emphasizes
manual therapy including
spinal adjustment and other joint and
soft-tissue manipulation.
Chiropractors usually obtain one of the following equivalent
first professional degrees in chiropractic medicine (D.C. or D.C.M. or B.Chiro or M.Chiro). Chiropractors use a combination of treatments that are predicated on the specific needs of the individual patient. A chiropractor can develop and carry out a comprehensive treatment and management plan that can include
spinal adjustments,
soft tissue therapy, prescription of exercises, and health and lifestyle counseling.
Chiropractic was founded in
1895 by
D. D. Palmer in the
USA, and is practiced in more than 100 countries. Since its inception, chiropractic has been controversial, both within the profession and in the medical and scientific community, particularly regarding the metaphysical approach espoused by its founders and advocated by "straight" chiropractors. This same criticism may have been the catalyst that allowed some within the profession to emphasize primarily a neuromusculoskeletal approach in
their educational curriculum, leading them away from the original metaphysical explanations of their predecessors towards more scientific ones.
Chiropractors have historically fallen into two main groups, "straights" and "mixers"; both have had off-shoots. Chiropractic also retains elements of materialism, the belief that all things have explanations, which forms the basis of
science. Evidence-based chiropractic balances this
dualism by emphasizing both the tangible, testable principle that structure affects function, and the untestable, metaphorical recognition that life is self-sustaining.
Chiropractors can adopt or share vitalist,
naturalist, or materialist viewpoints and emphasize a
holistic, patient-centered approach that appreciates the multifactorial nature of influences (for example structural, chemical, and psychological) on the functioning of the body in health and disease and recognizes the dynamics and interplay between lifestyle, environment, and health. This holistic paradigm is also blended with a
biopsychosocial approach, which is also emphasized in chiropractic care. In addition, chiropractors also retain
naturopathic and naturalist principles that suggest decreased "host resistance" of the body facilitates the disease process and that natural interventions are preferable towards strengthening the host in its effort to optimize function and return to
homeostasis.
Chiropractors also commonly use nutrition, exercise, patient education, health promotion and lifestyle counseling as part of their holistic outlook towards preventive health care. Chiropractic's claim to improve health by improving biomechanical and neural function by the manual correction of joint and soft tissue dysfunctions of the neuromusculoskeletal system differentiates it from mainstream medicine and other complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) disciplines, but is also rooted, in part, in
osteopathy and eastern medicine interventions. For some, prevention includes a concept of "maintenance care" that attempts to "detect and correct" structural imbalances of the neuromusculoskeletal system while in its primary, or
functional state. The objective is early identification of mechanical dysfunctions to prevent or delay permanent pathological changes.
In summary, the major premises regarding the philosophy of chiropractic include:
» *non-invasive, emphasizes patient's inherent recuperative abilities
*recognizes dynamics between lifestyle, environment, and health
» *spine and health are related in an important and fundamental way, and this relationship is mediated through the nervous system. The practice of chiropractic medicine involves a range of diagnostic methods including skeletal imaging, observational and tactile assessments, orthopedic and neurological evaluation, laboratory tests, A chiropractor may also refer a patient to an appropriate specialist, or co-manage with another health care provider.
Chiropractors generally can't write
medical prescriptions; a 2003 survey of North American chiropractors found that a slight majority favored allowing them to write prescriptions for
over-the-counter drugs. A notable exception is the state of
Oregon which is considered to have an "expansive" scope of practice of chiropractic, which allows chiropractors to prescribe over-the-counter substances and perform minor surgery. In some locations chiropractors (DCs) and
veterinarians (DVMs) with additional training and certification can practice
veterinary chiropractic which includes the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injured animals. However, the official position of the
American Chiropractic Association is that applying manipulative techniques to animals doesn't constitute chiropractic and that
veterinary chiropractic is a misnomer. Chiropractors are also generally permitted to use adjunctive therapeutic modalities such as
acupuncture and manipulation under
anesthesia with additional training from accredited universities/colleges.
Chiropractic medicine is established in the
U.S.,
Canada, and
Australia, and is present to a lesser extent in many other countries. Similar to other primary contact health providers, chiropractors can specialize in different areas of chiropractic medicine. The most common post-graduate diplomate programs include
neurology,
sports sciences, clinical sciences,
rehabilitation sciences,
orthopedics and
radiology which generally require 2–3 additional years of additional post graduate study and passing competency examinations.
Education, licensing, and regulation
A Chiropractic Examining Board requires all candidates to complete a twelve-month clinical internship to obtain licensure. Licensure is granted following successful completion of all state/provincial and national board exams so long as the DC maintains
malpractice insurance. Nonetheless, there are still some variations in educational standards internationally depending on admission and graduation requirements. Chiropractic medicine is regulated in Canada by provincial
statute. Regulatory colleges are responsible for protecting the public, standards of practice, disciplinary issues, quality assurance and maintenance of competency. Today, there are 15 accredited Doctor of Chiropractic programs in 18 locations in the USA and 2 in Canada, and an estimated 70,000 chiropractors in the USA, 6500 in Canada, 2500 in Australia, 2,381 in the UK, and smaller numbers in about 80 other countries.
Treatment procedures
Spinal manipulation, the most common modality in chiropractic care, The medicinal use of spinal manipulation can be traced back over 3000 years to ancient Chinese writings.
Hippocrates, the "father of medicine" used manipulative techniques, as did the ancient Egyptians and many other cultures. A modern re-emphasis on
manipulative therapy occurred in the late 19th century in North America with the emergence of the
osteopathic medicine and chiropractic medicine. Spinal manipulation gained mainstream recognition during the 1980s (see
History). In the U.S., chiropractors perform over 90% of all manipulative treatments and consider themselves to be expertly qualified providers of spinal adjustment, manipulation and other manual treatments.
Manipulation under anesthesia or MUA is a specialized manipulative procedure that typically occurs in hospitals administered under general anesthesia. Typically, it's performed on patients who have failed to respond to other forms of treatment.
Schools of thought and practice styles
Common themes to chiropractic care include holistic, conservative and non-medication approaches via
manual therapy. Still, significant differences exist amongst the practice styles, claims and beliefs between various chiropractors.
Straight
Straight chiropractors are the oldest movement. They adhere to the philosophical principles set forth by D. D. and B. J. Palmer, and retain
metaphysical definitions and
vitalistic qualities. Straight chiropractors believe that vertebral subluxation leads to interference with an
Innate intelligence within the human nervous system and is a primary underlying risk factor for almost any disease. Straights view the medical diagnosis of patient complaints (which they consider to be the "secondary effects" of subluxations) to be unnecessary for treatment. Thus, straight chiropractors are concerned primarily with the detection and correction of vertebral subluxation via adjustment and don't "mix" other types of therapies. Their philosophy and explanations are metaphysical in nature and prefer to use traditional chiropractic lexicon (for example perform spinal analysis, detect subluxation, correct with adjustment, etc.). They prefer to remain separate and distinct from mainstream health care.
Mixer
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