Chiropractors strive to protect and restore biomechanical and neurological integrity of the spine through: early diagnosis, early intervention, patient education and through the prevention of unnecessary surgery.

What is Chiropractic?

• Chiropractic is the largest, most regulated, and best recognized of the non-allopathic health care professions.
• Patient surveys show that chiropractors are used more often than any other alternative provider group and patient satisfaction is very high. (Meeker, Haldman, 2002)
• Doctors of Chiropractic assess and manage patients with neuromusculoskeletal disorders and related clinical conditions.
• Chiropractors utilize appropriate diagnostic procedures and conservative therapeutic interventions, with a primary focus on spinal manipulation.
• Chiropractic is committed to accountability and predictability in obtaining measurable outcomes. These would include, but are not limited to: pain, physical function, and patient satisfaction.

What is an adjustment?

• The main therapeutic procedure performed by chiropractors is known as spinal manipulation, and also called chiropractic adjustment.
• The purpose of manipulation is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile as a result of tissue injury.
• The restored joint mobility alleviates pain and allows tissues to heal.
• The effects of an adjustment have been categorized into mechanical and neurological.
• CMT (Chiropractic Manipulative Treatment) has been described “as mechanical treatment with reflex effects.” (Arkuszewski, 1988)
• In terms of mechanical issues, the manipulable joint dysfunction is characterized as a spinal joint sprain/strain with associated local and referred pain.

Biologic effects of spinal manipulation:

• CMT produces a short lasting (100-300 milliseconds), high velocity impulse into the body (Herzog, 1996; Triano, 1992).

Chiropractic Manipulative Treatment has been proposed to affect these mechanical issues by:

• Release of entrapped tissues, thus reducing pain and restoring mobility.
• Stretching and breaking of adhesions.
• Dynamic stretching of musculature and Myofascial tissues.

Back pain statistics:

• Low back pain affects 60-80% of the U.S. population.
• Back pain is the second leading cause of all physician visits in the United States .
• Pain relief is perhaps the #1 reason patients go to the ER.
• Many of these patients receive medications that are ineffective for the treatment of musculoskeletal back and neck pain.

Why do patients seek chiropractic care?

• Patients seek chiropractic care as a first choice for back and neck pain.
• Patients seek chiropractic care when other treatments fail.
• Patients seek chiropractic care when medications cannot be taken or are ineffective.

Which patients can benefit from chiropractic treatment?

• A patient that has had an acute onset and a patient that can change their pain.
• A patient that has failed other treatments.
• A patient that improved with traditional physical therapy but is unable to maintain functional levels.
• A patient that cannot tolerate medications or is using too much medication.

Benefits to Medical Doctors & hospitals:

• Patient satisfaction is your most important outcome.
• Multiple studies have shown that chiropractors have significantly higher satisfaction ratings than other healthcare providers.
• Patients will associate “getting better” with the referring physician or hospital giving a conservative trial of chiropractic exhausts concerns when you’re not sure that surgery is the solution or better yet when the patient isn’t sure.
• Wards off drug-seeking behaviors.

Is it safe?

• Approximately $2,000 per year malpractice premium.
• There are over 100 hospitals offering chiropractic care in the United States .
• Military hospitals provide chiropractic care to members of all branches of the armed forces.
• Risk of worsening lumbar disc herniation is only 1 in 3.7 million.
• There is no evidence of excess risk of VBA stroke associated with chiropractic care when compared to primary care.
  Risk of Vertebrobasilar Stroke and Chiropractic Care J. David Cassidy, DC, PhD, DrMedSc Spine 33;4S:S176-S183
• Quality care involves five key components:
• The use of passive modalities in a time-limited fashion.
• A gradual transition to active care methods which promote self-reliance.
• Utilization of outcomes assessment tools which quantify progress and provide return to work or pre-injury goals.
• Identification of the high risk patient.
• Patient education.

Referrals and Orders:

Chiropractors will order tests, if medically necessary.

In the event a patient’s status indicates pathology or a condition is outside the scope of conservative management, immediate referrals to appropriate specialists are made.

Appropriate referrals are also made when a patient’s response to physical medicine is less than anticipated.

Other Chiropractic Frequently Asked Questions

• Chiropractic is safe and effective.
• Decreases the number of unnecessary follow-ups, unnecessary tests and unnecessary surgeries.
• Has a high rate of patient satisfaction.