“The Top Ten Frequently Asked Questions"

(10 Reasons to Trust Your Family’s Health to Chiropractic Care)

1) How much Education & Training do Chiropractors have?

A Doctor of Chiropractic is an extremely well educated health care provider. In most states, Doctors of Chiropractic must complete eight years of college and clinical training, as well as undergo rigorous testing by the federal government as prerequisite for licensing. Before a student can enroll in a Chiropractic school, each student must first complete a minimum of 90 hours of undergraduate education that includes many Pre-Med classes, such as Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Physics, and Psychology. Most incoming freshman into Chiropractic College have obtained a Bachelor’s Degree already from an accredited college. In many states a Bachelor’s Degree is required. Once the student is enrolled in a Chiropractic school, another four years of education must be successfully completed, focusing on biological and health sciences, neuromusculoskeletal diagnosis, treatment, extensive clinical training and patient care.

2) Is Chiropractic safe for me and my family?

Chiropractic offers safe, drug free treatment. If you read the warnings included with many pharmaceuticals, quite often you’ll discover that taking prescription drugs can result in side effects that are actually worse than those symptoms caused by the disease or virus the medicine is prescribed for. did you know that Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR) are currently the #5 cause of death in America today?

Chiropractic takes a different, more holistic approach. Chiropractic treatment centers on maintaining your body’s optimal health naturally so you’re better able to resist disease. Procedures are never invasive. In fact, Chiropractic is so safe that malpractice insurance for chiropractors costs a fraction of what many physicians pay.

3) What is Chiropractic care?

Chiropractic treats the whole body and not just the symptoms. Chiropractic focuses its attention on your nerve system—the brain and spinal cord—to restore optimum health. When properly functioning, your brain sends “chemical messages” through your spinal cord to a vast network of nerves. These nerves then deliver life-promoting information to every cell, organ and system of your entire body. This information controls a myriad of bodily functions—how well you sleep, how well you digest your food, how well you concentrate, how well your body moves, in addition to how well your immune system can fight off disease.

When the bones of your spine become misaligned and move out of their proper position, the flow of information from your body to your brain is interrupted. (This spinal malfunction is called a vertebral subluxation.) Without “cell-restoring” messages being transmitted from the nerve system, your body isn’t “wired” to perform at its full potential and illness, pain and disease can result. Chiropractic uses gentle adjustments designed to direct and control pressure on spinal bones to restore them to their normal position and motion. The result? Your body’s natural information flow is restored and coordination, motion, concentration and over all well-being are improved.

4) Is Chiropractic just for back pain?

Chiropractic effectively treats a variety of conditions, not just back pain only. Because your doctor works both directly and indirectly with the body's nervous system, chiropractic is recognized for its ability to promote improved health overall. Most chiropractic patients initially seek relief for musculoskeletal pain. Many patients do have back pain, numbness, headaches and migraines. Others have neck and shoulder pain. Yet, there are many other illnesses and/or organic diseases that can be caused in part or fully by subluxation. Chiropractic also treats carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, asthma, earaches, sinusitis, allergies, spinal disc injuries, athletic and sports injuries, fatigue, stress related conditions, bursitis, tendonitis, joint (jaw) problems, fibromyalgia, whiplash, sciatic pain, infantile colic, to name a few. Many painful conditions respond favorably to Chiropractic, without surgery, without drugs, and without the serious side effects.

5) What type of treatment is best for me?

Chiropractic is not just a one treatment for all health care program. It is a whole body wellness program. When you seek Chiropractic care, you’ll have an extensive consultation with your chiropractor so that he or she can get a case history and form a health profile. Next, your chiropractor will perform an in-depth physical examination to find out if there are any misalignments in your spine. If necessary, X-rays and/or other testing may be done to ensure proper diagnosis. Results will be analyzed, reports shown to you, and recommendations for treatment will be discussed before your treatment begins. Your doctor will discuss which adjusting technique will correct the problem with the least amount of force and also inform you if there are any potential health hazards to adjusting your particular condition. A specific chiropractic adjustment is a chiropractor's primary form of treatment, but a doctor of chiropractic uses various adjustment techniques, depending upon your condition, to reduce any subluxation and restore your spine to as normal a position as possible.

6) Do spinal adjustments hurt?

Chiropractic adjustments are rarely painful.   In order to use different adjusting techniques, your doctor must be educated, skillful and experienced.   When a bone is adjusted through specific chiropractic adjustments, there may be a faint popping sound and rarely any pain.  Often, when the tension is released, the opposite occurs—relief. 

7) Is Chiropractic care for everyone?

Chiropractic has health-enhancing benefits for all ages.   Chiropractic is safe for all ages, from newborn infants to senior citizens.   More than 50,000 chiropractors help over 20,000,000 people each year in the U.S. alone!

8) Is Chiropracitc care expensive?

Chiropractic care is inexpensive in comparison to traditional medicine.   In 1992, the Journal of American Health Policy reported that after a review of data from over 2,000,000 patients of chiropractic care in the U.S., "Chiropractic patients tend to have substantially lower total health care costs" and "chiropractic care reduces the use of both physician and hospital care."   Subsequent studies that compare chiropractic and traditional medical treatments reveal that patients under chiropractic show lower treatment costs, reduced work-time losses, and reduced worker disability.   With chiropractic treatment, there are NO expensive prescription drugs, NO costly surgery, and NO exorbitant hospital bills to pay.

9) Will my insurance cover my care?

Chiropractic Treatment is covered under many insurance providers.   More and more insurance companies are including chiropractic care within their basic health insurance plans. Although the amount of coverage varies from policy to policy, many insurance companies cover ongoing treatment.  Chiropractic is also recognized by governmental health care programs.  Automobile accidents and work-comp injuries are covered at 100%.  Private indemnity insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and prepaid/managed care plans also cover chiropractic care. Most chiropractic offices provide a wide range of financial options for individuals and family without insurance covererage, including cash payment plans.

10) How can Chiropractic improve my sports performance?

Chiropractic is excellent for every athlete in the family.  Whether you and your family go to the gym, play little league, soccer, or other competition sports, take dance lessons, do yoga…Chiropractic helps the body to relax, repair and prepare for the next event.  Benefits of chiropractic include:
                                               • lncreased circulation
                                               • lncreased removal of lactic acid
                                               • lncreased delivery of oxygen and nutrients
                                               • lncreased flexibility
                                               • lncreased training effectiveness
                                               • Reduced soreness & pain
                                               • Reduced recovery time
                                               • Reduced muscle spasms
                                               • Reduced chance of injury
                                               • Better athletic performance

The benefits of Chiropractic go on and on.

"The Doctor of the Future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause of disease."  

Thomas A. Edison