Myths and Truths
“Do spinal adjustments hurt?”
Most patients feel instantaneous relief immediately after their treatments, for obvious reasons patients suffering from severe neck or back pain may experience some discomfort, for most patients this in not the case, in fact most patients look forward to their chiropractic treatments. The actual “popping” sound that is heard during the adjustment is not actually the sound of the bone, but gas being released from the joint. Spinal adjustments are very precise maneuvers that take years to learn and to perfect, do not let any other specialist besides a Chiropractic Doctor to adjust you.
“Are Chiropractic adjustments dangerous?”
Any procedure involves risk, no matter what. The fact is you are hundreds of times more likely to suffer an adverse reaction to taking an aspirin than you are from having a chiropractic adjustment. Most people don’t realize that there are more than 100,000 adverse reactions each year from taking a simple aspirin, while there are fewer than 100 adverse reactions to chiropractic adjustments. When you consider that there are over 3 million people being adjusted in one year, the risk from being adjusted is vanishing small. Your doctor will explain the risks and benefits and gain your permission to proceed before any treatment is rendered.
“Can I adjust myself by “cracking” my own back/neck?”
It would be almost impossible to adjust oneself in a way to free any fixations or correct any subluxations. Some people can get their neck or back to “pop”, but this usually only affects the segments that are not the true culprit and over time can lead to other problems. Just as you wouldn’t perform surgery on yourself, it’s best to leave the adjustments of your back and neck to the professional chiropractor. Even professionals cannot adjust themselves.
“What’s the difference between Chiropractic Doctors and Medical Doctors?”
Chiropractors have the same level of education as medical doctors, and are licensed as primary health care doctors. The difference between chiropractors and medical doctors has to do with how they treat the human body. Where medical doctors rely on external chemical compounds and surgical procedures to treat ailments, chiropractors focus on the structurally correcting the internal conditions, which causes the ailments in the first place. Because of this, chiropractic is highly effective in treating a wide range of conditions without resorting to taking drugs.
“Do I need to go to a Chiropractor for the rest of my life?”
While this is not strictly true, it is importantly to remember that ALL doctors continue to treat you for the rest of your life, at least ideally. For example, how often do you go to your dentist? Is it not true that your dentist will keep scheduling visits even when you have no tooth pain? We all learned at an early age the value of routine maintenance for our teeth, but for most of us we never learned the importance of the same type of routine maintenance for the rest of the body. If you find something that makes you healthier and improves your life…why wouldn’t you continue using it? We are proud of the fact that most of our patients continue on supportive care plans.
“Do Medical Doctors and Chiropractic Doctors work together?”
For the most part there is little animosity towards chiropractors from the medical community. Maybe a few medical doctors don’t like chiropractors for one reason or another, usually from a lack of understanding and education. As a matter fact more and more medical doctors and nurses are being treated by chiropractors every year. Chiropractors are now on staff at many major hospitals, the military, working at insurance companies and work side by side with medical doctors in private clinics.