If you’ve been injured in accident, your injuries may require rehabilitative medical care. Often, this may come in the form of chiropractic treatment. All too often, however, chiropractors get a bad rap and are often subject to incorrect assumption about the services they provide. Here to debunk a few of those myths is Rockville MD Chiropractor, Dr. Brian Paris:
Myth 1: Chiropractors Do Not Need A License
Chiropractors are licensed physicians. After undergraduate and graduate studies, they receive a Doctorate of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree. Students must first take prerequisites prior to entering chiropractic school. This is the same course of study as pre-medical studies. There are specific colleges and universities dedicated to training future DCs. There are 44 institutions worldwide and 17 in the US. All are accredited institutions which provide course study, clinical experience and licensure for the chiropractic profession. Students must also pass a four parts of a national board and in some states a physical therapy board. Individual states may also have additional boards, typically to ensure mastery of the state’s rules and regulations. Below you will find a comparative analysis of chiropractic and medical education.
If you were improperly treated by someone claiming to be a chiropractor who is not actually licensed, and didn’t complete the mandatory requirements outlined above, you may be entitled to compensation through a medical malpractice claim.
Myth 2: Once You Start You Can Never Stop
The job of the DC is to help maintain the health of the spine. The spine is the central axis of your body and it houses your brain and spinal cord. Therefore spinal health is critical not only for your posture but also your general health. Chiropractic is a lifestyle. Many people choose to adopt this lifestyle and implement spinal health into their overall scope of healthcare. Spinal hygiene can include adjustments, exercises, stretches, breathing, etc. Most chiropractors, when dealing with a specific injury, have a specific care plan with a start and a finish. However, many patients choose to continue beyond injury care for overall health maintenance, improved athletic performance and postural strength.
Myth 3: Cracking Your Joints Causes Arthritis
The medical term for this ‘cracking’ is joint cavitation. This is an exchange of gas within a closed joint space. Bones attach to each other via joints. These joints give neurological feedback and feed forward information to the brain about your body’s position and movement. When a joint pops or cracks, this temporarily increases the range of motion of a joint and decreases pain of the joint and tissues (muscle, skin, ligament, tendon, fascia) surrounding that joint. Chiropractors apply direct force to the joints of the spine and extremities to help align the joint, decrease pain and increase range of motion of that joint.
Myth 4: Chiropractic Adjustments Are Not Safe For Children or Elderly
Chiropractic is a health system that treats people from womb to tomb! There are specific courses of study to work on infant spines and chiropractic is a phenomenal approach to helping with pain during pregnancy. With increasing screen time and technology use, young spines are consistently contorted into bent forward positions. This is what elderly people tend to look like as they age, lose strength and integrity of their spines. Now more than ever, chiropractic is crucial for these children.
Chiropractic treatment and exercise is the best approach to an aging spine. Many times, elderly people have pain that is treated biochemically (medication) when the cause of the problem is physical in nature. Chiropractic treatments can help elderly people decrease pain and move better.
Myth 5: It’s Just A Muscle Problem
All tissues in the body function together. When we study the body, we break it down into its parts. This approach fails when treating a whole person. The sum is much greater than the individual parts. It is impossible to injure a single tissue in the body without the other tissues being involved. Yes, you can have an individual muscle injury. From that injury, other tissues must over work to stabilize the area. The nerves need to send information to the brain, and so on. When you have an injury, observe and be aware of the ripple effect on the rest of the body.
Thanks to our friend and blog author, Dr. Brian Paris of Advanced Spine & Wellness Center, for his insight into chiropractic treatment.