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Can Chiropractic Help You?
Are you one of the four
out of five people that suffers from low back pain (LBP)?
You’ve tried everything, medication, rest,
physiotherapy, praying… nothing seems to help and
you are desperate for an answer and relief!
Your friend or colleague
at work has suggested a chiropractor and you didn’t
take that advice seriously because your MD didn’t
suggest one or you heard something negative about
chiropractic or were scared to try it.
Even though chiropractic
has been around for over one hundred years, there
remains a tremendous amount of misinformation about
this area of health care. Here’s some honest and
straight forward information about what you need to
know!
What is a
Chiropractor?
A chiropractor is a
primary health professional who can diagnose and
treat musculoskeletal and nervous system disorders.
A chiropractor has a minimum of seven years of post
secondary education and are licensed by national and
provincial regulatory boards. While chiropractors
may use traditional diagnostic testing methods (i.e.
X-rays), they also use a thorough patient history
and specific chiropractic and orthopedic tests to
diagnose your condition. Chiropractors do not
prescribe medications or perform surgery. The
underlying philosophy is to provide pro-active,
non-invasive health care. However, chiropractors
are trained to recognize when an injury/condition is
outside their scope of practice and will refer
patients to the appropriate medical professional if
necessary.
How Do You Find One?
You can ask your
family physician, ask people you know who go to a
chiropractor, look in the phone book, log on to the
Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) website to
locate a chiropractor (www.chiropractic.on.ca/)
Who Can Benefit From
Chiropractic?
Some patients with the
following conditions have found chiropractic to be
helpful:
·
pain/stiffness in neck, shoulders, back, hips
·
certain
types of headaches
·
sciatica
·
whiplash
·
scoliosis
·
sports
injuries
·
bursitis/tendonitis
·
arthritis
Types of Treatment.
When one thinks of
chiropractic, they usually think of the spinal
adjustment.
During the adjustment, a
chiropractor will use his/her hands to apply a
gentle, controlled force to a spinal joint. This
maneuver often results in a “cracking” sound made by
a separation of the joint surfaces – not as many
people think, by “cracking joints.” This treatment
is rarely uncomfortable, and the risk of
complication is rare. The main purpose of the
spinal adjustment is to restore proper movement to
spinal joints that are restricted or not moving
properly, for example because of overlying tight or
spasmed muscle.
Can other types of
professionals also perform adjustments?
Yes some osteopaths,
MD’s and physiotherapists will offer these
techniques.
However chiropractors
perform 95% of all adjustments and are considered
the “specialists” or “gold standard” of manual
care. Be careful of physiotherapists, massage
therapists or MD’s who provide spinal adjustments as
part of their care. At the very least be informed
and ask about their credentials, qualifications and
experience. You wouldn’t go to a chiropractor for
medication or surgery. You shouldn’t go to a health
care provider for manual care other than a
chiropractor.
Of course other
treatments are offered by a chiropractor, such as
manual therapy known as mobilizations;
electrotherapy and ultrasound, customized stretching
and strengthening programs, specialized soft tissue
techniques (i.e. ART, PNF, trigger point therapy),
ice/heat, lifestyle, nutrition, postural and
ergonomic advice.
One of the main tenets
of chiropractic treatment is to provide holistic,
patent-centered care in which the chiropractor
determines which combination of treatment (not
always including adjustments) compliment each other
and result in an accelerated recovery.
Is Chiropractic
Effective and Safe?
There is good evidence
with dozens of excellent research articles over the
last few years that chiropractic management produces
superior results in terms of safety, effectiveness,
cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction. It has
been determined that, indeed, people who use
chiropractic care spend less money on other types of
medical care and are actually cheaper to pay for at
the end of the year than people who do not use
chiropractic care (are you listening McGuinty?)
Many people are unaware
of the coverage or benefits of chiropractic care.
Most extended health
care plans, workers compensation (WSIB), auto
accident injury claims, veteran’s affairs among
others cover partially or fully chiropractic
treatment.
As with any treatment,
non-serious side effects may occur following
treatment but are usually minor and short-lived.
Serious adverse events are extremely rare. I won’t
even talk about the side effects of other common
medical treatments such as anti-inflammatory
medication, cortisone or surgery for comparable
conditions! Any mature, responsible health
profession must discuss the risk/benefit ratio and
the pros/cons of any treatment. Insist on this when
discussing treatment options with any health care
provider.
Chiropractors are well
positioned by virtue of their education and training
to manage neuromusculoskeletal injuries. Everyone
can be confident that chiropractors have the
knowledge and skills to effectively provide “second
to none” care.
So if you or someone you
know suffers from back pain, headaches etc. you not
only have nothing to lose, but would most likely
benefit better with chiropractic than with other
forms of therapy.
If you have any
questions or concerns regarding any thing to do with
chiropractic therapy, call Dr. Erin White
(519-332-4222) or email me
ewhitedc@xcelco.on.ca
. Good luck and take care.
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