Some of the Rumors about Chiropractic are True But Most are False
I remember going with a friend of mine to a chiropractic appointment she had several years ago. She only went because she was in agony with a back issue and nothing else had given her relief. (Those were the days back before my husband was a chiropractor… before he had even thought about becoming a chiropractor.) One of the first things she said to me as we left the appointment was, “The doctor wanted me to come back in for another adjustment but I never made the appointment – chiropractors do that so they can make more money.”
I have to admit that I bought into the chiropractors only use “additional appointments” as a money making scheme until my husband went off to chiropractic school. You might think that I got “brainwashed” along with my husband once my husband became a chiropractic student but the truth is that if I didn’t know what I know and hadn’t experienced what I’ve experienced, I wouldn’t be writing this blog. (I hate doing anything I believe is a waste of my time and talents!)
One thing that everyone should know is that I love a bargain. I did not have to be a rocket scientist to understand that the free care offered to student family members was a smart thing to take advantage of. As a frequent “guinea pig” of the student clinic of my husband’s school, I got a little education of my own. As the student interns took care of me under the direction of the supervising chiropractic doctors, I learned both from their discussions with each other and the results I experienced from my frequent appointments. Here are a few of the things that I learned:
• A small minority of chiropractors do encourage more appointments than are necessary but most want to see patients come back because they know that one chiropractic adjustment is not going to properly fix the issue being treated. Those conditions we seek treatment for are not created overnight and most cannot be fixed overnight either. (I call that the Law of the Harvest.)
• Chiropractic is safe and is based on preventative (wellness) care of the spine that keeps the nervous system free from interference (subluxations). One statistic I recently came across puts chiropractic safety into perspective: “More people die from complications of drugs and surgery in one single afternoon than in 20 years of cervical adjustments.”
• Chiropractors are real doctors not qwacks. There was a time when members of the American Medical Association (AMA) tried to discredit the chiropractic profession. A lawsuit filed and won by chiropractors showed that the AMA attempted to “destroy a competitor” because of economic concerns. It is unfortunate that any of those lies were ever told. However, studies and the experiences of patients continue to bolster the known effectiveness of chiropractic in treating health related issues!
• Chiropractors believe that the body is a self-healing organism. Because of that mindset, they believe that when a body is free from subluxation, it is free to heal. Chiropractors address health from the root of the issue. Medical Doctors, on the other hand, look to diagnose and then medicate the issue rather than find and eliminate the cause.
• Chiropractors believe in a Universal Creative Force (what I prefer to call God). Although I know that many MD’s personally believe in God, their training excludes use of a “whole body” mindset that chiropractic utilizes and focuses on the body only without recognizing the effect that mental, emotional or spiritual health can have on an individual.
• Chiropractic has been shown to boost immunity by an average of 200% for patients who receive regular care. However, like all forms of health care, it can’t cure everything.
These are just a few of the things that I learned while my husband was in chiropractic school but they are things I am grateful to know and understand. I wasn’t a regular patient of chiropractic until my husband attended Chiropractic College. I am now. Yet, there is one thing that I have found is hard to explain to those that don’t use chiropractic or who only use it as my friend did – you can’t feel the real difference that chiropractic makes unless you have regular treatments. Adjustments to treat pain and aches will help but you won’t feel the “complete difference”. I wish that I could have known and experienced that difference sooner!
Why I am a Chiropractic Advocate Oblander Chiropractic
I haven’t always been an advocate for Chiropractic care. My first interactions with health care were with medical doctors (allopathic practitioners). For about 15 years of my life, my health was impacted by migraines 24/7. MD’s prescribed every medication then known for treating migraines. They also ordered MRI’s and blood tests and when nothing in their “doctor bag” worked – I was told my headaches were all in my head and that I needed counseling.
The story is too long to relate here but suffice it to say that my husband eventually ended up attending chiropractic school and becoming a chiropractor. While my husband attended chiropractic school, chiropractors who oversaw the student clinic took me under their wing and dedicated their time and talents to helping me find the reasons for my migraines. It was not a quick or simple process but we eventually found that the main culprit in my migraines was MSG (monosodium glutamate). Once MSG and a few other minor culprits were removed from my diet, I was headache free.
Having been a recipient of both allopathic care (MD’s) and chiropractic care let me share why I have become an advocate for chiropractic health care:
- Chiropractic acknowledges that the body is a self healing organism (Our bodies have the capacity to heal)
- Chiropractic looks to address the source of the problem rather than medicate it.
- Chiropractic care promotes the body’s self healing abilities
- Chiropractic heals bad backs and much, much more
- Chiropractic operates from the belief that there is a creative force (God) in the universe we are a part of – rather than the godless world that medical schools profess. (I believe that God should always be a part of healing.)
- Chiropractors are doctors who are highly trained professionals – their curriculum includes almost twice as many hours in diagnosis as their MD counterparts. (Which makes me wonder why more chiropractors are not primary care physicians.)
- Chiropractors are trained in nutrition (the world’s most powerful healing tools are found in nature) while MD’s are trained in pharmacology.
- Except in instances of trauma and life-threatening situations, I believe that chiropractic is much more effective and much less invasive.
- I have seen first hand, the profound effect that spinal manipulation has on health. I have seen spinal manipulation clear nasal congestion, boost immune function (shorten or avert sickness), succeed with accident victims where physical therapy failed, end colic in babies, reset bones that surgeons claimed only surgery would fix, and more.
Chiropractic is safe. The average annual malpractice rates for chiropractors are $4,000 vs $90,000 for MD’s.
Chiropractic is not the cure for everything. It will not cure the damage from smoking and heavy drinking but it can do amazing things and it does it all naturally!