By Jennifer Johnson
Have you ever heard that chiropractors cause strokes, crack bones, or are not real doctors? Rumors like these persist, despite an estimated 40 million Americans who visit chiropractors each year. Despite rumors, the profession enjoys the highest level of patient satisfaction among health care providers, according to a 2009 Consumer Reports survey.
Misguided myths do not just feed inaccurate Internet fodder; in this case, they can deter people from seeking the safe and effective health care they need. Do not be fooled. Here are some of the most common misconceptions, along with the facts.
Chiropractors only treat back pain
Back pain is often the first reason people seek out a chiropractor, but treatment options do not end there. Chiropractors help seemingly unrelated problems by manipulating the spinal column, which is a complex system that includes vertebra, muscle, soft tissue, chemicals, and your nervous system. Correcting even slightly misaligned bones can help other areas of your body, too.
Once you go, you will go forever
You can go to your chiropractor for a specific problem and stop once the issue is resolved. It is like going to a dentist: your chiropractor suggests preventative activities you can do at home and, if needed, periodic office visits to help prevent future flare-ups and chronic discomfort. Either way, the choice to make future visits is yours.
What is that pop?
Chiropractors apply quick thrusts, called adjustments, to your joints, which are points of connection between bones. That popping sound is an audible release of gas from the spinal joints, not your bone cracking. Although it can be startling to some people, many find the process relieving. Not all techniques require this manipulation, however, and treatment plans also include soft tissue work and exercise in addition to nutritional and dietary counseling.
Chiropractors cause strokes
Clinical evidence confirms that chiropractic adjustments do not cause strokes. One landmark study took place over nine years and with enough people to span the equivalent of 100 million person-years. In another, a task force reviewed 32,000 scientific citations, along with 1,000 relevant studies over six years. Overall, the association between a stroke and a chiropractic office visit was no higher than when patients visited a general physician. The numbers were so small they were statistically insignificant — about the same risk as being struck by lightning.
Chiropractors could not get into medical school
Both physicians and chiropractors train as primary care physicians, starting with similar core classes until later, when medical students focus on pharmacology and chiropractors study adjusting techniques and physiology. The real difference is their preferred method of caring for patients. Chiropractors promote a healthy lifestyle, seeking to turn on the body’s natural healing ability by removing anything that interferes with its normal functioning, rather than adding something, like medications or surgery.
Medical doctors do not like chiropractors
The two communities often work as a team. A chiropractor really shines when the source of pain relates to the soft tissues, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. You will be referred to a medical doctor if it is suspected that the cause might be a tumor, infection, or other disease best treated by conventional medicine.
It’s too expensive and not covered by medical insurance
The studies proving that chiropractic care works have also shown the practice’s value in reducing the overall costs of treatment and preventing a relapse, especially with lower back pain and injuries. HMOs, private insurance, state workers’ compensation systems, Medicare, and, in many states, Medicaid routinely cover chiropractic care.
Inventor Thomas Edison said, “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 the prevention of disease.” However, Mr. Edison could not predict the rumors that would circulate about chiropractic care over 100 years later. Even as the scientific evidence supporting the profession’s safety and effectiveness accumulates, the chiropractic community continues to practice health care that emphasizes prevention and treatments that help the body to heal itself.
For more information on nutrition, healthy lifestyle, chiropractic care, and physical rehabilitation, please contact Shawn Bladel, D.C. at Eastland Chiropractic & Lifestyle Center, 2406 E. Washington St. in Bloomington. Dr. Bladel offers food sensitivity testing through the lifestyle program Nourish. To learn more, contact him at 309-662-8418 or visit online at EastlandChiro.com.
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