Are Chiropractors licensed and regulated?
What is Chiropractic?
What can I expect on my first visit to a DC
Are Chiropractors licensed and regulated?
The practice of chiropractic is licensed and regulated
in all 50 states in the U.S. and in over 30 countries worldwide. State licensing
boards regulate, among other factors, the education, experience and moral
character of candidates for licensure, and protect the public health, safety and
welfare.
The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) was
established in 1963 and functions quite similarly to the National Board of
Medical Examiners. The NBCE maintains consistency and fairness among the state
licensing boards. The NBCE also administers the national board examination
necessary to practice as a chiropractor.
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What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts which is based upon the
understanding that good health depends, in part, upon a normally functioning
nervous system (especially the spine, and the nerves extending from the spine to
all parts of the body). "Chiropractic" comes from the Greek word
Chiropraktikos, meaning "effective treatment by hand." Chiropractic
stresses the idea that the cause of many disease processes begins with the
body's inability to adapt to its environment. It looks to address these diseases
not by the use of drugs and chemicals, but by locating and adjusting a
musculoskeletal area of the body which is functioning improperly.
The conditions which doctors of chiropractic address are as varied and as vast
as the nervous system itself. All chiropractors use a standard procedure of
examination to diagnose a patient's condition and arrive at a course of
treatment. Doctors of chiropractic use the same time-honored methods of
consultation, case history, physical examination, laboratory analysis and x-ray
examination as any other doctor. In addition, they provide a careful
chiropractic structural examination, paying particular attention to the spine.
The examination of the spine to evaluate structure and function is what makes
chiropractic different from other health care procedures. Your spinal column is
a series of movable bones which begin at the base of your skull and end in the
center of your hips. Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves extend down the spine
from the brain and exit through a series of openings. The nerves leave the spine
and form a complicated network which influences every living tissue in your
body.
Accidents, falls, stress, tension, overexertion, and countless other factors can
result in a displacements or derangements of the spinal column, causing
irritation to spinal nerve roots. These irritations are often what cause
malfunctions in the human body. Chiropractic teaches that reducing or
eliminating this irritation to spinal nerves can cause your body to operate more
efficiently and more comfortably.
Chiropractic also places an emphasis on nutritional and exercise programs,
wellness and lifestyle modifications for promoting physical and mental health.
While chiropractors make no use of drugs or surgery, Doctors of chiropractic do
refer patients for medical care when those interventions are indicated. In fact,
chiropractors, medical doctors, physical therapists and other health care
professionals now work as partners in occupational health, sports medicine, and
a wide variety of other rehabilitation practices.
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What can I expect on my first visit to a DC?
The first thing a chiropractor will do is ask you about the health complaints
about which you are chiefly concerned. The DC will also ask about your family
history, dietary habits, other care you may have had (chiropractic, osteopathic,
medical, etc.), your job, and other questions designed to help determine the
nature of your illness and the best way to go about treating the problem.
A physical examination will be performed in accordance with your DC's clinical
judgement, which may include x-rays, laboratory analysis and other diagnostic
procedures. In addition, a careful spinal examination and analysis will be
performed to detect any structural abnormalities which may be affecting or
causing your condition. All of these elements are important components of your
total health profile, and vital to the doctor of chiropractic in evaluating your
problem.
An "adjustment," as doctors of chiropractic use the term, means the
specific manipulation of vertebrae which have abnormal movement patterns or fail
to function normally. Doctors of chiropractic spend years learning motion
palpation (the art of examining by movement or touch) and other forms of spinal
examining procedures, so that they can administer specific and appropriate
spinal adjustments.
Once the DC has identified the problem, he/she will begin care by way of these
adjustments or "manipulations." Particular attention will be paid to
that area of your spine where a spinal derangement or "subluxation"
has been detected. The adjustment is usually given by hand or
"activator" type instruments, and consists of applying pressure to the
areas of the spine that are out of alignment or that do not move properly within
their normal range of motion.
Doctors of chiropractic use many sophisticated and varied techniques, and the
specific procedure to be used will be determined and explained completely to you
following a careful evaluation of your radiographs and physical findings.
Under normal circumstances, adjustments don't hurt. The patient may experience a
minor amount of discomfort during the adjustment which lasts only seconds.
Adjustments or manipulations are extremely safe. The risk factor is estimated to
be in excess of 1 million to 1.
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