Chiropractic is a branch of the health care science and is the third largest primary health care provider in the western world after conventional medicine and dentistry. There are around 100,000 chiropractors in the world.
The basic concept of chiropractic relates to the fact that the nervous system controls all organs, tissues and cells of the body. When vital nerve communication pathways are interfered with, as can occur with a variety of structural and / or functional problems in the spine, pain and ill health can be the result. Research both within and outside the chiropractic profession now provides support for this concept.
More and more patients are seeking chiropractic care for
treatment of:
• Low Back pain
• Neck Pain
• Knee Pain, Elbow Pain, Feet • Pain, Wrist Pain etc…
• Repetitive stress injuries (from overuse of a computer for example…)
• Headaches
• Back Pain during Pregnancies
• Sport Injuries
• Etc…
Chiropractors examine the spine to evaluate structure and function. This is what makes chiropractic different from other health care procedures. Our spinal column is a series of movable bones, which begin at the base of our skull and end in the center of our 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 our body. Stress, tension, overexertion, Accidents, falls, and countless other factors can result in a displacements or derangement of the spinal column, causing irritation to spinal nerve roots. Irritations of this nature are often what cause malfunctions in the human body. As Chiropractors, we believe that reducing or eliminating this irritation to spinal nerves can cause your body to operate more efficiently and more comfortably. in this manner chiropractors directly affect the health of the body.
In our clinic, we 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, physiotherapists and other health care professionals now work as partners in occupational health, sports medicine, and a wide variety of other rehabilitation practices.
Records form insurance and court cases have constantly shown that chiropractic is the safest portal of entry health care available to the public today. Although no healthcare procedures are 100% safe, chiropractic stands on its record of safety and effectiveness unmatched in healthcare. To learn more about the safety record of chiropractic you can visit the website Chiropractic Is Safe at www.chiropracticissafe.org.
Chiropractors receive extensive, demanding professional education on par with Medical doctors (MDs). To receive the doctor of chiropractic degree, candidates must complete extensive undergraduate prerequisites and four years of graduate-level instruction and internship at an accredited chiropractic institution. Comprehensive knowledge of all systems of the body and diagnostic procedures enable the DC to thoroughly evaluate a patient, address disorders relating to the spine and determine the need for referral to another health care provider.
Doctors of Chiropractic are primary
healthcare providers
In the United states, the Center for Studies in Health Policy States, “The DC can provide all three levels of primary care interventions and therefore is a primary care provider, as are MDs and DOs. The doctor of chiropractic is a gatekeeper to the health care system and an independent practitioner who provides primary care services. The DC’s office is a direct access portal of entry to the full scope of service.”
In the USA, chiropractors have been licensed and recognized for many decades in all States. In Asia chiropractors are licensed in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and HongKong.In Cambodia we are working with the Health Ministry to recognize and develop the chiropractic profession.
The fact that the nervous system is the primary control mechanism of the body is an undisputed scientific fact. Its relationship with the spine is the focus of the practice of chiropractic. The fact that the nervous system is the primary control mechanism of the body is an undisputed scientific fact. Its relationship with the spine is the focus of the practice of chiropractic.
The spine develops in utero to provide two primary functions:
(1) Allow for of movement in the spine
(2) To house and protect the spinal cord.
When the vertebrae of the spine become misaligned through trauma or repetitive injury, two major consequences will result:
(A) Motion of the spine becomes limited and
(B) Spinal nerves emerging from the spinal cord are compromised.
Numerous Studies conducted according to the highest scientific standards and published by organizations not affiliated in any way with chiropractic institutions or associations continue to show the clinical appropriateness and effectiveness of chiropractic care. One of the most recent, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health, stated emphatically that:
“On the evidence, particularly the most scientifically valid clinical studies, spinal manipulation applied by chiropractors is shown to be more effective than alternative treatments for low back pain…There would be highly significant cost savings if more management of low back pain was transferred from physician to chiropractors.”
The doctor of chiropractic is an effective source of preventative and wellness care.
The anatomical focus of the DC on the human spine has created the perception of the DC as just a “back doctor.” Although this perception is not entirely incorrect, it is very much incomplete. Doctors of chiropractic are a highly appropriate resource in matters of work-place safety, stress management, injury prevention, postural correction and nutritional counseling.”
The process of chiropractic adjustment is a safe, efficient procedure which is performed nearly one million times every working day in the United States.
There is a singular lack of actuarial data that would justify concluding that chiropractic care is in any way harmful or dangerous. Chiropractic care is non-invasive, therefore, the body’s response to chiropractic care is far more predictable than its reactions to drug treatments or surgical procedures. Of the nearly one million adjustments given every day in USA, complications are exceedingly rare. Perhaps the best summary statement on the subject of safety was published in 1979 by the Government of New Zealand, which established a special commission to study chiropractic. They found:
“The conspicuous lack of evidence that chiropractors cause harm or allow harm to occur through neglect of medical referral can be taken to mean only one thing: that chiropractors have on the whole an impressive safety record.”
Chiropractic is the third largest health care profession in the western world. Doctors of Chiropractic undergo a rigorous and demanding professional education equivalent to any other primary care provider. To obtain a Doctor of Chiropractic degree, they must complete several years of prerequisite undergraduate education and spend nearly the same number of classroom hours at a fully-accredited chiropractic college as MDs do in medical schools. Student doctors are thoroughly trained in the appropriate use of sophisticated analytical equipment including X-rays, examination procedures, and state of the art chiropractic investigative technologies. Before they can practice in the United States, all chiropractors must pass a series of National Boards, as well as a licensing exam for the state in which they choose to practice. Even after all that, most states require the doctors to attend clinical continuing education programs for annual relicensure.