Our Expert Author, Dr. Gregg D. Rubinstein, Explains Some Basic Facts About Chiropractic
A Brief History of Chiropractic:
It was started in 1895 by D.D. Palmer who at the time was a magnetic healer. There was a janitor in the building in which he had an office and one day Dr. Palmer was working pretty late and the janitor was there cleaning up. Now this custodian was mostly deaf, but Dr. Palmer was able to communicate with him and he said "Let me ask you a question, what happened to your hearing?" The custodian told him that one day he had lifted something quite heavy and he had suddenly felt a pop in his back and he immediately lost the majority of his hearing. So Dr. Palmer asked if the custodian minded if he examined him. So he laid him down and looked at the custodian's upper back and found a lump over by his spine and said "I just want to try something here..." He leaned in and pressed on the lump and he heard a pop and the janitor could suddenly hear again. So that piqued Dr Palmer's interest and then he started to study spinal manipulation and he developed the practice of chiropractic. The art of spinal manipulation is something that has been going on for thousands of years. There were hieroglyphics found in Egypt that demonstrated spinal manipulation that were over two thousand years old. Spinal manipulation is nothing new. There were people in England who used to do it called "bone-setters." The Chinese have also been doing spinal manipulation for thousands of years.
What is the difference between straights and mixers?
A straight chiropractor does spinal manipulation only. Someone that calls themselves a mixer might use some physical therapy modality, might incorporate massage, might use ultrasound, electric stimulation, hot packs and those types of things. A straight chiropractor would only manipulate the spine.
What do you do?
I do mostly straight chiropractic, but I would be called a mixer by someone who is completely straight because I do use physical modality to alleviate pain. If someone comes in and they are in a lot of pain, you cannot adjust them immediately so sometimes you have to relax the muscles so you can get in there and do the adjustments if they are too what we call "hot" - which means they are in too much pain and if you try to manipulate that person, it is going to send them through the roof. Part of being a good chiropractor, rather than an average chiropractor, is not only knowing where or when to adjust, but most importantly also knowing when not to.
Showing posts with label chiropractic effective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chiropractic effective. Show all posts
What Do Chiropractor's Treat?
We asked Expert Author Dr. Gregg D. Rubinstein: What exactly do chiropractor's treat?
Chiropractic is about total health and wellness. Wellness includes the whole body. It is not just about back pain and neck pain in my office. People think of chiropractors as back doctors. In my practice and in the world, we don't heal anything, rather, the body heals itself. When your nerves get pinched in your spine, the energy gets blocked from traveling through your nervous system and into your immune system which controls all the healing in your body. We adjust spinal misalignment prevent your body from healing itself, so you can function at your optimal.chiropractic-care
Chiropractic is about total health and wellness.
Avery common case which we see in my office is when one has pinched nerves in their lower back and/or sciatica - which is pain from a pinched nerve in your lower back which travels into one of your legs. Very frequently, people who have sciatica have constipation or diarrhea because the same nerve that goes along the back of the leg have other branches that control your intestines and your digestive system.
Additionally, people with different types of headaches -such as tension headaches- have pressure that builds up in the cervical spine, the nerves from your neck, recur, or travel up into your head and can cause tension headaches. We would work to adjust to relive the nerves from that pressure.
A very severe case would be when someone comes in with herniated disks, which are putting pressure on the spinal nerve. When that is the case we do manipulation to realign the vertebrae and get the pressure off the disc so the disc is no longer going to swell up and hit the nerve as much. Then, that it is going to return normal function to the nerve and the patient is going to feel better.
I had a women come in with two herniated discs. She was supposed to be going in for two different surgeries, one on her neck and one on her lower back. Her cousin happened to see one of our ads in the newspaper and sent her into my office without ever having met me - to this day the woman has not had either surgery. She still has pain on occasion but she has never had the surgery. That surgical option is always going to be there. Surgery should always be the last resort
Chiropractic is about total health and wellness. Wellness includes the whole body. It is not just about back pain and neck pain in my office. People think of chiropractors as back doctors. In my practice and in the world, we don't heal anything, rather, the body heals itself. When your nerves get pinched in your spine, the energy gets blocked from traveling through your nervous system and into your immune system which controls all the healing in your body. We adjust spinal misalignment prevent your body from healing itself, so you can function at your optimal.chiropractic-care
Chiropractic is about total health and wellness.
Avery common case which we see in my office is when one has pinched nerves in their lower back and/or sciatica - which is pain from a pinched nerve in your lower back which travels into one of your legs. Very frequently, people who have sciatica have constipation or diarrhea because the same nerve that goes along the back of the leg have other branches that control your intestines and your digestive system.
Additionally, people with different types of headaches -such as tension headaches- have pressure that builds up in the cervical spine, the nerves from your neck, recur, or travel up into your head and can cause tension headaches. We would work to adjust to relive the nerves from that pressure.
A very severe case would be when someone comes in with herniated disks, which are putting pressure on the spinal nerve. When that is the case we do manipulation to realign the vertebrae and get the pressure off the disc so the disc is no longer going to swell up and hit the nerve as much. Then, that it is going to return normal function to the nerve and the patient is going to feel better.
I had a women come in with two herniated discs. She was supposed to be going in for two different surgeries, one on her neck and one on her lower back. Her cousin happened to see one of our ads in the newspaper and sent her into my office without ever having met me - to this day the woman has not had either surgery. She still has pain on occasion but she has never had the surgery. That surgical option is always going to be there. Surgery should always be the last resort
Medicine or Myth: The Truth about Chiropractics
Background
A health care profession that dates back to ancient Greece, chiropractic is a hands-on, drug-free therapy that is intended to diagnose and treat musculoskeletal complaints such as back pain, joint pain, sports injuries and headaches. Chiropractic treatment puts special emphasis on the spine under the hypothesis that musculoskeletal disorders affect the body via the nervous system. A chiropractic physician's primary tools are their hands, which are used to improve joint mobility by applying controlled force. In addition, chiropractors are trained to counsel patients on various aspects of everyday health and lifestyle decisions, including diet and exercise.
The Short Answer:
So is chiropractic a legitimate medical science? Does it work?? The short answer is yes, chiropractic can be an effective, and cost-effective, way to treat certain ailments, as long as you're being treated by a qualified chiropractor.
The Long Answer:
According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), "chiropractic treatment is both safe and effective" for certain musculoskeletal ailments, including neck pain, headaches, and in particular, back pain. In a study reported in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, patients with chronic lower back pain who went to see chiropractors had quadruple the satisfaction scores of those who were treated by family physicians.
Although chiropractic is becoming more and more accepted in mainstream medicine, it remains a controversial topic. Medical doctors consider chiropractors to be practitioners of Complementary and Alternative Care (CAM), a label chiropractors reject. One of the main reasons chiropractic is so controversial is that some of its practitioners, most notably its founder, D.D. Palmer, believed that all illnesses can be cured through chiropractic treatment. Unfortunately, the science on this just doesn't pan out. If you come across a chiropractor making similar claims, such as having the ability to treat diabetes solely through chiropractic care, run the other way! According to the National Institute of Health, "the effects of chiropractic treatment on nonspinal conditions, such as high blood pressure or ear infections, have not been scientifically proven."
Is it Safe?
For the most part, the answer is yes, but any risks depend on the specific type of chiropractic treatment used. For example, side effects from chiropractic adjustments can include temporary headaches, tiredness, or discomfort in parts of the body that were treated. The likelihood of serious complications, such as stroke, appears to be extremely low and related to the type of adjustment performed and the part of the body treated. The risk of complications increases in cervical-spine or neck manipulations and affects 1 out of every 500,000 people.
If you are considering seeing a chiropractor, inform your current health care provider of any treatments you are getting or considering.
When Should I See a Chiropractor?
If you experience unexplained pain or chronic pain (pain that lasts longer than it should) in your joints or muscles, you should see a chiropractor. As a general rule, you should not see a chiropractor if you are not experiencing pain or if you are concerned with an aesthetic flaw, such as abnormal curvature in your neck. Many people do not have a "normal" neck curve, according to Dr. Homola, author of Inside Chiropractic: A Patient's Guide, and that doesn't mean they require treatment or that they will develop a problem.
To sum up, chiropractic can be a safe, affordable and effective alternative to conventional medicine for many ailments. However, chiropractic care should ideally be accompanied by medical care to ensure that chiropractic treatment is the best treatment. When you're being cared for by a chiropractor and an MD, you get the best of both worlds.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your health care provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care an appropriate health care provider.
A health care profession that dates back to ancient Greece, chiropractic is a hands-on, drug-free therapy that is intended to diagnose and treat musculoskeletal complaints such as back pain, joint pain, sports injuries and headaches. Chiropractic treatment puts special emphasis on the spine under the hypothesis that musculoskeletal disorders affect the body via the nervous system. A chiropractic physician's primary tools are their hands, which are used to improve joint mobility by applying controlled force. In addition, chiropractors are trained to counsel patients on various aspects of everyday health and lifestyle decisions, including diet and exercise.
The Short Answer:
So is chiropractic a legitimate medical science? Does it work?? The short answer is yes, chiropractic can be an effective, and cost-effective, way to treat certain ailments, as long as you're being treated by a qualified chiropractor.
The Long Answer:
According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), "chiropractic treatment is both safe and effective" for certain musculoskeletal ailments, including neck pain, headaches, and in particular, back pain. In a study reported in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, patients with chronic lower back pain who went to see chiropractors had quadruple the satisfaction scores of those who were treated by family physicians.
Although chiropractic is becoming more and more accepted in mainstream medicine, it remains a controversial topic. Medical doctors consider chiropractors to be practitioners of Complementary and Alternative Care (CAM), a label chiropractors reject. One of the main reasons chiropractic is so controversial is that some of its practitioners, most notably its founder, D.D. Palmer, believed that all illnesses can be cured through chiropractic treatment. Unfortunately, the science on this just doesn't pan out. If you come across a chiropractor making similar claims, such as having the ability to treat diabetes solely through chiropractic care, run the other way! According to the National Institute of Health, "the effects of chiropractic treatment on nonspinal conditions, such as high blood pressure or ear infections, have not been scientifically proven."
Is it Safe?
For the most part, the answer is yes, but any risks depend on the specific type of chiropractic treatment used. For example, side effects from chiropractic adjustments can include temporary headaches, tiredness, or discomfort in parts of the body that were treated. The likelihood of serious complications, such as stroke, appears to be extremely low and related to the type of adjustment performed and the part of the body treated. The risk of complications increases in cervical-spine or neck manipulations and affects 1 out of every 500,000 people.
If you are considering seeing a chiropractor, inform your current health care provider of any treatments you are getting or considering.
When Should I See a Chiropractor?
If you experience unexplained pain or chronic pain (pain that lasts longer than it should) in your joints or muscles, you should see a chiropractor. As a general rule, you should not see a chiropractor if you are not experiencing pain or if you are concerned with an aesthetic flaw, such as abnormal curvature in your neck. Many people do not have a "normal" neck curve, according to Dr. Homola, author of Inside Chiropractic: A Patient's Guide, and that doesn't mean they require treatment or that they will develop a problem.
To sum up, chiropractic can be a safe, affordable and effective alternative to conventional medicine for many ailments. However, chiropractic care should ideally be accompanied by medical care to ensure that chiropractic treatment is the best treatment. When you're being cared for by a chiropractor and an MD, you get the best of both worlds.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your health care provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care an appropriate health care provider.
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