Chiropractic has grown to be the largest natural health care profession in the world. There’s a good reason why. Chiropractic gets results. It focuses on diagnosis, treatment and PREVENTION of biomechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, with special emphasis on the spine.
Chiropractic treatment emphasizes manual therapy including spinal manipulation and other joint and soft tissue manipulations. Depending on the Chiropractor he or she may recommend a healthy diet and exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle.
I know some Chiropractors that are anything but the image of a healthy lifestyle. They are just like other people who are overweight and have diabetes or other unhealthy lifestyle diseases. They either believe they have to live with it and take the prescription drugs or they are just plain lazy and think they can continue eating all those delicious unhealthy foods and snacks and washing it down with sodas, diet drinks and lots of booze.
Okay…sorry, but I just had to get it off my chest.
Chiropractors do not prescribe drugs. Some Chiropractors may recommend vitamins and offer nutritional and exercise counseling as well.
In my book, HANGING OUT FOR THE HEALTH OF IT, I have a subchapter titled, How to Find the Right Chiropractor for You. This is invaluable information for those who don’t already have a Chiropractor as part of their healthcare team. It will guide you as to what you should expect on your first visit, types of treatments, what questions to ask and much more.
You can read an excerpt of How To Find The Right Chiropractor For You here on this website. You may also want to read Why Chiropractic is a Smart Choice (Part 1 and Part 2).
Chiropractic uses a holistic approach to sickness.
Chiropractic seeks to restore and enhance the innate healing powers of the body. If you can understand the importance of the nervous system and how it controls ALL functions of your body, you can appreciate the importance of keeping your spine free from misalignments and nerve interference.
This is extremely important because if you have interruption of the nerve flow to your organs, they can start to malfunction and that’s when the medical approach to use dangerous drugs and surgery can be prevented.
By the way, you may or may not not necessarily feel pain associated with every spinal misalignment.
All the nerves from your spine connect to all your organs, glands and all muscles of your body. The Nervous System is the MASTER SYSTEM of the human body. It controls and directs every function of every gland, organ, muscle and every cell of your body through the flow of energy or Life Force.
It’s just like electricity traveling in copper wires that bring energy to your house.
A “pinched nerve” can interfere with this flow of energy. It has been called a “Silent Killer” and can be extremely dangerous because often times there is no accompanying pain to warn you that something is wrong and malfunctioning.
This “nerve interference” results in symptoms like headaches, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, nausea, gall bladder or other organ problems, arm or leg pain, chest pain, numbness, tingling, difficult breathing and many more symptoms. Because there is no specific pain involved to the spine, this is why many people think they don’t need to see a Chiropractor.
They don’t have any pain in their spines at least that they are aware of. But when I exam a person’s spine who says they don’t have any back pain, I usually find areas along their spine that are tender to touch. This is a sign of spinal misalignments.
Unfortunately, public perception is that you go to a Chiropractor if you have back pain. This type of thinking has been ingrained into the minds of the public for decades. No pain, you’re fine. Got pain? Take a pill.
This is dangerous thinking and one which reinforces the sick care mentality versus a proactive preventative approach to health. Two very different types of thinking. One is to wait until the body gets sick and then do something about it. Go to the doctor and get prescription drugs or surgery.
The holistic approach is to do all things possible within your control to prevent sickness from ever happening in the first place. Proactive not reactive.
Reactive is waiting until you have heart problems or high blood pressure or any other sickness. You go to the doctor, have some tests done, take your pills and maybe even have surgery because after a while the pills don’t work anymore.
A proactive approach to health is if you smoke… stop smoking (better yet never start), start an exercise program at least 3 times per week, stop eating fried foods, hydrogenated oils and so much junk /snack foods, if you need to…lose some weight. You should also start seeing a Chiropractor, massage therapist. Take control of your health and prevent many problems from ever starting.
Chiropractors go to private schools and are not associated with the AMA or the medical schools. In fact, the AMA tried to destroy Chiropractic back in the 60′s and 70′s by promoting false propaganda that Chiropractors were “wolves dressed in sheep clothing”.
You can read that incredible story which few people know about in the book, “Medicine, Monopolies and Malice” by Dr. Chester Wilk. He and several other Chiropractors sued the AMA and the ten medical organizations. The AMA and the ten medical organizations were found guilty of violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and in trying to destroy Chiropractic.
Most Chiropractic Schools require a bachelor’s degree in science and then you attend a four year program. It is a rigorous program and much of the curriculum is that of medical schools. In fact, 70% of the classes are the same classes that medical students take like anatomy, physiology, pathology and so forth.
Chiropractic has also evolved into many subspecialties; Chiropractic Pediatrics, Geriatrics, Rehabilitation, Radiology, Orthopedics, Neurology and Sports Injuries. These are post graduate programs. I took the Orthopedics Program (550 classroom hours) and it took one weekend a month for three years to complete.
I always tell people who have never been to a Chiropractor, “You don’t know what you are missing until you know what you’ve been missing”. Once you find a really good Doctor of Chiropractic it can be the missing link to your health problems.
Remember, the nervous system is the MASTER SYSTEM of the human body! Don’t let anything keep you from enjoying the wonderful benefits Chiropractic can provide , the most important one being keeping your nervous system free from nerve interference.
No more HOLDING BACK! Seek the truth and the truth will set you free.