Staff Writer
If you’re experiencing ongoing back or knee pain, aching hips, or having trouble sleeping due to shoulder or elbow pain, you might be looking for treatment options other than pills or topical ointments. Maybe you’ve hoped that someone could give you the relief you’ve been searching for or the range of motion you used to have. Chiropractic care may be the way to start the new year right.
Let’s start at the beginning. The word “chiropractic” comes from the Greek words cheir (meaning ‘hand’) and praktos (meaning ‘done’). This translates in English to “done by hand.” Early chiropractors treated patients using only their hands, gently manipulating the spine to improve mobility and neurological input to the body’s organs and tissues.
Chiropractic includes many manual techniques, therapies, and exercise protocols, all designed to reduce or eliminate the cause of pain at the source. A chiropractor’s mission is to find the cause of pain at its source – treating the problem rather than just treating the symptoms.
As a reminder, all chiropractors go through a rigorous doctoral educational curriculum that includes
Additionally, all chiropractors have a clinical internship that makes up almost one-third of their education.
As chiropractic students reach the last few terms before graduation, they apply what they’ve learned in chiropractic college in a clinic setting. These doctors of chiropractic-to-be treat patients while under the supervision of licensed chiropractic clinicians.
The Chiropractic Health Center at Cleveland University-Kansas City is one such clinic, providing more than 20,000 patient services every year. Here’s what that experience typically looks like for that first visit.
When you arrive, the clinic staff will help you fill out some paperwork and check you in for your appointment. Your intern, assigned to you by the clinician overseeing your case, will greet you in the waiting room and escort you to one of our examination rooms.
During this first visit, you will engage with the intern to discuss your health history and concerns. You will typically meet your experienced supervising clinician directing your exam and further treatments.
One of your care team members will explain that the CUKC Chiropractic Health Center has as its primary goal to find out what is wrong, define the problem based on the exam findings and symptoms, and tell you if chiropractic care can help.
Your initial visit will begin with a comprehensive case history and review of symptoms, then proceeds with a thorough physical, chiropractic, orthopedic, and neurological examinations.
After this, the clinician and intern will assess your findings, explain them to you, and give you a working diagnosis for your problem. Treatment options will be discussed with you. If you consent, your personalized chiropractic care plan can often begin at your initial visit. In addition, we typically provide exercises or other therapies to perform at home.
If X-rays need to be taken during your appointment, the clinician will let you know why and how much these will cost so you can make an informed decision.
After completing your appointment, the intern will discuss any subsequent appointments, and the clinician will briefly explain what you should expect at that next appointment.
When your appointment is complete, your chiropractic intern escorts you to the service desk, where payment will be made for your visit. According to American Chiropractic Association data, more than 85% of health plans cover chiropractic care services.
Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC), founded in 1922, is a private, nonprofit, chiropractic and health science university in Overland Park, Kansas. The CUKC on-campus Chiropractic Health Center is open to the public and treats patients from Kansas City’s 15-county metro area. Our goal is to provide care and solutions for a better, more productive life for our patients.
