Staff Writer
If you’ve been experiencing ongoing back pain or headaches, knee pain, or trouble sleeping due to shoulder pain, you might be wondering about healthcare options other than prescription medicines. Another option is to look into chiropractic care by a Doctor of Chiropractic.
Let’s start at the beginning and understand what chiropractic care is and what chiropractors do. The word “chiropractic” comes from the Greek words cheir (meaning ‘hand’) and praktos (meaning ‘done’). This translates in English to “done by hand.” Doctors of Chiropractic do typically use their hands to gently adjust the bones of the spine to improve mobility and neurological input to organs and tissue.
Chiropractic has evolved to include many techniques, therapies, and exercise protocols designed to address neuromusculoskeletal pain or conditions. Chiropractic care is focused on the problem rather than treating the symptoms.
All chiropractors are graduates of a rigorous doctoral educational curriculum that includes general and spinal anatomy, neurology, physiology, pathology, toxicology, and biology.
While they are in school, they must pass a series of competency exams administered by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) and complete a clinical internship that makes up almost one-third of their chiropractic college education.
What it feels like to have chiropractic care is unique to each patient. With manual (using only the doctor’s hands) spinal adjustments, you will feel the pressure of the doctor’s hand on your spine. The chiropractor then applies an impulse or specific thrust to the area under the hand. What you’re feeling is the doctor’s attempt to restore normal joint motion.
Note: Some patients report hearing a slight “pop” or “crack” sound. The noise you may hear is created by carbon dioxide gas expelled from the joints between your spinal bones.
What each patient experiences will depend on the techniques the Doctor of Chiropractic uses. Generally, patients experience one of three outcomes:
Although it would be astonishing to immediately feel relief, remember that our bodies don’t always get the memo! Slight soreness or pain following an adjustment is quite normal. Think of it like going to the gym. If you perform a new workout that you’ve never done before, soreness might be expected! Your muscles are getting used to a new movement, and the product of that is soreness. Chiropractic adjustments work the same way.
The same goes for those patients who may not feel any change right away. Remember, it took a long time of poor posture or activity for you to feel pain in the first place. Healing often takes time.
Finally, remember that Doctors of Chiropractic are neuromusculoskeletal specialists. Their knowledge and expertise can help you have increased mobility, better balance, and a greater range of motion. Learn more about chiropractic care and its role in today’s healthcare landscape in this free comprehensive report: Chiropractic: A Safe and Cost-Effective Approach to Health.
Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC), founded in 1922, is a private, nonprofit chiropractic and health sciences 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 chiropractic care and solutions for a better, more productive life for our patients.
