5 Misconceptions about Chiropractic
The general public often has a very skewed vision of what chiropractors actually do in the health care model. In fact other doctors often have the same misconceptions about chiropractic. I saw this picture posted on Twitter a few days ago and thought it would be perfect to share and hopefully teach a little more about what we do.
- Chiropractic is only for back and neck pain. Although it is true that we are best known for our musculoskeletal prowess chiropractic care goes beyond just pain relief. Your central nervous system literally controls your entire body, so when you are adjusted you have a better immune system, improved flexibility, better posture and even an improved sense of well being (I added a post below for more info). There is an almost euphoric feeling to being adjusted.
- Adjustments hurt the patient. I use a very gentle in his adjusting technique. There are various ways to adjust the bones in your body. Yes in your entire body. Chiropractors can adjust shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, ankles and feet too. Instrument adjusting is extremely gentle and has no pain at all. So if you are afraid to have your neck “cracked” this is a great way to be adjusted. I use both a manual and instrument adjusting protocol.
- Chiropractic is expensive. All major insurance companies provide chiropractic coverage, even Medicare and Medicaid, which by the way we are the only providers office in Kalamazoo to accept all versions of Medicaid. For some patients chiropractic care has no out of pocket expense. You will have a copay the same as you do at your family doctor’s office. If you don’t have insurance we have a cash rate that is currently $40.
- You have to make a big commitment to chiropractic care. Most patients start to feel relief after just a handful of adjustments. Exercising is a good analogy, if you want to kind of get in shape you can workout once a week or a couple of times a week for a few weeks. If you want to continue to have the benefits of chiropractic care you should continue to get adjusted, just the same as exercising.
- Chiropractors are not real doctors. I have done posts on this before so I can redirect you to that one (see below) and you can read more. As a recap, chiropractors have a four year degree in undergraduate studies (Vertebrate Physiology from Penn State for me) and then continue on to a four year program for the Doctorate in Chiropractic (Palmer College of Chiropractic for me).
If you liked this article you may also like these blogs by Dr. Myers.
Chiropractic Care for Wellness Care Blog