Why See a Chiropractor? It May Surprise You How Much Chiropractors Can Do..
If you’ve never been to a chiropractor, or you’ve only gone to one a couple of times when you were in a lot of pain, or you think they only treat back pain, or you just have a big question mark in your head if someone asked you “What does a chiropractor do?,” then this blog post is for you.
I realize that many people don’t understand what chiropractors do, and maybe even more pertinent is that many people may not realize just HOW MANY THINGS chiropractors can do. They don’t get the full scope of practice for a chiropractor. To start with, I think many people are unaware how educated chiropractors are, that we go to 4 years of undergraduate college and then 4 years of chiropractic school, that we are doctors, and that we are primary care physicians. If you aren’t familiar with the term primary care physician… this refers to a doctor that you go see first when you have a health care issue. They can either treat you themselves, or refer you on to another health care specialist if needed. They are educated to treat MANY varied health conditions, and have a large knowledge base about many health issues. Chiropractors are also board certified physicians, we have to pass a series of board exams to be licensed in chiropractic. Chiropractors have the ability to get additional education in other things that interest them, get board certified in those areas as well, and add them to their services at their office. Someone who went to chiropractic school has to take and pass 4 board exams to get their license. I took 7 board exams: the 4 for chiropractic, 2 for animal chiropractic, and 1 for acupuncture. This means I attended additional training and schooling in animal chiropractic and acupuncture, and then had to pass the board exams to get licensed in those disciplines and to use them as treatment options at my practice.
Scope of Practice: What Chiropractors Can Treat
Chiropractors have an incredibly large scope of practice, if you’re unfamiliar with this term, it means that we are highly trained in many areas of healthcare, and this gives us the option to choose which health care services we would like to have available for patients at our office. What this may cause you to notice, is chiropractic offices and treatments can vary A TON, because chiropractors get to choose what health areas they would like to specialize in. If you walk into two different chiropractic offices, you may have a very different experience. Which is pretty neat, because you can choose a chiropractor that is the best fit for you.
As an example; at my office, here are some of the things that I specialize in and treat often: head injuries/brain injuries/concussions, complex cases (difficult health cases), animals (often dogs and cats, but can also treat horses and other animals), nutrition cases, women’s health/fertility challenges/pregnant women/babies, men’s health, GI issues, acupuncture cases, wellness/maintenance patients, acute (new) injuries etc. Another chiropractor may mostly see auto accident patients, a different one may mostly see geriatric patients, a different one may mostly treat athletes etc.
Chiropractors also have many options when it comes to HOW they adjust patients. There are many, varied techniques. We are taught several in school, and then you can get further education in other techniques if you like. In this next section, I’m going to bold the words that describe my adjustment style, in case you’re evaluating if you’d like me to be your chiropractor, you can get a glimpse of how I do the adjustment part of my practice. This means chiropractors may adjust very differently from office to office. Some chiropractors are gentle adjusters, some are more forceful. Some only adjust the spine (neck, mid-back, and low-back), some adjust the spine and the skull and extremities (arms & legs), some chiropractors use their hands, some use an adjustment tool, and some do both, some chiropractors only do an adjustment and you’re on your way, some do muscle work before an adjustment (this is not massage, chiropractic and massage are not the same thing at all). Some have very short appointment times, others have longer appointment times. Some chiropractors choose to only do adjustments, others do adjustments + therapies. Besides these elements, there are also many different techniques of the actual adjustment. Some chiropractors adjust people sitting up, others adjust people standing up, some adjust people when they are kneeling on a chair, others adjust people laying down. This is just a VERY SMALL look into the options chiropractors have for adjustment techniques and styles, there are MANY, MANY options.
Why a Large Scope of Practice is of Benefit to the Chiropractic Patient
The neat thing about how large the chiropractic scope of practice is; you can pick a chiropractor that matches your personality, or has what you’re looking for as a doctor, or is someone that you feel comfortable with, or specializes in the thing you need treated. Who doesn’t like lots of options? You can pick the very best fit FOR YOU.
Have you ever gone to a medical doctor, or pediatrician, or a dentist that you didn’t like at all? You just try a new one out, and switch doctors, right? You don’t choose to never go to a dentist or a medical doctor or a pediatrician again. The first pediatrician we took my daughter Sky to, I didn’t like. There was nothing wrong with him. I realized that I wanted a female pediatrician who would ask more questions about Sky and her personality, he was all about the facts. There is nothing wrong with that, I just didn’t like his practice style. We switched to a female pediatrician, and are very happy! I think people don’t understand how unique each chiropractor is, so if they go to one they don’t like they often think “I don’t like chiropractic, or it’s not for me.” I urge you to try a different chiropractor. Because there are so many types, I feel confident that you can find one you’ll like. :)
Types of Health Conditions Chiropractic is Helpful For
This is far from an all inclusive list, there are MANY other things chiropractors can treat, but I just want to give you some ideas, in case you are under the impression that chiropractors only treat acute back pain.
headaches/head/neck pain
mid and low back pain
extremity issues
i.e. sprained ankles
torn ACL/MCL
tennis elbow
frozen shoulder
wrist pain
broken bones (we don’t set them, but we can help speed up healing time)
shoulder separation
rotator cuff tear
bursitis
hip pain
knee pain
dislocations
numbness/pain/tingling
fertility challenges
women’s health
pregnant moms/babies/kids
menopause
men’s health
nutrition problems
complex cases (a difficult health problem you haven’t been able to fix/get help with
low energy/fatigue
weakness/muscle issues
radiating nerve pain
decreased range of motion
digestion issues
allergies/skin sensitivity
emotional challenges (I do this at my office, not all chiropractors do this)
In my case, for treating animals here are some of the most common things I treat for them:
mobility issues
weak back legs
older animals (I treat many dogs/cats that are 14, 15, 16, 17 years old to help keep them healthy as they age!)
back pain
neck pain
disc issues
extremity pain (i.e. shoulder pain or knee pain)
Animals that are puking often (especially cats - hairballs)
digestion issues
difficulty with stairs and getting up and down on furniture (if that is their normal)
limping
Should You Only Go To A Chiropractor When You’re in Pain?
Short Answer: No. It’s up to you of course, but your health will be much better if you don’t only seek out chiropractic care when you’re in pain. Pain isn’t a good indicator of health. It’s the last symptom to show up when you have a health condition, and the first symptom to go away. That means there can be many underlying health issues going on even if you don’t have acute pain. So yes, a few chiropractic visits may get you out of pain, but they aren’t going to solve all of your health problems (of course, nothing can be solved that quickly).
The image of an iceberg is often used to explain this concept. Similar to the idea that what you can see above water when looking at an iceberg doesn’t give you an idea of the actual size of the iceberg (due to what’s underwater, that you can’t see). Pain as an indicator of health is the part of the iceberg you can see above water. Your underlying health is the ice that’s under the water, unseen.
Benefits of Maintenance Chiropractic Care
Above are some of my super sweet animal chiropractic patients that benefitted from maintenance chiropractic care. Because I can share pictures of animal chiropractic patients, it’s easy to demonstrate the benefits of long term chiropractic care. Long term chiropractic care is also great for people, of course, but I can’t share pictures of my people patients with you.
All of the dogs above had long term chiropractic care, and their health greatly benefitted from it! Only one of these dogs is still with us, the one in the first picture, she is a 16 year old goldendoodle and has been my patient for 7 years. All of the other dogs have sadly passed away at this point, but they had less pain, longer lives, better health, and more mobility for longer from their chiropractic care. All of these dog patients lived much longer than was expected, some had chronic health conditions that were improved through chiropractic care, and some of them lived much longer lifespans due to consistent chiropractic care. It isn’t unusual for me to have dog patients that are 14, 15, 16, and 17 years old. Even for mid-large size dog breeds.
I can’t forget about the cats! Here are a few of my cat patients that have received wellness/maintenance chiropractic care and either lived longer, healthier lives, or are still with us and and thriving. :)
Things You Notice When You Have Long Term Chiropractic Care
My husband Scott hadn’t ever been to a chiropractor before he met me. I asked him, now that we’ve been together for 5 years, what have been the biggest differences to him now that he’s had consistent chiropractic care. He mentioned a few things.
I Never Get Sick!
This is one of the first things Scott said what I asked him what he’s noticed from long term chiropractic care. He said “I used to get sick ALL the time. And now I never get sick!” Scott is one of the few people I know that has not gotten COVID yet (knock on wood), despite having been exposed to it multiple times. He also used to get sick every time we went on vacation and a few times each year. I can’t remember the last time he was sick. Picture below is from our baby moon trip to Costa Rica :)
No Daily Pain, or Decreased Pain if you have Chronic Pain
Before Scott met me, he used to crack his own back and neck ALL the time. It’s one of the first things I noticed about him when I met him, because it drives me CRAZY when I see people doing that all the time; I know how bad it is for them, and they often have no idea. I asked him if anyone had ever told him that he shouldn’t do that, and why. He said "No”. I explained to him that when you are cracking your own back or neck or knuckles all the time (Scott used to do his back and neck several times per day), that it can feel good in the moment. However, later you have more pain.
He was overstretching his ligaments and muscles in those areas. In addition, the only vertebra (of your neck or back) that are moving when you’re doing it yourself, are the ones that are hypermobile already. The ones that chiropractors adjust, are often somewhat stuck, and they need just the right angle and force and technique to be brought back to alignment.
As you continue to crack and crack and crack your neck or back or fingers, you are moving the same joints over and over again. And stretching them constantly. Ligaments are a bit like elastic where they will stretch and go back, but if you stretch them relentlessly, eventually they get over-stretched and don’t want to go back into place again. They become too loose, and they aren’t supporting your joints as they should. Scott had low back pain every day when I met him.
I explained this to him, and told him to quit cracking his back and neck. If you are going to do this, you likely need someone you live with to tell you when you’re doing it. (Because it often becomes an almost subconscious act). I would tell Scott when I noticed him cracking his back and neck. He eventually did that less often and quit at some point. In addition, he started getting a chiropractic adjustment once or twice a month.
It took some time, because he had been doing this so often for so many years. But after a few months, his low back pain went away, and it has NEVER come back, 5 years later. He said that’s been a significant difference in his life. This is just one example of how chiropractic can decrease pain or get rid of it. Of course if you have other health care issues, chiropractic can also significantly decrease your pain or get rid of it entirely.
You may be thinking, “Dr. Ali, you said pain isn’t a good indicator of health.” It isn’t, but often getting rid of pain is the first step on the path to wellness, and becoming the most vibrant, healthy version of yourself.
Get In Front of Problems Instead of Reacting to Them
When you are getting preventative care, you are addressing health issues before they become big health problems. You are actively working on wellness, and being the healthiest you that you can be. You are striving for better health, feeling good, having your body function the best that it can for you, feeling “normal” because don’t have pain or discomforts that are pulling your attention to them.
A Way to Think About Sickcare versus Preventative Care
Imagine you are in a room with a lot of obstacles. There is crap all over the floor, big pieces of furniture, garbage laying around. It’s messy and chaotic. What are the chances that you can easily travel through that room without stepping on something or tripping or bumping your elbow or your knee or shin? Pretty low, right? The messy room represents acute healthcare/sickcare. There are lots of things going on, chances are that something is going to happen, it’s only a matter of time. You’re waiting for a healthcare problem to come up. Because, it will at some point.
Wellness Care/Maintenance Care
Now imagine a zen garden. It’s beautiful, orderly, neat, calm, peaceful. Everything has a place and is put away. There are beautiful paths and walkways, and traveling through it is not only easy but enjoyable.
This zen garden represents wellness care/preventative care. Effort and care is put into your health. you are actively working on your health. You are focusing on taking care of yourself. When you do preventative care, you are decreasing your opportunities for health problems, or perhaps if you do get a health problem it will be less severe. You are increasing your opportunities for the best health for your body. Which body would you rather live in?
In Summary…
This is the LONGEST blog post ever! If you are still here congrats! Here are a few points to sum up this blog.
It’s hard to describe all of the wonderful things about chiropractic in a blog post. It’s a broad field, with many options, and many styles of practice. If you tried a chiropractor/chiropractic office and you didn’t like it, try a new office! Practices very a lot and I know you can find one you’d like!
Chiropractors can treat MANY health conditions.
Chiropractors are Primary Care Physicians. They can be your first stop for a health concern.
Chiropractors are WELL educated, a minimum of 8 years of college and 4 board examinations.
Chiropractic care works great for acute care (a new problem or condition) but it also is an amazing type of healthcare for wellness/maintenance care, and will improve your health!
Chiropractors treat more than back pain… MUCH MUCH MUCH MORE!!!!
If You Have Questions…
If you have questions about what a chiropractor does, or more specifically if I can help you with your health or the health of your pet. Please contact me, I would love to talk to you and see if I can help you! Peace and love friends!
Dr. Ali Schollmeyer
