Myths and Facts About Chiropractic Care

Some people still consider chiropractic care outside the mainstream of medicine. But chiropractic care is often integrated with standard allopathic care; one doesn’t exclude the other.

Nevertheless, if you’re considering chiropractic care but haven’t yet made the leap, you may be stymied by some of the prevalent myths surrounding this unique approach to wellness. The first step, then, is to dispel the myths and get the facts. 

At Gorman Medical, PC, our experienced team offers chiropractic care for a number of complaints, ranging from pain to fatigue. Charles Ripp, MD, and Fran Gorman, DNP, perform chiropractic adjustments to create well-being at our Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek, Colorado, offices.

What are the myths about chiropractic, and what are the facts that dispel them? Following are a few of the most common misconceptions about chiropractic care.

Myth: Chiropractic care is only for back pain

The chiropractic approach to wellness differs from traditional Western medicine because its aim isn’t to just get rid of a symptom. The aim of chiropractic is to restore balance and well-being to your entire body, which then eliminates symptoms.

You can use chiropractic care to alleviate a wide range of symptoms related mostly to the musculoskeletal system that can impair your quality of life. Once your spine is in alignment and your body functions better, you experience less or no:

• Back pain
• Neck pain
• Headaches
• Joint pain
• Posture problems
• Insomnia
• General malaise
• Chronic fatigue

In addition, the holistic approach to wellness promoted by chiropractic care encourages practitioners to examine all sources of pain and discomfort. In addition to spinal adjustments, they also consider:

• Genetics
• Trauma
• Hygiene
• Infection with microorganisms
• Nutritional status
• Exercise
• Environment
• Stress
• Sleep hygiene

Chiropractic care may reduce or completely eliminate the need for some medications, including painkillers. So if you’re tired of opening a pill bottle several times a day, consider chiropractic care to restore your health.

Myth: Chiropractic care is only for athletes

Although chiropractic care is often associated with athletes, due to their high need for fast recovery after an injury, anyone of any age or ability can benefit. And, yes, that means that children too.

Chiropractors have treated children successfully and safely from 1910 onwards. Because chiropractic care is natural and noninvasive, it’s one of the safest and most effective approaches to childhood ailments and pain.

Myth: Chiropractic care is ‘woo-woo’ and not real science

During the 1940s, a number of more conservative traditional medical doctors who were members of the American Medical Association (AMA) implied that chiropractic care was unscientific, and that its practitioners were charlatans. Their efforts to discredit the profession continued until the 1980s. That’s when a lawsuit found the AMA guilty of conspiracy against chiropractic.

The world’s attitudes — and the medical world’s attitudes — have since shifted. Even the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a study that demonstrated the value of chiropractic for low back pain. 

In 2017, the American College of Physicians updated their guidelines for people with low back pain: they recommended supportive therapies, including spinal manipulation, before drugs.

Many physicians now work hand-in-hand with those who practice chiropractic, and may even offer the services themselves, as we do at Gorman Medical, PC. Chiropractors are on staff at many well-known and respected hospitals and medical institutions.

Myth: Chiropractic practitioners aren’t well trained

Anyone who practices chiropractic must be trained, accredited, and licensed. According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), this includes:

• Attending a nationally accredited, four-year doctoral graduate school program
• Completing a minimum of 4,200 hours of classroom, laboratory, and clinical internship
• Passing four sets of national board exams
• Completing continuing education courses

Obtaining a degree in chiropractic, then, is equivalent in classroom hours to allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) degrees.

Myth: Chiropractic adjustments can injure you

Any medical procedure comes with risks, whether that entails surgery, an injection, or an oral medication. The same is true for chiropractic. However — as with all medical practitioners — the aim of a chiropractic practitioner is to improve your health, not harm it.

In fact, the harm from some of the traditional approaches to pain can be much greater than spinal adjustments. Chiropractic care can help you wean off of a whole range of treatments that come with serious side effects, including:

• Steroids
• Opioids
• Surgery

The potential for harm is so much less with chiropractic than with traditional medicine that chiropractors’ malpractice insurance premiums are significantly reduced, when compared with traditional doctors (approximately $3,750 per year vs. $18,000 per year, respectively). 

If you’re curious about how chiropractic care can restore balance and health while eliminating troubling symptoms and pain, contact Gorman Medical, PC, by reaching out to our team via phone or online form today.