Many people have a natural fear of chiropractic care, simply because it is known to be focused on spinal alignment and posture, and that can be a scary prospect for many individuals. The truth is, when practiced by a skilled chiropractor, this form of medical treatment is extremely safe and very often quite beneficial for the patient.
Safety statistics
You might be surprised at just how safe chiropractic care really is. Less than one patient per million ever has any kind of serious adverse effect after having received spinal manipulation. In fact, it’s much more likely that you could have a negative reaction after taking some kind of medication for lower back pain, for instance, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
It is possible that some patients will feel minor soreness and stiffness after being treated, but this is because the muscles and the spine have just been strongly manipulated, and there may be some lingering impact. This is generally resolved within one to two days, and there are no lasting effects imparted to the patient.
When chiropractic care might be inappropriate
For the most part, any kind of pain or discomfort in the area of the lower back, neck, and even the shoulders, can successfully be treated by safe chiropractic care. However, there are some situations where chiropractors will avoid treating a patient, because of a pre-existing condition that will inhibit the technique from achieving positive results. One such situation is when a patient has severe osteoporosis, where the bones of the body are excessively fragile, and will not stand up to treatment.
Osteomyelitis is another such situation, and this is a spinal bone infection that also hinders effective chiropractic treatment. Patients who have any kind of bone tumors or myelomas are also not good candidates for chiropractic care. Lastly, any patient suffering from Paget’s disease, which is a disease causing bone deformities and fractures, would ordinarily not be treated by a chiropractor. Any patient falling into one of these categories will probably be obliged to seek treatment from a conventional practitioner because the problems cannot be cured through even expert chiropractic care.
Why chiropractic care is safe and effective
All chiropractors must go through a rigorous training period, including the same body of knowledge that traditional doctors are required to learn, and then they must go through an additional four years of study related to their specific practice. Most chiropractors achieve the best results when coupling chiropractic care with some other form of beneficial therapy which can accelerate positive results, and help to achieve a pain-free state for patients.
Many times these other therapies will include massage therapy, yoga, tai-chi, or some form of supervised rehabilitation exercise. Any program of treatment developed by a skilled chiropractor will always be totally customized to the patient’s needs and will incorporate those therapies which will help achieve the best results.
In some cases, chiropractors will even collaborate with a patient’s primary doctor in order to ensure that a patient receives optimal care and that all treatments will help the patient to become pain-free. The goal of a chiropractor is always to improve the patient’s symptoms and to relieve or eliminate bodily pain and discomfort. This, in turn, will help the patient function optimally and have a pain-free and enjoyable lifestyle.
