Chiropractor, Schmiropractor….. What Good Are They?
Hello everybody! When I meet new people, new patients, or see someone I haven’t seen in years, I will get a version of one of these responses about being a chiropractor:
NUMBER ONE: “Oh, cool! You’re a chiropractor?! I LOVE my chiropractor, he/she/they saved me from _____ problem back in 2009!”
NUMBER TWO: “A chiropractor? So, you, like, crack bones and stuff right? I have _____ pain, but I’m glad I’ve never had to go see you!”
NUMBER THREE: “I really need to come see you!”
NUMBER FOUR: “Oh, that’s cool. *backs away slowly, or changes the subject*
Or, in other words, these examples fit into these categories:
You are extremely familiar with chiropractors and the work they do and WHY
You are aware of chiropractors, but aren’t really clear about what we do (and that’s ok, that’s why you’re still reading, right?!)
You are in need of help, you’re aware of what we MIGHT be able to do, but don’t really care how we do it… JUST HELP ME!
You’ve heard stories, seen videos on youtube, or had a previous experience… And want little to nothing to do with Chiropractic! SEE YA!
Regardless of where you are…. This article is for you! Chiropractic, much like the practice of Medicine, has changed and will continue to change. Since its inception in 1895, Chiropractic practice didn’t really change much until we started to really understand how the nerves in the human body work.
For example, if you were able to rent a handy dandy Time Machine and travel back a few hundred years ago, you’d see doctors treating sick people VERY differently than you do now. You’d see doctors performing procedures like “Blood-Letting”, where they would commonly cause people to bleed out the ‘bad spirits’ causing them to have a cold, a stomach bug, or any various condition that causes a person to suffer. While there are STILL a few medical conditions in which patients can benefit from donating blood… You don’t see Blood Letting Stations at your doctors’ offices, right? Thank goodness!
Another example is about hand washing (a very popular topic in 2020 and into 2021, no doubt). Did you know that not so long ago we actually believed you DID NOT have to wash your hands between surgeries and childbirth?
Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, a doctor who practiced in Hungary in the mid-1800s, was the first physician to consider that we may be able to eliminate “Childbed Fever,” a condition that killed many mothers after childbirth, simply by the doctor washing their hands between deliveries.
A lot of eyebrows should go up here, because, well….. Duh, right?
Not back then.
He was totally regarded a quack, and regardless of the evidence he presented (showing that hand washing reduced death caused by Childbed Fever to less than 1%), he was the laughing stock of the medical community simply because he could not *scientifically show* why this was true.
At that time, germ theory, microscope technology, and the understanding of Public Health were all POORLY developed sciences and the evidence for such radical change didn’t exist. Chiropractic is currently going through the same changes… in the 19th century, chiropractors practiced based on the theory that “bone on nerve” compression was the reason for all human suffering. With the invention and advancement of MRI, CT scans… we now know that’s not quite right! We KNOW that you get better when we mobilize your spine and body, and we see it time and time again….
But we’re JUST NOW STARTING TO TRULY UNDERSTAND WHY!
The 21st century is a great time to be alive in terms of watching Chiropractic evolve! You’re seeing our science bloom, and we’ll only get BETTER at getting you out of pain and functioning closer and closer to 100%.
So, Then... Why Do You NEED a Chiropractor?
Simply put: If you have a body and expect it to function normally, you should check in with a Chiropractor (and if you’re in Tampa Bay, that should be me… click here for the details) at least 1-2 times per year for injury and pain risk assessment.
If you are in pain, new or old, you may require a slightly longer trial of care: Simple issues are usually taken care of in as little as one visit… More traumatic ones like those sustained in car crashes can take 25+ visits. Once we have addressed your issues, most patient check ups will then vary from 1 time per year to 1-2 visits per month. Some patients opt for a more frequent visit as they need it.
Every person is different and our recommendations will change over time. I don’t think you should be required to buy packages of treatments in bulk like I commonly hear about at discount places on Groupon. As a rule of thumb… Don’t find your new doctor on Groupon, ok? Ok.
So How Do Chiropractors Treat Patients?
Chiropractors are highly trained in the art of diagnosing and treating human movement problems, structural injuries, and WHY you experience pain or move incorrectly. Our thinking when you walk into our offices is slightly different than what you may experience in a purely medical exam. You see, Medical care is for the treatment of PATHOLOGY, which is to say, diseases, cancers, infections… Things that are more based in the realm of abnormal body chemistry and cells in your body. As Chiropractors, we initially check to be sure you do NOT have any of those conditions that require medical treatment, but we are evaluating your body’s structure and its function.
The way I like to describe the difference is this:
You’re reading this blog post on an electronic device. The device works because it has HARDWARE and SOFTWARE. The hardware is the sum of parts that physically allows the device to function; Software is the digital program and series of beeps, boops, 1’s and 0’s that allow your device to do what it does- be a computer, a phone, etc.
Medical care typically looks to see if the hardware has rust, is broken and must be removed and/or replaced, or if there is any other physical reason why the device doesn’t work (like if your kid jammed a spitwad into your charging port… That could definitely keep your phone from charging).
For example: Broken bones, brain tumors, an infected and swollen appendix, tonsils, etc. Software changes in medicine would be equivalent to cancer doctors altering your body’s DNA to kill cancer cells, taking steroid medication to crush inflammation, or vaccinating you so that your body’s immune system can create a “cheat code” to fight germs and viruses before you ever meet them.
This is a VITAL reason we saw life expectancy increase so much in the 20th century- we are no longer dying from from infectious diseases the way we used to (the glaring exception here is COVID-19, but this is why all doctors, including me, shout from the rooftops about hand washing, wearing a facemask, and getting vaccinated- These measures are the reason you don’t know anyone that’s ever had Smallpox or Polio… But that’s a topic for a separate blog on a different day).
A chiropractor’s focus on your body’s hardware and software isn’t much different, but we look at it from a slightly different angle. Yes, we want to be sure you don’t have life threatening conditions that require medical care like I mentioned above, but we generally see patients who are already under medical care, or have been told there is no medical answer to their ailments.
The way I, as a chiropractor, look at your “hardware” is to look for signs of disc herniations, cord compression, joints that are not moving, etc. From a “software” angle… I look to see if your brain is moving and positioning your body correctly in space at the right time. For example- you can walk through a dark room, avoiding certain obstacles, and hit the light switch in stride without really paying attention, right? Your body knows where you are and where you should be at all times. Issues arise when that system doesn’t function properly. That’s where I can help you!
Your brain has the “software” functions for EVERY movement you do in your life. The reason you’re able to swivel in and out of bed? The brain’s program makes your muscles work in a certain sequence. Swinging a golf club? The professionals have a very well-trained system of muscle and nerve communication that allows them to hit it perfectly almost every single time.
The problem we run into is this: What happens when it FEELS like you have a hardware (read: bones, ligament, tendon, disc, etc) problem, but they are not damaged or your old injuries have been healed for 17 years…. And you are still hurting and can’t move the way you want or expect?!
We now know we MUST look at your brain’s movement, pain sensing, and positioning software. That’s our big, humongous secret of how we TRULY get you back to normal!
When you are under my care, we will talk about your past medical history, family history, previous injuries, about your job, what you do for fun, and anything in life that you notice isn’t working well or causes you pain. From there, we will go through a full series of orthopedic tests where we try to nail down WHAT THE REASON for your pain is: Muscle, Ligament, Nerve, Tendon, Joint, Disc, Blood Vessel, etc. We will also go through a neurological exam, in which we learn if your body has any hidden problems that would interfere with your brain sending messages to your body; common symptoms of those problems are numbness, tingling, weakness, and shooting pain (pins and needles).
We also look to see if your brain can position you properly- and if YOU DO have functional problems, you can have the healthiest looking body, x-rays, MRIs on the planet…. But still be in pain! From there, we look at any movement pattern problems.
When we get all that info for your specific conditions, we put together a plan of care that includes any combination of the following things:
- Joint mobilization (commonly known as manipulation or adjustments)
- Therapeutic Exercise
- Manual Therapy (the more medical version of massage)
- Movement Training
- Ergonomic Changes at work/home
- Movement Taping spine/joint structures (commonly known as Kinesiotape)
- Heat/Cold
- Electrical Stimulation of Muscles
- Traction
- Ultrasound (Therapeutic, not Diagnostic!)
MORE IMPORTANTLY, all the talking and examining we do beforehand will outline which of these you may need… OR NOT! There are times when patients simply cannot believe I don’t think they’re candidates for adjustments! If you have been getting adjusted 30+ times annually, year in year out… Do you think the adjustments are for you…. Or the doctor’s pockets?! A little food for thought.
My goal with specific care plans that often involve MORE than a simple adjustment is that I want you to be able to take control of your pain. I want you to have the keys to your body’s function.
If you have been told by a doctor (medical or chiropractic, doesn’t matter) that you can’t do things you like because of pain without a VERY good reason… It might be time for a second opinion! If you have been scared away from pain relief with a chiropractor by some of the things I mentioned above, just know that I’ll always treat you as if I’m looking at my own conditions. I’ll never recommend any amount of care with me unless I think you can benefit.
If you are in or around Tampa, I always offer potential patients the opportunity to have a 15 minute chat with me for FREE to see if I may be able to help you. There’s no money commitment; all I require is to know your name, your number, and when you’re able to chat; if you have anything you’d like me to know beforehand, put it in the notes section so I can be aware when I call you.
CLICK HERE to schedule that call!
(or create an application link with lead info, points to Calendly)
