Frequently Asked Questions

Chiropractic Is Safe

An exceptionally strong indicator of the safety of chiropractic procedures is the simple and indisputable truth that premiums charged by cautious and hard-headed insurance companies for malpractice insurance to chiropractors are a tiny fraction of what medical doctors are required to pay.

Despite those hard facts and despite the results of countless research projects that have consistently confirmed the safety of chiropractic adjustments over many years, those who wish to discourage people from seeking chiropractic care continue to dredge up hugely exaggerated fears about complications from the allegedly "riskiest" chiropractic procedure, i.e. neck adjustments. This is an enormously overstated scare tactic that has falsely convinced many long-suffering patients such as you to not even consider chiropractic treatment. Of course, we all know that even the most routine medical procedure or misuse of a medication as common as the humble aspirin may pose a risk or even lead to complications that result in serious injury or death. The question that should be asked is this:what is the realistic chance of serious problems arising based on the empirical evidence surrounding the application of any particular procedure or medicine? The fact is that during their entire professional lives the vast majority of chiropractors do not have a single case of a patient experiencing serious adverse effects from chiropractic treatment.

So, while appropriate surgery and properly prescribed and taken medications are absolutely necessary and sometimes miraculous, I, and virtually all chiropractors as well millions of our sucessfully treated patients, strongly believe that drugs and surgery should not always be chosen as the first or the only modality of treatment. After all, chiropractors graduate from chiropractic colleges having learned how to assist the body in countless situations to heal itself without drug and/or surgical intervention.

This very point was emphasized once again by ABC's Dr. Tim Johnson in a May 25, 2006 report on World News Tonight: "The truth is that 90 percent of back pain can be resolved without surgery if both doctors and patients are willing to try other treatments that basically help the back to heal itself."

Chiropractic Education

Contemporary educational requirements for chiropractors are among the most demanding of any of the health care professionals and, in fact, are quite comparable to that received by medical practitioners.

Before acceptance to a four year chiropractic college, prospective chiropractors must complete a minimum of two years of undergraduate study with a heavy emphasis on the basic hard sciences.

This focus is greatly expanded in chiropractic college with lab and classroom emphasis on anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology and physiology. As chiropractors don’t prescribe drugs or perform surgery, instead of studying pharmacology or surgical protocols, they receive even more extensive training in anatomy, physiology, diagnosis, X-ray, rehabilitation and considerable training in nutrition that, incidentally, it is estimated that 80% of medical schools do not even offer. Because chiropractors are encouraged to develop an understanding of nutrition, they often are more attuned to disease prevention rather than disease treatment.

Later, the focus becomes even more specialized when they study the philosophy and practice of chiropractic diagnosis and learn and exhaustively practice numerous adjusting techniques that are not taught in any other health field. And finally, before being awarded their Doctor of Chiropractic degrees, chiropractors, like medical doctors, must complete a specified number of hours as residents.

Chiropractors Are Real Doctors

What do you think of when you hear the word "doctor"? Mass media has long reinforced a generic picture of a serious-looking man or woman in scrubs or lab coat who listens, advises, prescribes medications and performs operations as the sole picture of a doctor you will automatically imagine when you hear that word.

Both medical doctors (MDs) and doctors of chiropractic (DCs) are doctors and both have received a doctorial degree from a government accredited medical school or chiropractic college. However, although each discipline looks at health and healing in often different but sometimes in complementary ways, when examining a patient most chiropractors use the same approach as that of medical doctors. First is the consultation. Next is the discussion of your case history. Then this should lead to a physical examination. Further tests may then be needed such as laboratory analysis and x-ray studies.

Although both medical doctors and chiropractors know that your nervous system regulates and controls every cell in your body, the critical difference between the two is that many medical doctors rely heavily on drugs and/or surgery and often only treat the symptoms, while chiropractors, knowing that interference with your nervous, muscular and skeletal system impairs the body’s normal functions, strive to help their patients through a holistic approach specifically by applying appropriate adjustments. It cannot be emphasized enough that these adjustments can and do play a critical role in reducing or eliminating the causes of nerve malfunction thus improving the integrity of the nervous system and in turn promoting proper bodily function without drugs or surgery.

As David Perlmutter, M.D. of Naples has written "There is no one discipline that has a corner on the market of techniques useful in patient care. No one discipline has all the tools".

Chiropractic Is Scientific

The "low tech" nature of some types of adjustments has led to erroneous conclusions that chiropractic is therefore not "scientific". But what is the definition of "scientific"? If "scientific" is defined as the methodical and meticulous pursuit of knowledge that begins by recognizing a problem, collecting data through extensive experimentation and observation and then testing and proving the resulting hypotheses, then chiropractic is quite scientific.

Chiropractic procedures, like procedures utilized by medical doctors, have also evolved and improved in just this scientific manner. It is a fact that your nervous system regulates every cell, organ, tissue and system of your body. So when your nervous system doesn’t work right, you don’t work right. And when you don’t work right you are sick and in pain. It’s as simple as that. Chiropractic treatments endeavor to make you well by reducing this very nerve malfunction along the spine without surgery and without drugs, thus markedly enhancing the ability of your brain to regulate and control the body. That is, to not only make you feel better but to truly make you feel well. Because chiropractic treatments have a significant success rate, numerous studies of chiropractic care consistently support the chiropractic approach to healing.

Why do I need X-rays?

Please be assured that we will take only the most essential X-rays need for treatment diagnosis and planning. They will help us help you by:

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