Chiropractic Medicine- An Alternative Therapy

What Is Chiropractic Medicine?

The word ‘chiropractic’ is derived from two Greek words, namely ‘chiro’ and ‘praktikos’, meaning hand and practical, respectively. Therefore, chiropractic medicine is a hands-on-treatment, a branch where treatment is done with the hands. This type of treatment is based on the alignment and functioning of nerves, muscles, and skeleton.

Professional practicing chiropractic medicine is called the name chiropractor. A chiropractor believes in the ability of the human body to heal from disease, infections, or wounds on its own. They are licensed practitioners who will try to manipulate the spine and other body parts to properly align, decrease pain, provide support, and improve the body’s healing nature. As a result, chiropractic adjustments are also known as spinal or joint manipulation. Chiropractors perform the manipulation procedures with specific tools or their hands. They believe chiropractic medicine can cure spinal, skeletal, muscular, or joint issues without medicines or surgeries.

What Is the Importance of Chiropractic Medicine?

Since a chiropractor tries to resolve skeletal and muscular issues without medicine, the treatment is in high demand. They can cure musculoskeletal pain in the shoulders, knees, pelvis, ankle, or even head. In addition, patients with headaches, lower back pain, and neck pain usually consult a chiropractor to get pain relief without medications or other treatment procedures.

How Does Chiropractic Medicine Work?

A chiropractor may do diagnostic procedures like laboratory tests, diagnostic imaging, or other methods. Some may also provide advice to the patients related to follow-up nutrition and complementary medicine. The treatment procedure may be as follows:

• The chiropractors will initially take a case history of the patient to know about the family and medical history.

• The patient will be asked to take suitable diagnostic procedures to confirm the illness. X-rays, CT (computed tomography) scans, and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) are the main diagnostic tools used.

• A detailed case history and diagnostic tool will help the chiropractor develop an apt management and treatment plan.

• The chiropractor may ask the patient to lie on the stomach on a special table. The table is called a chiropractic table or a drop-piece table. The table is built in separate sections for the neck, upper back, lower back, and pelvic area. The table can also be adjusted depending on the pressure to be applied to do the chiropractic technique.

• The chiropractor then uses the hands and elbows to realign the affected or problematic area, especially the spinal and joint areas.

• The chiropractor usually applies the required pressure and stretches to manipulate the joints.

• A chiropractor may also use other treatment tools like electrical stimulation, nutrition and diet therapy, heat and ice application, relaxation techniques, general exercises, rehabilitative methods, counseling on lifestyle changes, and providing required dietary supplements.

How Does the Patient Feel During a Chiropractic Adjustment?

The patient may feel or hear a popping or cracking sound or sensation while the chiropractor manipulates the joint or spine. This is due to releasing gasses like nitrogen, oxygen, or carbon dioxide from the joint during alignment. These gasses may get entrapped within the joint, and it moves and creates an altered sound or sensation during chiropractic treatment. Since the chiropractor applies a controlled force during the treatment, the patient feels little to no pain.

What Are the Conditions Treated by Chiropractic Medicine?

Patients suffering from the following medical conditions may get relief after chiropractic treatment:

• Back pain.

• Arthritis (pain and swelling of the joints).

• Chronic muscle pain.

• Disc-related issues including degenerative disc disease (wearing of the spinal disc).

• Osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease).

• Fibromyalgia or fibrositis (muscle pain and tenderness).

• Headache.

• Pain due to injuries.

• Hip pain.

• Neck pain.

• Muscle strains.

• Posture defects.

• Sciatica or sciatic neuritis (pain along the sciatic nerve, from the lower back to the legs).

• Shoulder pain.

• Stress.

• Pain and discomfort in the extremities.

Is Chiropractic Medicine Safe?

Studies have released the side effects of chiropractic medicine. Some of them are:

• Transient Side Effects: These are mild to moderate side effects of chiropractic medicine. Even after chiropractic or spinal manipulation, the patient may feel increased pain and discomfort in the treated area. Headache and muscular stiffness may also occur. These are transient side effects and may get resolved in about 24 hours.

• Serious Side Effects: Chiropractic treatment can lead to serious complications involving the spinal cord or the nervous system. But the chances of the development of complicated effects post-treatment are rare. However, heart patients have an increased risk of exposure to serious side effects like stroke.

• Cervical Artery Dissection: Chiropractic adjustments done in case of neck pain may sometimes lead to the tearing of the walls of the cervical artery. This leads to a condition called cervical artery dissection. These tears can lead to strokes. Before starting the treatment, it is necessary to inform the patients about such complications.

What Are the Things to Be Considered While Choosing Chiropractic Treatment?

The following points should be considered while doing spinal manipulation or chiropractic treatment.

• It should be given importance to choose a chiropractor who is well-trained and experienced. Since the technique of chiropractic medicine can be misused by fraudulent approaches, asking or researching about the chiropractor’s education and licensure is not an issue. The patient can also ask the chiropractor about their experience treating the specific medical condition.

• It is necessary to open up to the chiropractor to discuss the family's medical history and the previous hospital, drug, lifestyle, and medical history.

• The patient should ask about the number of sittings required and the total fees the treatment will cost.

• The chiropractor may suggest taking certain dietary supplements. Communicating about the drugs or medications consumed may help the chiropractor to alter the supplements provided.

• Complementary approaches may also be required for bone and muscle pain to get prolonged relief. Discussing exercises or stretching that should be done after the treatment and following all the instructions will be beneficial.

• There is not much evidence about the side effects of chiropractic medicine on pregnant women. But, it is important to take advice from the gynecologist before the pregnant lady tries spinal or joint manipulation.

What Should Be Followed After Chiropractic Treatment?

The chiropractor may advise doing some homework after the treatment. This may include the following:

• Workouts.

• Stretching exercises.

• Stress management.

• Muscle relaxation techniques.

• Diet therapy.

• Weight management methods.

• Heat or cold application.

What Are the Benefits of Chiropractic Medicine?

The following are some benefits of chiropractic treatment:

• Improved spinal and joint movement.

• Improved posture.

• Minimized headache and migraine.

• Decreased joint and muscle pain.

• Relieved pain related to arthritis.

• The minor injury gets cured.

Conclusion:

Spinal and joint problems can be treated to an extent by chiropractic technique. But before opting for the same, it is essential to know about self-health and medical conditions and the possible complications of the technique when used to treat the specific medical condition. In addition, adopting appropriate lifestyle changes post-treatment is also important.