Chiropractic Medicine

Many people who seek chiropractic care have chronic, pain-related health conditions. Chiropractic therapy is the most commonly used form of complementary and alternative medicine. Chiropractic is a health care approach that focuses on the relationship between the body's structure—mainly the spine—and its functioning. Although practitioners may use a variety of treatment approaches, they primarily perform adjustments to the spine or other parts of the body with the goal of correcting alignment problems and supporting the body's natural ability to heal itself.

The term "chiropractic" combines the Greek words cheir (hand) and praxis (action) to describe a treatment done by hand. Hands-on therapy—especially adjustment of the spine—is central to chiropractic care. Chiropractic, which in the United States is considered part of complementary and alternative medicine. (CAM), is based on these key concepts:

• The body has a powerful self-healing ability.
• The body's structure (primarily that of the spine) and its function are closely related, and this relationship affects health.
• Therapy aims to normalize this relationship between structure and function and assist the body as it heals.

While some procedures associated with chiropractic care can be traced back to ancient times, the modern profession of chiropractic was founded by Daniel David Palmer in 1895 in Davenport, Iowa. Palmer, a self-taught healer, believed that the body has a natural healing ability. Misalignments of the spine can interfere with the flow of energy needed to support health, Palmer theorized, and the key to health is to normalize the function of the nervous system, especially the spinal cord.

Chiropractic Care

The chiropractor will develop a treatment plan specifically to suit your needs. The three primary treatment phases of a treatment plan are relief, correction, and maintenance. Relief focuses on the immediate attention to treat acute pain and discomfort and generally is associated with a specific incident like a car accident or fall. Relief may consist of multiple visits dependent upon the level of damage. Corrective care focuses on the treatment of spinal problems that have occurred over time. This may require an extended treatment plan. Maintenance is, as the name implies, after someone has been treated, occasional visits necessary to maintain good spinal health. After an injury to the spine, the spine is weakened and requires multiple visits to restore spinal health.

Key Points

• People seek chiropractic care primarily for pain conditions such as back pain, neck pain, and headache.
• Side effects and risks depend on the type of chiropractic treatment used.
• Chiropractic practitioners in the United States are required to earn a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from properly accredited colleges.
• Ongoing research is looking at effects of chiropractic treatment approaches, how they might work, and diseases and conditions for which they may be most helpful.
• Tell your health care providers about any complementary and alternative practices you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.

Patterns of Use

According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, which included a comprehensive survey of CAMA group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine, and alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine. use by Americans, about 8 percent of American adults and nearly 3 percent of children had received chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation in the past 12 months. Adjusted to nationally representative numbers, these percentages mean that more than 18 million adults and 2 million children received chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation in the previous year.

Special thanks to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) for use of this article.