Recently, I was thumbing through a book written by a chiropractor aimed toward the general public. The book’s aim was to educate the public on what chiropractic really is.
There was a section aimed at dispelling common myths about chiropractors. One of the myths was that “Chiropractors are not real doctors.” The author went on to explain that chiropractors were indeed medically licensed professionals.
When I read that, I did a double take. Considering the author, I was quite surprised by this initial explanation.
I suppose if you go off what we learned in chiropractic school, which is mostly medical in nature, this person would be correct. However, chiropractic is not medicine, nor was it ever intended to be anything remotely close to medicine.
Chiropractic is all about restoring the normal communication between the brain and the body. Restoring the nervous system communication is done by way of a specific adjustment to a vertebra in order to remove a misalignment, which we chiropractors refer to as vertebral subluxation. These subluxations result in an interference to nervous system transmission by increasing pressure at or near the spinal cord and/or spinal nerves.
Removing one of these subluxations, which in turn restores proper brain-body communication, allows the body’s Innate Intelligence to operate globally, without any blockages to any part of the body. This allows the body to heal and function at its optimal level. When this happens, it is not uncommon to see a reduction, or even an absence, in pain and symptoms. In fact, this is expected when the spine is free of subluxations.
This is not, however, the goal of chiropractic. Reducing pain and symptoms is what medicine is trying to accomplish. Chiropractic is no more a cure for ADHD or ear infections as it is low back pain or plantar fasciitis. If this isn’t clear, let me break it down even more:
Medicine = Reducing symptoms by way of drugs or surgery
Chiropractic = Restoring nervous system function
I do not answer to any medical board, nor am I a member of any medical association. I am a chiropractor, licensed by the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
I guess that makes me a chiropractically (is that even a word???) licensed professional.
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I agree with you on what chiropractic is. In the state of California I understand chiropractic to be piece of the medical pie. Medicine is the whole pie and chiropractic, dentistry, etc. is licensed as a piece of that medical pie, so I guess we are licensed medical professionals. That is the way the legal system views us.