Not known Details About physical therapist or chiropractor
In the US, a significant percentage of the population visits the chiropractic doctor for treatment purposes.But, what actually is chiropractic treatment? Many people living in the US are of the opinion that the treatment is effective which is why it is one of the natural mainstream treatment options in the country.
There are a few important things for an individual to know about chiropractic care and the services that are offered in many chiropractic wellness clinics.
Many chiropractor offer physical rehabilitation in addition to spinal manipulation which is the primary method of treatment in a chiropractic clinic. Most Doctors of Chiropractic actually undergo specialized training in physical therapy, offered by the school and other post-graduate courses. The chiropractic student must pass a physical therapy exam required by the National Board Of Examiners. One of the primary staples of physical therapy is to provide specific exercises for the patient in order to restore biomechanical function of the joints, this is done by stretches, stabilization exercises, core strengthening and other core stabilization exercises. A lot of chiropractic doctors as well as physical therapists use a stability ball, medicine ball, and or a wobble board to assist with balance and coordination.
A chiropractor who is well-trained in physical therapy may offer therapies such as: ice, heat and electric stimulation, whirlpool, paraffin wax and others.
Besides physical rehabilitation, the main objective of the chiropractor is to provide spinal manipulation or adjustments. The aim is to restore proper alignment of the spinal structures hence decreasing nerve pressure and irritation. This provides pain relief, increase mobility, and an overall sense of well-being. Some doctors offer spinal decompression as a treatment for the relief of pain related to disc injuries. Spinal decompression has proven effective for bulging and herniation of the discs, spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal), and others.
Chiropractic care combined with physical therapy are amongst the best natural ways for pain management.
On many occasions, chiropractic-treatment allows patients to avoid surgery. Those patients who are afraid of surgical procedures, in many instances, by consulting a good chiropractor can choose to avoid it. Based on the patient's clinical presentation, the chiropractic doctor may choose whether to treat conservatively with chiropractic care or refer out to surgery.
In the past few decades, because of a large number of positive feedback from patients and clinical success, chiropractic-treatment has become very popular and for many, a first choice method before going under the knife. Major insurance carriers including Medicare cover chiropractic care due to the overwhelming positive effects of chiropractic treatment on pain, muscle stiffness, mobility and spasm.
It is often so, that after a chiropractic adjustment, pain is quickly diminished almost immediately post treatment. Chiropractic-treatment also helps to reduce the stress, increase overall function by improving the nervous system.
There are infrastructures in the form of professional institutes that teach the most up to date information on the science of chiropractic through continuing education courses for chiropractic doctors. This ensures that the doctors are providing safe and quality treatment to the public. Nowadays, such treatments require highly sophisticated, chiropractic tables, instrument adjusting tools, therapeutic modalities, spinal traction and decompression tables, diagnostic procedures for radiography and other diagnostic instrumentation.
There are approximately 50-60 thousand chiropractic doctors in the US alone! Each physician is different in their methods and treatment options. There are over 100 different chiropractic techniques, about 20 of them are mainstream.
Some doctors of chiropractic rely heavily on instrumentation while others are more manual, in essence, they use their hands to check here perform an adjustment, while others combine both. The term mixer has become synonymous with a chiropractor who uses other therapeutic modalities in addition to the chiropractic adjustment. The one's who use only the hand adjustment that is strictly to the spine, are considered to be a purist or "straight chiropractor". The feud still stands today between the "straights and mixers'. The fact of the matter is that both are helping and serving people to live better more healthier lives.
There are a lot of options when it comes to Chiropractic care which sometimes makes it difficult to choose the right Chiropractor, or even to choose whether to see one altogether. Here are some important things to consider when choosing a Chiropractor.
1. Exercises
Look for someone who will give you exercises (NOT just stretches). To me this is mandatory, no matter what type of injury or even if you are getting regular treatment for no injury. Regardless of the reason you are seeking care and the type of treatment or treatment plan, exercise should be incorporated. This helps you help yourself in between office visits and when done properly, can help with preventing injury recurrence and even with improving performance.
If rehabilitative or other exercises will be given as part of the treatment, you can simply ask.
2. Hands on Treatment
There should be some sort of hands on treatment with most Chiropractors. This often includes some sort of Chiropractic adjusting and may include soft tissue therapy such as Active Release Technique, Graston Technique, and various other general muscle treatment techniques.
For sports injuries and soft tissue injuries, some sort of soft tissue therapy is often helpful.
Types of Adjusting
There are many different types of adjusting, ranging from what most people are familiar with (adjustments that make a "popping" type noise) to very gentle techniques with very little force and no noise. All forms are very safe, but some people prefer more aggressive types and some people prefer more gentle options.
The typical "popping" adjusting is closer to what other types of practitioners like Physical Therapists or Osteopaths do, while the more gentle types of adjusting are typically only performed by Chiropractors.
Some common types of adjustments that make noise include Diversified or Gonstead Technique. Often, if there is no specific mention of a type of treatment used, I would assume a more typical adjusting that often makes a noise.
More gentle techniques with no noise and very little force include Activator technique, Torque Release Technique, MC2 technique, Network Chiropractic and various upper cervical techniques like NUCCA. Most often these will be advertised by the practitioner. Most are remarkably gentle, probably the most gentle form of hands on treatment you can find.
Additional Options
Some Chiropractors also use acupuncture, orthotics and nutrition recommendations as additions to exercise and adjustments.
Acupuncture is often a useful treatment for people and has some good supporting evidence.
Orthotics will provide some foot support 100% of the time and can be helpful, but are definitely not a cure all.
Nutrition is obviously important and is something I would expect from anyone who is offering wellness care, preventative care, or claiming to improve or maintain general health.
Modalities
Various therapy machines like Ultrasound, TENS, Laser therapy, shockwave therapy, traction, and spinal decompression will also be used by some Chiropractors in some situations.
Based on the patient's clinical presentation, the chiropractic doctor may choose whether to treat conservatively with chiropractic care or refer out to surgery.
There are infrastructures in the form of professional institutes that teach the most up to date information on the science of chiropractic through continuing education courses for chiropractic doctors. In the US, a significant percentage of the population visits the chiropractic doctor for treatment purposes.But, what actually is chiropractic treatment? Based on the patient's clinical presentation, the chiropractic doctor may choose whether to treat conservatively with chiropractic care or refer out to surgery.
There are infrastructures in the form of professional institutes that teach the most up to date information on the science of chiropractic through continuing education courses for chiropractic doctors.