5 Tips for Choosing the Right Chiropractor

We’ve all been there before: trying to choose from a list of potential companies or professionals with very little substance to go on. Most of the time we rely on online reviews, web page glances, and if we’re lucky, we might know someone who has already been in that business and can tell you what to expect.

Going to a chiropractor is a big decision, even more so since many people don’t know much about chiropractic to begin with. What little they know may very well be wrong. Some view chiropractors rather poorly and are skeptical of the profession. Some are open to seeing a chiropractor, but have no friends or family to guide them to the right person, and no experience with chiropractic that would make an Internet search easy. It helps when you know the “language” of something because your Google search will be much more fruitful when you use the correct terminology. Using broad terms will often lead to nothing more than a list of heavily advertised chiropractors stuffing their websites with keywords just to attract visitors via Google.

Choosing a chiropractor is, in many ways, a very personal decision. With so many types of DC, that means you can probably find one to suit your needs. This article will describe how to run a good search that will show you all the local chiropractors and allow you to distinguish between them so you can make the best decision.

1. Do you go to a chiropractor simply for pain relief or for your general health?

You can loosely separate chiropractors into two groups: holistic chiropractors and mechanistic chiropractors. All chiropractors are aware of this distinction, and in fact, the profession has been in a general state of low-level internal conflict throughout this flaw since its inception. Some chiropractors know this as a “straight vs. mixer” war. Internal conflict, which actually has many positive benefits, has been around since the profession’s inception in 1895. This duality is a strength of the profession: without the holistic nature of chiropractic we would be physical therapists adjusting the spine, and without the mechanistic nature of chiropractic would lose sight of the very real health benefits that chiropractic care provides to millions of Americans each year, and the real detrimental effects of spinal joint malfunction (subluxation).

2. Do you want long-term care or would you rather have your complaint addressed and then your case closed?

Many chiropractors, with varying degrees of scientific evidence to back this up, promote chiropractic as a viable alternative to traditional medical care. They see chiropractic as a way to promote the health of their nervous system through chiropractic spinal adjustments, which then allow the body to function at a higher level. Chiropractors and patients across the country will attest to better health with fewer illnesses and injuries after incorporating chiropractic into their lives. Regular adjustments help adults and children deal with everything from allergies to headaches, and chiropractic is often chosen by people who want to avoid prescription drugs. Hard scientific evidence to validate this is difficult to come by due to inherent problems in designing a study capable of testing the “chiropractic lifestyle” and its effect on general health, but case series do exist and we have all probably met someone who will wear ups and downs that chiropractic keeps them out of the doctor’s office.

On the other side of this coin are chiropractors who will work to promote proper joint function in the injured area and then rehabilitate the joint and supporting soft tissue, after which it is released from care. There is value in this, just as there is value in wellness or maintenance care. Releasing a patient after her pain is gone will save you money. It will also please the patient’s health insurer; It’s not that the happiness of your insurer should factor into your health decision-making, but unfortunately they do have power over your health in some very important ways, so it’s valuable not to end up in anyone’s crosshairs at headquarters. company of your insurer. Instead of promoting ongoing care, a mechanical chiropractor will work to correct only the immediate problem. Often times, back pain can come from a weak ankle or knee, so your chiropractor can focus on a spot that doesn’t hurt, so don’t assume the location of your pain is the cause of your pain.

A fundamental difference between holistic and mechanistic chiropractors is that the holistic chiropractor will treat the patient beyond the scientific limitations that a more mechanistic chiropractor would impose on himself. This really ties #1 and #2 together. For example, a mechanistic chiropractor may treat low back pain by working to rehabilitate a sacroiliac joint and then releasing the client when the sacroiliac joint returns to normal, pain-free function. A holistic chiropractor will treat the client until subluxations (misalignments of the spine that cause nerve irritation) are fully resolved and then expand their care to include general subluxation correction throughout the spine to promote overall wellness. Both approaches have real value. While it is important to impose limits on treatment based on the limits of what peer-reviewed research can substantiate, holistic chiropractors recognize that progress in science comes from pushing the limits of understanding and treatment of patients in ways that the best current evidence may not fully support. The periphery of science is where progress is usually made, but it is also where quackery finds refuge.

3. Are you injured or dysfunctional? In other words, did your pain come on suddenly because of an injury, or did it start more slowly because of something he did repeatedly?

Sudden pain usually means an injury has occurred. Sometimes it’s a car accident, a fall, or a sports injury. These types of injuries may be what a certain type of chiropractor focuses on or even what they are certified and further trained. In cases of these types of injuries, you want a chiropractor who can confidently treat sprains and strains, who can differentiate between different types of injuries and who will recognize when an injury is too severe for them, and who is also diligent enough to to see certain warning signs and refer you to other providers when necessary. Many, but not all, holistic chiropractors are prone to viewing the spine only in terms of subluxations, and therefore may miss subtle signs of a more serious injury that requires the expertise of a specially trained chiropractor, orthopedist, or a neurologist. Although not a firm rule of thumb, a more mechanical chiropractor may be a safer bet when dealing with a painful injury.

4. What professional associations serve the chiropractic profession and how can they help you find the right CD?

There are two large national organizations that represent chiropractors: the ACA and the ICA. The ACA is the American Chiropractic Association and the ICA is the International Chiropractic Association. The ACA is more mechanistic and the ICA is more holistic. State associations are more varied, so it’s hard to discern much about a chiropractor by looking at their state association membership unless you look at that organization’s political or philosophical leanings—a lot of work to find a chiropractor. To keep things simple, know that many ICA chiropractors actually oppose the ACA, and vice versa, so you may get more from your membership (or non-membership) in national organizations than from other things you might find on the website. or online. listings for a chiropractor. However, it is important not to read too much into this information and of course to consider that all people are multidimensional and may not fit into the dichotomy I am describing. Still, as part of a larger set of information to make a judgement, this may be useful to consider.

5. Should you consider their websites, reviews and testimonials? And how important are personal references?

You may soon discover that many chiropractors use one of the few companies to create their websites. This means that if you visit ten different chiropractic websites, you may see the same website over and over again with just a different DC’s name.

This means that the content is not original and you probably won’t be able to learn much about the chiropractor on their website. This reduces the value of the website. Chiropractors would be better off getting rid of the 3D spinning spines and putting real content on their sites instead. These sites are packed with content, but little to no information on the site is unique to that chiropractor. Even articles with signatures that include that chiropractor’s name are probably not articles written by that actual chiropractor. Suspect intellectual laziness and dishonesty when any professional puts her name and credentials in an article he or she didn’t write. While it’s a common practice, that doesn’t mean it’s the right way to promote yourself.

Online reviews, such as Yelp! and Yahoo! are great. However, companies often game the system by providing fake reviews. Are all the reviews from the same approximate time? For example, are ten reviews all from March 2012? If so, that’s suspicious. If the reviews seem legitimate, they can give you an idea of ​​DC’s type, but if they’re suspicious, you need to remember the old saying “buyer beware.” Very often, one bad review (which is legitimate) will be followed by numerous illegitimate good reviews to drown out the bad. Getting past the illegitimate reviews, you may be able to get a lot of good information by reading the reviews, so feel free to use a search engine to search for “jones family chiropractic reviews” and see what comes up.

Testimonials should be considered marketing, but of course they are probably real stories from real patients. The chiropractor is choosing which message he wants to hear. If they pick 5 patients who talk about the chiropractor curing their back pain, then this chiropractor wants you to see them as a back pain specialist. If they talk about children and allergies, that’s what they want you to know that they specialize in. In this way, the testimonials can be used to take a look at the chiropractor.

Personal references are the best source of information, as they are usually unfiltered and direct. Ask a friend or family member and you’ll get an unbiased opinion. The best chiropractors (and the best lawyers, realtors, and even bakers) get most of their new clients because they treat existing clients so well. People are quick to complain about poor service, so when someone has something nice to say about how they were treated, you need to acknowledge it as worthy of your attention. Think of it this way: that person with experience with a chiropractor so you don’t have to. A personal reference from someone you trust is easily the most valuable information you’ll find.

That’s all! I hope these five tips help you narrow down your search for the perfect chiropractor. This is not an exhaustive list of all considerations, but it is a great way to structure your search and find the distribution center that meets your needs and provides what you are looking for. Take care and be well.