Chiropractic care in a short definition?

Answer 1

Definition of chiropractic according to the World Federation of Chiropractic:

A health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health. There is an emphasis on manual treatments including spinal adjustment and other joint and soft-tissue manipulation.

More extensive Summary:

Doctors of Chiropractic are experts in the field of non-surgical spinal health care. In addition, they are doctors who specialize in the function of the joints and nervous system. Chiropractors treat most neuromuskuloskeletal conditions. Common conditions that chiropractors treat are Back pain, neck pain, headache, leg/arm pain, peripheral joint problems (eg: impingments, strains, sprains), peripheral neuropothies (eg: carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome), vertigo/dizziness, whiplash, etc. Chiropractors are also well trained in nutrition and exercise, and as such can offer a range of advice/services that may relate to these.

To treat the neuromusculoskeletal conditions, chiropractors use spinal manipulation, physiotherapeutic modalities (cold laser, ultrasound, shockwave, IFC, TENS), deep tissue massage (ART-like), exercise (for rehabilitation and prevention), dietary advice, lifestyle advice, etc.

Their primary treatment, and what they are best known for, spinal manipulation, is used to induce motion into restricted joints, calm spastic musculature, induce neural reflexes that can result in global short-term pain relief, etc.

Chiropractors differentiate themselves from physiotherapists by their ability to diagnose (they are doctors), use imaging (x-ray), incorporate dietary advice, their expertise in manipulation, etc. Chiropractors differentiate themselves from medical doctors by their hands-on approach, their use of exercise and dietary advice and their expertise in the neuromuskuloskeletal system. Moreover, a major distinguishing factor between medical doctors and doctors of chiropractic is that drugs are a first choice form of treatment for all conditions by medical doctors, whereas doctors of chiropractic believe drugs should be used only when manual therapy or self care (exercise) has not helped, or when the condition is not amenable to manual therapy (eg: cancer, multiple sclerosis, Heart disease, etc).

A good chiropractor will cooperate with a patients medical doctors to ensure their patients get the best care for their specific condition. For example, consider a patient that needs medication (cancer patient) and who also has back pain. The cooperation between a medical doctor and chiropractor can reduce the total number of drugs the patients must take by treating the back pain manually rather than with medication. This way, the dugs are used to treat cancer only, and there are less drugs in total in the patients body...less risk of overdose, less risk of drug interactions, less side effects from drugs, but instead a patient receiving the best care possible from 2 cooperating health care professions!!