Here’s Why You Should Start Seeing a Chiropractor
Every year, approximately 5 million Canadians visit a chiropractor.
Chiropractors are among a group of Canadian healthcare professionals that are well-positioned to not only diagnose and treat illness, but also to engage people in our communities in active preventative healthcare. Chiropractic care can be a beneficial stand-alone treatment option, or it can be integrated into a treatment plan with another discipline (ex. Physiotherapy) for best results.
Similarly to physiotherapists, chiropractors use the best available evidence and clinical expertise to diagnose issues that affect your body’s movement. They treat them without medication or surgery and help prevent them from returning. In addition to alleviating your pain and helping to restore your function, chiropractic care can also promote health and improve your quality of life.
A chiropractor has received extensive training – at least seven years of post-secondary academic and clinical education – in how to evaluate, diagnose, recommend and deliver a treatment plan that manages issues within the musculoskeletal and nervous system. Additionally, their education includes courses in radiology, pain management, prescribed exercise and rehabilitation, among others. Some also pursue additional academic and practical education to specialize in other areas, like clinical sciences, diagnostic imaging, pediatric, rehabilitation, sports sciences, and animal chiropractic care.
Contact Leaps and Bounds: Performance Rehabilitation today if you want to learn more about how chiropractic care can improve your health and wellness.
What does chiropractic care do?
Chiropractic care is widely recognized as one of the safest, drug-free, non-invasive therapies available for treating headaches, neck and back pain, as well other muscle, joint or nervous system issues. Some of the conditions chiropractors treat include:
- Back pain
- Neck pain
- Strains
- Sprains
- Pain associated with arthritis
- Work, motor vehicle accidents, and sports injuries
During an initial visit, your chiropractor will seek to better understand your current health. If you have an X-ray or other imaging report, it is important to bring it with you so that your chiropractor can put it into context and help you better understand the big picture. They will ask specific questions and perform various tests and measures to help diagnose the issues affecting your body’s movement. If they suspect you have a condition that’s more appropriate for another healthcare professional to treat, they’ll make a referral and coordinate with
your healthcare team to support your treatment with chiropractic care, as needed.
After diagnosing your condition, your chiropractor will discuss your preferences for treatment options. They’ll work with you to determine the best treatment plan to restore your mobility, relieve your pain and help prevent it from returning. Before beginning any treatment, your chiropractor will explain the diagnosis and treatment plan. They will then answer any questions you may have, so you are confident to give your informed written
consent. Your plan may include various treatments, such as:
- Manual, ‘hands-on’ therapy
- Customized, therapeutic exercises
- Soft tissue therapy
- Electronic modalities
- Acupuncture
- Self-management strategies (ex. positions for relief and pain management techniques)
- Advice and education
One of the most frequent treatments a chiropractor uses is hands-on, manual manipulation of the vertebrae of your spine or other joints, which is called an ‘adjustment.’ To perform an adjustment, your chiropractor will use their hands to apply controlled force to your joint and guide it through a range of motion. This evidence-based therapy restores your joint’s natural movement and improves your ability to move through your day without pain As chiropractic adjustment techniques are well-researched, complications are rare and side effects, such as temporary soreness, are usually minor.
Is chiropractic care effective?
A growing body of evidence-based research offers proof chiropractic care works. It does this by demonstrating the value of chiropractic care in addressing conditions affecting your spine, muscles, joints or nervous system. Some key evidence-based highlights are cited below.
Reduced medication and opioid use:
- A 2019 U.S. study found that 64 per cent of patients who saw a chiropractor were less likely to use opioids than people who didn’t, as reported in the journal Pain Medicine.
- 83 per cent of patients surveyed now rely less on medication, including opioids, to help manage their low back pain, after receiving care from a musculoskeletal (spine, muscle or joint) expert, such as a chiropractor, at one of Ontario’s government-funded Primary Care Low Back Pain program sites.
- 2017 Canadian Guideline for Opioid Therapy and Chronic Non-Cancer Pain recommends therapies without medication, such as spinal or joint manipulation and therapeutic exercise, for treating back pain, as well as neck pain, knee osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and severe headaches or migraines.
Pain relief:
- The American College of Physicians Low Back Pain Systemic Review demonstrated that exercise is effective for reducing long-term (chronic) low back pain and spinal manipulation provided better short-term pain relief than other active interventions.4
- Studies have shown people who receive chiropractic care are more likely to be physically able to work in a shorter duration of time.5
How can I get started with chiropractic care?
Because each patient is different, specific treatments and techniques may differ from case to case.
Following a thorough evaluation, the most appropriate care plan for you will be designed to account for the best possible results. To get started on your customized treatment plan, contact Leaps and Bounds: Performance Rehabilitation today. We look forward to helping you as we have many in our Oakville community.