Have you ever heard of chiropractic?  If so, have you ever been to a chiropractor?  There are people who say, “I don’t believe in chiropractic” without even trying it (it’s not a religion, it is a health care alternative.)  Chiropractic works.  Period.  Chiropractors are trained to take your history, exam and x-ray findings and figure out the cause of the problem.  When you pop a prescription pill, it masks the body’s ability to tell you that there is something wrong.  That pain, headache, numbness or soreness is there for a very specific reason.  When you ignore those “symptoms“, you are causing more harm and damage to your body.

Chiropractic is a “new” profession (1895), but bone setting has been around since Ancient Times.  The first written medical text about bone setting is dated in 1552 BC.  Bone setters would treat fractures and do amputations (along with manipulation).  Chiropractic does not.  (Thank goodness, I want to help people feel better, not set a fracture or take limbs!)  Chiropractic focuses on adjusting specific areas of the spine and extremities to reduce dysfunction and pain.

Chiropractic was coined after the father of chiropractic, Daniel David Palmer (D.D. Palmer), who adjusted Harvey Lillard, a janitor in the building he worked in.  Harvey was almost completely deaf.  After the adjustment, Harvey said that his hearing was almost completely restored.  Prior to adjusting Harvey, D.D. was a magnetic healer and spiritualist.  D.D. developed the theory that misalignments of the bones in the body was the cause of all “disease” and most of these misalignments were in the spine.  So, in 1897 he opened Palmer School of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa.

There are many different techniques and modalities when it comes to chiropractic.  Some chiropractors only work with babies and others only the elderly (in my practice we work with all ages and conditions.)  There are low force techniques such as Basic, Activator, or Thompson.  As well as, high-velocity, low amplitude adjustments (you hear the “pop”) such as Diversified or Gonstead (in my office we use Diversified, basic and/or Thompson. So, we have both styles of technique.)  There are some chiropractors who have “open” treatment rooms.  Which means there is just one huge adjusting room.  Other chiropractors have individual treatment rooms.  Some make you change into gowns if you’re a woman or take your shirt off if you are a man (in my office you get a gown and go shirtless.)  This is helpful in many ways: 1) We use ultrasound with high volt, cold laser, diathermy and e-stim; 2) We can see the area we are working on, so we can see if there are any rashes, shingles, wounds, etc.; 3) We get a better manual (hand) contact for the adjustment.  Some offices, you are in and out in 5 minutes, others it’s 30 (ours is 30 or more, depending on how much we get to talking!)

Short History of Medicine

Medicine as we know it is actually a very young profession. Previous to 1898, doctors would use herbs, oils and spices to treat ailments. In 1898, Heroin was introduced onto the market. First it was thought that it was not addicting, but they soon found out that it was very addicting and had it pulled. The next “pill” that was introduced was Aspirin, in 1899. Bayer introduced it to German doctors due to its effectiveness. (Common side effects of aspirin are: rash, ulcers, upset stomach and pain, heartburn, drowsiness, headache, nausea, and bleeding.)  In 1900, Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup, (whose primary ingredient is Morphine) was introduced.  Many children overdosed and were killed each year.  By 2013, the FDA had approved 1,453 drugs.  Almost 70 percent of Americans take one prescription drug with over half taking 2 or more.

Each year, approximately 100,000 people die from prescription pills due to their side effects (not because of mis-prescribing or overdose).  In 2009, it was estimated that there was 450,000 preventable medication related adverse events every year in the U.S. and nearly 4.6 million drug related visits to an ER nationwide.  More than half were due to adverse reactions to a prescription, where most were being taken as prescribed by their doctor. (When a drug commercial comes on TV, close your eyes and listen.  When you aren’t watching the pretty butterflies in the field or the beautiful woman doing yoga, you hear ALL the side effects!)

These are very scary statistics.  Drugs are not tested in conjunction with other drugs.  They are tested alone.  So, when you take more than one prescription, you can very easily be causing a drug interaction, that was not intended.  Prescriptions have their place and time and can be lifesaving.  I personally think people should be careful on masking pain or taking pills for common illnesses that will pass.  When you figure out what is the cause of a problem, it is better to treat the problem, not the symptom.  A lot of conditions can be “cured or managed” with chiropractic, physical therapy, diet, and exercise.

Healing Naturally Seems Like a Thing of the Past

Our body was made with an immune system.  The function of the immune system is to fight off bacteria and viruses.  The immune response to fighting off illness is to elicit a fever and makes the body less favorable to replication of viruses and bacteria (for more info on fevers click on this Fancy fever study or an interesting article on fevers here).  The chiropractors approach on fevers and illness is to adjust the entire spine.  When the body is in optimal condition, the body can fight more efficiently.

If you have a child, it is very easy to run to urgent care or the ER when they are sick.  They will be given some type of medicine and you will think it’s helping.  A child, just like an adult, needs to have fluids (warm or hot fluids, NO ICE!) and rest.  When you give cold beverages or food to someone who is sick, your body has to warm up that item.  This in turn decreases the immune system, which is exactly what we don’t want when we are sick!   We need immune system boosters, like Vitamin C, zinc, Echinacea, elderberry and broth.

Back to Pain

There are 5 signs of inflammation: pain, swelling, heat, redness and loss of function.  When you are in acute injury (short term lived), you will have some of every sign present.  When you are in acute phase it is best to try and “fix” the problem as soon as you can.  If you wait to see if it goes away or take a pain reliever, you start to cause damage to the area.  When symptoms have been left without correcting the problem, your body will start to put down “extra” bone into the area.  Which results in spurs, degeneration, and chronic inflammation.

In our office, for conditions such as: cough, sinusitis, pneumonia, asthma, or bronchitis, we use a machine called a diathermy.  Diathermy heats up tissue to help break up unhealthy tissue and allow the body to heal (by decreasing inflammation and allowing you to cough up irritants in the lungs.)  For conditions such as: bursitis, tendonitis, “golfer’s elbow” and “tennis elbow“, we use a cold laser.  Cold laser produces ATP (food source) for the cell to help restore tissue.  It also produces endorphins (the feel-good hormone).  For conditions such as: sprain/strain, muscle tightness, pain, numbness, tingling, (list goes on and on) we use high volt with ultrasound and interferential current.  Both help bring in new blood flow to the area, while reducing soreness and pain.  Without new blood flow, you cannot heal properly.  Lastly, we adjust the area of complaint.  Which helps restore range of motion and nerve function.

Most insurances cover chiropractic, depending on your policy and deductible. Although, not all chiropractors take insurance.  Some are simply a cash practice, which allows them to charge what they want.  At offices that accept insurance, they also have a cash price, if you do not have insurance.  So, you would just need to call your local chiropractor and see if the insurance you have is one that their office accepts (not all insurance companies are created equal!)

Questions, Questions

What has been holding you back from trying chiropractic?  A study in 2007 compared care costs of a patient under the direction of a chiropractor as their primary care physician (PCP) vs. a medical doctor.  After 70,000 members were studied, spanning a 7-year period, hospital admission costs were decreased by 60.2%, cost of days spent in the hospital were decreased by 59%, and outpatient surgeries and procedures were down by 62%.  In 2012, a systemic review found spinal manipulation therapy to be more cost-effective for neck and low back pain when compared with medical care, PT or exercise.

A question that I get asked a lot is: “If I start going to a chiropractor, won’t I always have to go?”  Absolutely not!  Although you will probably want to go!  Chiropractic makes you feel better and live a healthier life.  When your body is functioning as it should be, you don’t get sick as often or have aches and pains.  Why would you not want to feel AMAZING all the time?

If you’re hesitant to try chiropractic, call a chiropractor and set up a consultation.  We are more than happy to answer any questions you may have or if we can help you.  You can ask about what techniques are offered or if they do therapy or not.  Depending on what you want out of your experience and care, you may need to do a little research.  I have patients that were scared to death of the adjustment before coming to my office.  After explaining the process and procedures, they feel very comfortable and relaxed.

It’s very easy to chase symptoms with a chiropractor. Many patients tend to discontinue care when they don’t hurt anymore. The major problem with this, is that when you don’t correct the problem, the symptoms will always come back. You will actually save money by following the chiropractors’ treatment plan. In our office we typically see new patients or conditions 3x a week for 2 weeks, then re-evaluate. When you are able to build on each treatment, you get better quicker. I like to say it’s like building a brick wall. You have to stack the bricks up to actually start creating the wall. If you space out the    treatments too far apart, you end up starting over each time and you don’t get any true relief of pain or correction.

Going to a chiropractor is investing in your quality of life (and it is a true investment). You can get teeth replaced, or get any slew of plastic surgery to correct things you don’t like. But, you only have one spine. (I’ve never heard of a full spine replacement!!) Just like getting your teeth cleaned every 6 months, you should get your spine checked! Sitting, lifting, falling, walking; everything you do effects your spine. So doesn’t it make sense to keep in proper alignment by getting adjusted? Don’t chase symptoms. Fix the problem!

~Dr. Lacey~

Carder Chiropractic Clinic, Inc.
El Reno, OK 73036