Chiropractic is one of the best-kept secrets in health care. It is the largest natural health care profession in the world. Studies show that chiropractic patients undergo fewer surgeries, need fewer drugs, and suffer fewer health concerns than the general public. Unsurprisingly, chiropractic enjoys extremely high patient satisfaction rates.
This profession helps restore health naturally, without the use of drugs or surgery. Chiropractic helps us better deal with stress, perform better in all areas of life and prevent future health issues.
Regular chiropractic care dramatically improves the brain-body connection, increasing health and resistance from the inside-out, while decreasing our chances of getting sick.
Chiropractic is not limited to people with specific health concerns – it is for everybody, regardless of symptoms, age, or physical / mental conditions. Due to its extremely high levels of safety and efficacy, more than 25 million people choose chiropractic every year to improve their health naturally.
Physical benefits
- Improves performance / output.
- Pain relief.
- Contributes to improved skin elasticity and healing.
- Improves immune function (better resistance to infection).
- Increases lung capacity.
- Improves sexual function.
- Better agility, balance and posture.
Emotional benefits
- Feelings of wellness, peace and ease.
- Better moods.
- Improved stress management.
- Reduced anxiety.
Mental benefits
- Improved cognitive function.
- Better focus / concentration.
- Improved sleep quality.
- Enhanced memory.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines chiropractic as “a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on general health.”
The majority of the EU member countries, as well as many countries around the world, recognize chiropractic as a primary health care profession. These include: France, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Germany, UK, all of the Nordic countries, as well as the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Australia. Due to its extremely high levels of safety and efficacy, most of these countries have incorporated chiropractic into their national health care systems.
As described by the WHO, “Chiropractic places an emphasis on manual treatments including spinal adjustments, other joint manipulation, and patient education.” For that reason, the selected studies (in the dossier below) focus on the most commonly utilized interventions used by chiropractors and their effect on patient outcome measures.
Natural chiropractic
Chiropractic is the largest natural health care profession in the world. By working with the spine and nervous system, chiropractors focus on strengthening the brain-body connection and increasing health naturally. The objective of chiropractic is to improve function, correct postural issues, decrease pain, and increase the body’s ability to heal itself.
Some of the other tools chiropractors often use in practice:
- Breathing techniques
- Relaxation / Visualization techniques
- Exercises to strengthen and stabilize the body
Instead of only treating pain and symptoms, chiropractors help bring the body back into balance naturally, increasing its ability to deal with stress, improving function and boosting overall health.
Scientific evidence regarding the safety of chiropractic
Recently, the Spanish Chiropractic Association (AEQ) compiled the most up to date, top-shelf scientific studies to answer the question: Is chiropractic safe?
The answer is a resounding, “Yes, definitely.”
Since its inception in 1895, chiropractic has proven time and time again to be one of the safest health care professions in the world. As is true with every health care profession, chiropractic is not completely risk-free. However, the possible risks associated with chiropractic are both minor and temporary.
A chiropractor’s principal intervention is the vertebral adjustment. The most common adverse reactions associated with a chiropractic adjustment are: muscle soreness, dizziness, headache, and pins and needles in the arms or legs, though all of these symptoms are rare. One study in the UK looked at 20.000 patient files and found that no serious side effects, and very few minor adverse effects, were observed.
Another follow-up study of 500 patients a year later showed that these minor adverse effects did not reduce the long term efficacy (3 months) of chiropractic care. Both of these studies were published in the prestigious medical journal, Spine.
Is chiropractic effective?
Chiropractic care is extremely effective. According to Dr. Michael Schneider, Professor of Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh:
“Overwhelming evidence shows that chiropractors tend to have very high patient satisfaction rates. From a public health perspective, we’d see a lot fewer unnecessary tests and hospitalizations and opioid prescriptions if people visited chiropractors for their back and neck pain.”
One of the most extensive reports in scientific literature on back pain, The Magna Report – financed by the Ontario Canada’s Ministry of Health in 1993, showed that spinal manipulation by chiropractors for low back pain is more effective, safer, and is more cost-effective for low back pain than medical treatments.
It was also reported that injured workers with low back pain returned to work much sooner when treated by chiropractors than by medical physicians.