People love to talk, don’t they? Sometimes it feels like they like to talk most confidently about that which they know the least about. There are a lot of myths circulating out there about Chiropractic care. As a chiropractor in Springfield, Illinois I’ve heard them all. Many of them seem to originate from this:
Instead of allowing rumors to run through the mill and back again, I want to confront these myths head on. Who better to drop truth bombs than an actual chiropractor who interacts with patients dealing with pain every day? Janet from two blocks over who says that her husband is the top producer in his company, but she drives a Pontiac Bonneville in Cappuccino? Someone has to tell her they stopped making that car in 2005, I can’t do everything around here.
Myth 1: Chiropractors Are Quacks
This kind of smack usually comes from someone who has never experienced the benefits of chiropractic care. They rely on OTC painkillers or prescription pain relievers to manage their pain and think their daily headache is totally normal, it’s just because they haven’t had their wine yet.
Chiropractors are real doctors, they undergo real, extensive training with a total of 4,620 real, educational hours, compared with an MD’s 4,800. They must use those last 180 hours learning how to take advantage of pharmaceutical kickbacks at the expense of their patient’s health.
After undergraduate and four or five years of graduate school, Chiropractors are required to take state and national exams to obtain licenses, not to mention the hours of Continuing Education every year to maintain our expertise. If there’s any concern, engage the doc in a conversation, test their knowledge, prod them for information, ask them to explain things clearly. We love educating our patients so they can take ownership of their health care.
Myth 2: Once You Start Going to a Chiropractor You Can Never Stop
This is a common concern of many new patients at the Springfield Wellness Center. The amount of care you seek is completely up to you. We will sit down and create a care plan that includes timeline and recommended number of sessions, but the follow through is all on you.
Depending on the issue, there may be more frequent visits initially, but those usually taper off over time. Many patients chose to come in for regular maintenance because they understand that chiropractic care is incredible at preventing injury and illness. Adjustments allow for proper nervous system function which keeps the body operating properly and allows it to heal and fight infection. They also improve joint strength and stability which will prevent those injuries that are embarrassing to talk about, like rolling an ankle on a camping trip while trying to find a secluded place for a bathroom break.
Myth 3: Chiropractic Care is Dangerous
Showering is dangerous. Tweeting is dangerous. This is dangerous:
Many people assume Chiropractic care is dangerous because it’s rooted in the spine, which is critical for sustaining life. This is not so much an argument for Chiropractic’s safety as it is an argument for its necessity. Nevertheless, chiropractic care remains far safer than surgery or other forms of pain management.
Chiropractic treatments are utilized to prevent surgery and to relieve pain far more effectively than habit forming opioids or over-the-counter pain relievers with their nasty side effects. Chiropractic is all about allowing the body to heal itself, what could be more natural than that?
Myth 4: Chiropractic Care is Expensive
Give me your address and I’ll send a calculator.
Many insurance companies, including the labyrinth behemoth that is Medicare, cover chiropractic visits. Chiropractic care is designed to prevent illness and injury, which limits trips to the doctor or hospital. It also helps in avoiding expensive, long-term, and invasive treatments like medication and surgery. Studies have found that chiropractic care is 40% cheaper than going to a doctor for the same issue.
Myth 5: Chiropractors Can Only Treat Back Pain
So many people are missing out on the incredible benefits of chiropractic care because they don’t fully understand what it does.
Chiropractic focuses on the health of the spine because all of our body’s functions are dependent on the nerve communications that pass through the spine. If the spine is misaligned it can cause all types of pain and dysfunction throughout the body because the brain is unable to communicate properly with our body. Correcting these misalignments can ease chronic low back pain and neck pain, but they can also:
- Reduce inflammation
- Enhance the immune system
- Decrease mental and physical stress
- Improve sleep
- Increase energy levels
- Relieve muscle tension
- Address headaches and migraines
- Manage arthritis
- Improve digestion and bowel regularity
- Reduce colic, acid reflux, and ear infections in children
- Improve respiration and asthma
- Improve joint strength and stability
- Create healthier pregnancies
- Correct scoliosis
It would be a mistake to pigeon hole chiropractors, because so many opportunities for vital health and healing would be missed. What’s that famous saying about underestimating something…
Yeah. That’s definitely it.
Myth 6: It’s Only For Adults
This is not how babies are born:
This is:
Subluxations, misalignments in the spine, can happen as early as birth. Plus, just think about how many times kids fall learning how to walk, or ride a bike, or climb a tree. OSHA estimates that children experience 1,500 traumas to the spine before their 5th birthday. That’s on top of the 25,000 emotional traumas they experience before their 18th birthday…middle school is rough. Not only is chiropractic care completely safe for kids, it’s proven to improve their:
- Foundation for growth and brain development
- Colic and ear infections
- Ability to breastfeed
- Sleeping habits
- Ability to concentrate and manage behavioral disorders
- Immune function
- Digestive issues
As their perfect, adorable, little bodies grow into disgusting, abhorrent, compromised adult bodies, chiropractic care will help their spine develop correctly, ensuring proper nerve function which facilitates healthy neural development and growth throughout the body.
Chiropractic adjustments aren’t just good for kids…
Myth 7: Adjustments are Painful
I’ve been referred to as “Bone Crusher”, a relic from middle school when I accidentally ate an entire chicken wing. The ENTIRE wing. These crazy YouTube videos that show violent adjustments with loud cracking don’t do much to help me shake that name.
At the Springfield Wellness Center, that is NOT how we do adjustments. Adjustments are intended to relieve pain, not cause it. It is possible to have a little soreness afterwards, but as that improves the chronic pain that a patient has felt melts away as the body is restored. Adjustments relax and relieve tension as well as trigger the release of serotonin, a natural mood enhancer.
The loud cracking noises aren’t even bone on bone contact rather the sound of gas and fluid moving through the joints. Most chiropractors I know won’t participate in this foolishness. We’ve decided it’s more important to provide simple, specific, and gentle adjustments rather than become a viral YouTube sensation.
Myth 8: Chiropractic Care Isn’t Effective
Consult one of our over 400 Google reviews and then make a determination about whether or not chiropractic has changed lives for the better. And those are just the people gracious enough to take the time to write a review.
We don’t follow a cookie-cutter approach with our care, because everybody is going through something different. We craft our care to the needs of each patient, which is why we get such incredible results. We work with our patients to create new habits and lifestyle changes that lead to sustainable improved health. These improvements postpone or prevent surgery and keep patients off of prescription drugs traditionally used to manage pain.
Chiropractic care is so effective because it is based in science. The nervous system controls and regulates the ENTIRE body, from the teeniest tiniest cell to the largest organ system. Our nervous system lives in and around the spine. If the spine is damaged or misaligned, the nervous system is compromised and the body begins to break down causing pain and disease.
Chiropractic care may seem mysterious and intimidating, but we’re working hard to educate our community about the incredible impact it can have on our overall health. Chiropractic care is safe, effective, relatively inexpensive, good for more than just lower back pain relief, for anyone with a spine, rooted in science, and practiced by real doctors who are interested in meeting patients on their terms and helping them to thrive.
Give us a call or schedule a time to meet with one of our incredible doctors. Bring all the myths to us, we’re more than happy to bust each and every one of them. It’s time for you to get back to living a productive, pain-free, joy-filled life!