Chiropractic treatment is focused on helping you with conditions of your musculoskeletal and nervous systems. Disorders in these systems can have a negative impact on your overall health. Some of these problems include joint, neck, and back pain, and they also can include chronic headaches. Chiropractors are skilled diagnosticians and also have training so that they can recommend rehabilitative and therapeutic exercises along with lifestyle and dietary changes.
Facts about chiropractic
Here are some facts about chiropractic that you might find interesting:
- Chiropractors must pass four national board exams and be licensed in their states to practice, and there are 77,000 chiropractors in the U.S. who have those qualifications. An additional 3,000 doctors of chiropractic work in other roles such as academics and management.
- There are 18 nationally accredited graduate programs in chiropractic with an estimated 10,000 students in the U.S.
- Each year, 2,500 new chiropractors become a part of the workforce.
- Chiropractors must attend four-year doctoral graduate programs, and the curriculum requires at least 4,200 classroom, clinical internship, and laboratory hours.
- There are around 40,000 chiropractic assistants in the U.S.
- Most states and the federal Medicare program consider chiropractors to be equivalent to physicians.
- Chiropractic services are payable by state and federal workers’ compensation, the VA, Medicaid, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
The American College of Physicians released guidelines in 2017 for low back pain that recommended using conservative treatments, including spinal manipulation, before using prescription drugs to alleviate pain. The Journal of the American Medical Association also published a study that made the recommendation of using spinal manipulation for low back pain as a first-line treatment.
High ratings for care
Chiropractic patients also are happy with their treatment, with 95 percent who have had it in the past year reporting that it was effective and 97 percent reporting that they are likely to see a chiropractor in the future if they have back or neck pain. People rate chiropractors higher for help with low back pain than they do physical therapists, medical doctors, and medical doctor specialists such as orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons.
Other reasons to choose chiropractic
The abuse of opioid pain medications has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. At the same time, spinal fusions have also increased by more than 500 percent in the past 10 years. Chiropractors can help to alleviate pain without the need for prescription drugs, and they may help you to avoid having to undergo spinal fusion surgery. Chiropractors work closely together with their patients and help them to improve the quality of their lives through their collaborative approaches.
How Absolute Health Chiropractic Can Help
If you are suffering from pain in your back, neck, or joints, seeking help from Dr. Weigle at Absolute Health Chiropractic in Gainesville, Florida can make the difference for you. Dr. Weigle is dedicated to helping her patients to alleviate their pain and to improve their overall health. To learn more, schedule an appointment by calling (352) 377-7373.