Branchville Family Chiropractic Frequently Asked Questions
Common Answers to Questions We Hear
At Branchville Family Chiropractic, we realize that a big part of our responsibility in health care is in helping people to understand their body’s needs and how to best take care of themselves and their families so they can experience a greater degree of wellness. Here, you’ll find some of the questions we get most often about chiropractic care. We want to make sure you have the answers to make informed choices about your health.
Is a chiropractor a real doctor?
By the proper application of a chiropractic adjustment, chiropractic care allows the body to heal naturally-without the use of drugs or surgery. Chiropractors are the only health care professionals trained to detect and correct vertebral subluxations.
Chiropractic education is a postgraduate program with over 4800 hours of study. Chiropractic education is comparable to medical education, except that chiropractors spend more time studying diagnosis, neurology, radiology and orthopedics as well as chiropractic techniques.
To be licensed, chiropractors take four rigorous National Board exams and then must be licensed in each state that they practice. Most states require ongoing continuing education for licensure.
What are some of the conditions chiropractic care can address?
Ultimately, it’s not about how you feel; it’s about how you heal. A body free of nerve system interference heals better.
What is a vertebral subluxation?
When this occurs, communication between the brain and body is altered or interrupted, resulting in altered body function or loss of health. Chiropractors are trained to locate, analyze and correct vertebral subluxations in the spine by use of the chiropractic adjustment.
Rarely, you may experience a slight discomfort during or after your adjustment. If you have a fresh injury of a spinal joint, there may be inflammation of the muscles or tendons surrounding the joint or irritation of the nerves in the joint that could make any motion, including the adjustment, painful.
In the case of a chronic condition, as the bones, muscles and ligaments begin to move again, you may feel some discomfort afterward, much like how your muscles feel after starting a new workout routine. This effect is only temporary, however, and most people quickly experience positive changes in how they feel, in their energy levels and their overall health.
Is it possible to hurt somebody by adjusting their spine, particularly their neck?
An adjustment moves the stuck bone within its normal range of motion and unlocks the vertebrae from their stuck position, so the body is able to restore harmony and balance to the nerve system. When free of interference, the body is better able to heal.
Once you begin chiropractic care, do you have to come forever?
We regularly educate our patients about how chiropractic works and what chiropractic care does to help their bodies to function better. We also empower our patients to make informed health choices and yes, many choose lifetime care.
At what age can you begin chiropractic care? And, at what age is chiropractic care no longer safe?
