Q: I am seeing many of my afternoon TV shows talking about chiropractic more and more. Do you know of a reason for all of this recent hype?
A: Chiropractic got a bad shake in the middle 1900’s as it stood alone as a healing modality that did not use a pharmaceutical approach. It was at least by far the most popular nonmedical approach to healing. Because of this exposure and contradiction to common understanding of health at the time, the medical community was discouraged to speak of, promote, or certainly refer to a chiropractor. Times are changing. There is too much research and evidence to deny joint mobilization, best performed by a chiropractor, as the most effective and least expensive means of therapy. Below is an example of the change in perspective and why… chiropractic has had to survive some very bad and undeserved press, and it has done so because it works and people get results. The recent good press you are exposed to may be a result of the now accepted use of these services in our more mainstream medical model.
Consumer Reports, well known for helping individuals make the best decisions regarding their health, safety and pleasure, reports that healing hands are the best alternative medicine. The magazine asked over 34,000 readers how well alternative medicines work for what ails them. It found that many people have tried chiropractic, and more and more doctors are recommending it.
Readers rated the effectiveness of conventional and complementary treatments for their two biggest problems over the last two years. They were asked to respond whether these treatments helped a lot, helped some, helped a little, or were no help at all. Chiropractic ranked ahead of all conventional treatments for back pain. Deep-tissue massage was very popular, especially effective for osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia.
Since the inception of chiropractic medicine in 1895, chiropractors have stressed that spinal misalignment can affect the nervous system. Identifying and restoring the spinal structure through gentle, hands-on treatments can reduce pressure on sensitive neurological tissue. This basic tenet continues to be the emphasis that chiropractors whole-heartedly embrace and patients seek. This philosophy has origins going back to the Ancient Egyptians.
Medicine is necessary at times, but is shown to only mask pain for things like back and neck pain and headaches. We have come a long way to get to the understanding that the hands are still a useful tool in medicine and health. Talk with a chiropractor and see if you find one that can help you with your health issues.
If you would like more information, health tips and a newsletter from Advantage Health & Wellness PLLC, join our mailing list.
