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Doctors of Chiropractic are
primary health care providers.
According to the Center for
Studies in Health Policy, "The DC can provide all three levels of primary care
interventions and therefore is a primary care provider, as are MDs and DOs. The
doctor of chiropractic is a gatekeeper to the health care system and an
independent practitioner who provides primary care services. The DC's office is
a direct access portal of entry to the full scope of service."
Doctors of Chiropractic are
licensed in all 50 states in the US.
DCs have been licensed and
recognized for many decades in all states, the District of Columbia and Puerto
Rico.
Chiropractic is recognized
by governmental health care programs.
Chiropractic is included in
Medicare, Medicaid, Federal Employees Health Care Benefits Programs, Federal
Workers' Compensation and all state workers' compensation programs. Chiropractic
students are qualified to receive federal student loan assistance and DCs are
authorized to be commissioned as health care officers in the U.S. Armed
Forces.
The practice of
chiropractic is based on sound scientific principles.
The
existence of the nervous system as the primary control mechanism of the body is
an undisputed scientific fact. Its relationship with the spine is the focus of
the practice of chiropractic. The spine develops in utero to provide two primary
functions: (1) allow for freedom of movement and (2) house and protect the
spinal cord. When the vertebrae of the spine become misaligned through trauma or
repetitive injury, two major consequences will result: (1) the range of motion
becomes limited and (2) spinal nerves emerging from the spinal cord are
compromised. DCs use the term "subluxation" to describe such disruptions.
Interruption of nerve flow can eventually lead to pain, disability, and an
overall decrease in the quality of life. Conversely, the removal of that
interference has been shown to have significant, lasting health benefits.
Through the adjustment of the subluxation, the doctor of chiropractic endeavors
to restore normal nerve expression. The body is then able to respond
appropriately to any imbalance in the system, thus relieving symptoms and
restoring health.
Doctors of chiropractic
provide effective, low-cost health care for a wide range of
conditions.
Studies conducted according to the highest scientific
standards and published by organizations not affiliated in any way with
chiropractic institutions or associations continue to show the clinical
appropriateness and effectiveness of chiropractic care. One of the most recent,
funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health, stated emphatically that:
"On the evidence, particularly the most
scientifically valid clinical studies, spinal manipulation applied by
chiropractors is shown to be more effective than alternative treatments for low
back pain...There would be highly significant cost savings if more management of
low back pain was transferred from physician to chiropractors."
The doctor of chiropractic
is an effective source of preventative and wellness care.
The anatomical focus of the DC on the human spine has
created the perception of the DC as just a "back doctor." Although this
perception is not entirely incorrect, it is very much incomplete. Doctors of
chiropractic are a highly appropriate resource in matters of work-place safety,
stress management, injury prevention, postural correction and nutritional
counseling."
The process of chiropractic
adjustment is a safe, efficient procedure which is performed nearly one million
times every working day in the United States.
There is a singular
lack of actuarial data that would justify concluding that chiropractic care is
in any way harmful or dangerous. Chiropractic care is non-invasive, therefore,
the body's response to chiropractic care is far more predictable than its
reactions to drug treatments or surgical procedures. Of the nearly one million
adjustments given every day in this country, complications are exceedingly rare.
Perhaps the best summary statement on the subject of safety was published in
1979 by the Government of New Zealand which established a special commission to
study chiropractic. They found:
"The conspicuous lack of evidence that
chiropractors cause harm or allow harm to occur through neglect of medical
referral can be taken to mean only one thing: that chiropractors have on the
whole an impressive safety record."
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