Chiropractic is the largest, most regulated, and best recognized of the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) professions. It is the third largest doctoral-level health care profession after medicine and dentistry. (Meeker, Haldeman; 2002; Annals of Internal Medicine). There are more than 60,000 active chiropractic licenses in the United States. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands officially recognize chiropractic as a health care profession.

In 2002, approximately 7.4 percent of the population used chiropractic care – a higher percentage than yoga, massage, acupuncture or other diet-based therapies. (Tindle HA, Davis RB, Phillips RS, Eisenberg DM. Trends in use of complementary and alternative medicine by US adults: 1997-2002. Altern Ther Health Med. 2005 Jan-Feb;11(1):42-9.)

Doctors of Chiropractic undergo at least four years of professional study. The Council on Chiropractic Education, an agency certified by the Department of Education, currently recognizes 15 chiropractic programs at 18 different locations. In addition, Doctors of Chiropractic must pass national board examinations and become state-licensed prior to practicing.

Doctors of Chiropractic provide care in hospitals and other multidisciplinary health care facilities. A few notable examples of chiropractic integration into today’s health care system include the chiropractic department at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and the care provided to veterans, active-duty military personnel, and Medicare patients.

To check out a short link that is created by the American Chiropractic Association, to get additional information, click here.

Nearly 82 percent of all doctors of chiropractic are in full-time practice, with the average chiropractor working between 40 to 45 hours per week.

The majority (61 percent) of chiropractors work in an office in which they are the only doctor. Nearly one-third (31 percent) share an office with one or more chiropractors. The remaining doctors work in a multi-disciplinary setting, work in academia, or conduct research.

According to data from 2003, 82 percent of chiropractic practitioners are male.

More than 35 percent of patients receiving chiropractic care were being treated for mid-or low-back pain, and almost 20 percent were being treated for neck pain. More than half of those surveyed said that their symptoms were chronic.

Approximately 60 percent of all chiropractic patients are female. Conditions commonly treated by chiropractors include, but are not limited to, back pain, neck pain, headaches, sports injuries, motor vehicle accident injuries, and repetitive strains. Patients also seek treatment of pain associated with other conditions, such as arthritis.

Educational requirements for doctors of chiropractic are among the most stringent of any of the health care professions.

The typical applicant at a chiropractic college has already acquired nearly four years of pre-medical undergraduate college education, including courses in biology, inorganic and organic chemistry, physics, psychology and related lab work. Once accepted into an accredited chiropractic college, the requirements become even more demanding — four to five academic years of professional study are the standard. Because of the hands-on nature of chiropractic, and the intricate adjusting techniques, a significant portion of time is spent in clinical training.

Doctors of chiropractic — who are licensed to practice in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in many nations around the world — undergo a rigorous education in the healing sciences, similar to that of medical doctors. In some areas, such as anatomy, physiology, and rehabilitation, they receive more intensive education than most medical doctors or physical therapists.

Like other primary health care doctors, chiropractic students spend a significant portion of their curriculum studying clinical subjects related to evaluating and caring for patients. Typically, as part of their professional training, they must complete a minimum of a one-year clinical-based program dealing with actual patient care. In total, the curriculum includes a minimum of 4,200 hours of classroom, laboratory and clinical experience. The course of study is approved by an accrediting agency which is fully recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. This has been the case for more than 25 years.

Before they are allowed to practice, doctors of chiropractic must pass national board examinations and become state-licensed. Chiropractic colleges also offer post-graduate continuing education programs in specialty fields ranging from sports injuries and occupational health to orthopedics and neurology. These programs allow chiropractors to specialize in a healthcare discipline or meet state re-licensure requirements.

This extensive education prepares doctors of chiropractic to diagnose health care problems, treat the problems when they are within their scope of practice and refer patients to other health care practitioners when appropriate.

Results are typically quick, using our methods. It’s not unusual for our patients to feel significant relief after their first visit and the vast majority of our patients see good improvement within 4 to 6 visits. Treatment beyond 6 visits may be required for those patients with more chronic or complicated problems, but who have begun to show improvement. Treatment duration and frequency will vary depending on the severity and complexity of your complaint.

ACTIVE RELEASE TECHNIQUE© is a patented, state-of-the-art soft tissue system that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they often result from injury to over-used muscles. ART is performed by hand. Active Release is used to:

Release or reduce restrictive scar tissue and adhesions that form following injury.
Free muscles from adhesions to neighboring muscles and connective tissue that can cause painful movement.
Break up scar tissue that causes nerve entrapment and associated numbness, pain, tingling and weakness.
Release trigger points that can cause referred pain to a more distant body part or site.
Speed the recovery from injury by helping scar tissue to form properly.

AMIT is a technique that works to “re boot” your computer when a  much needed muscle has gone off line from trauma and / or overuse.  While we think of muscles working to move our body, they also work hard to protect the joint that they ultimately control.  When a muscle is “inhibited”, the joint it protects comes under stress and that pain can be very loud.  Dr. Kelli Pearson is certified in this work and finds it to be a great complement for those cases that don’t respond to manipulation and active release.  For more information:  Click here

Dr. Craig Buhler, the instructor of this course has a terrific web site that gives you much more detailed content. Click here

Although chiropractors care for more than just back pain, many patients visit chiropractors looking for relief from this pervasive condition. In fact, 31 million Americans experience low-back pain at any given time.

One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year. Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work. In fact, back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections.

Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic—meaning they are not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer.

Americans spend at least $50 billion each year on back pain—and that’s just for the more easily identified costs.
Experts estimate that as many as 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some time in our lives.