A doctor of chiropractic participates in a curriculum as rigorous as the one required for a general medical practitioner, but chiropractic study is specifically to correct functional problems of the spine. The major difference in the training of a D.C. and an M.D. is the method of treatment rendered to the similarly diagnosed conditions. Only a chiropractor can tell whether or not chiropractic can help. Doctors of chiropractic are trained to correct or restore misaligned vertebrae through a procedure called a “spinal adjustment.” The areas of misalignment that are treated are referred to as “subluxations.” Subluxations are slight dislocations or misalignments of two adjoining segments of the spine.

What does a Doctor of Chiropractic do?

Chiropractic has a different role in the healthcare system than the better-known medical model. The medical approach emphasizes repairing the body through external means. Chiropractic does not use the outside-in approach of fixing a body with drugs or surgery, but rather focuses on correction and restoration of health through more natural means. It is based on the fact that the spine and nervous system are directly linked to health. The brain is protected by the skull and the spinal cord is protected by the 24 moving bones of the spine. Nerve impulses flow from the brain, down the spinal cord, and to every organ and tissue in the body and respond back to the brain to confirm that the body is functioning properly. If there are problems with the function of these movable spinal bones, a variety of symptoms and pain syndromes can arise. A chiropractor looks to the spine and possible neurological involvement to determine the cause of the patients’ symptoms. If necessary, chiropractors will refer patients to other healthcare professionals. A chiropractor corrects the mechanical problems in the spine and thereby alleviates the interference with the nervous system. When these mechanical problems are corrected, the patient’s body is able to heal itself without drugs or surgery. The body is created with the ability to self-regulate and to self-heal, and these functions are controlled by the brain, spinal cord and other nerves of the body.