What is chiropractic care? What are the risks?
When it comes to alternative medicine and natural healing, chiropractic care tops the list of the most effective solutions to keep your body working as it should. You may know that chiropractic care has to do with joints and manipulations, or you may simply know it feels good when your chiropractor gets a “good crack” from your back and eases tension. But let’s take a step back.
What is chiropractic care and what are the risks associated with it?
We invite you to keep reading to discover the basics of chiropractic care, spinal manipulation, and chiropractic adjustments — and the risks you should know before you start.
What Is Chiropractic Care?
Chiropractic care describes the branch of alternative medicine that focuses on helping your body heal itself from mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system by re-aligning joints, bones, and muscles with manual therapy.
We realize that’s a mouthful. In layman’s terms, chiropractic care uses spinal manipulations and adjustments (like the pictures below) to fix or provide relief from certain spine, joint, and muscle disorders. It also enables your body to keep working as it should.
Common techniques chiropractors use are spinal manipulations and chiropractic adjustments on other body joints. When chiropractors perform spinal manipulations, they use their hands (or a device) to apply a quick, forceful pressure to your spine to relieve tension. Manipulation differs from mobilization, which simply uses the natural range of motion of a body part to relieve pain.
Chiropractors like the experts at Hershey Family Chiropractic often spend their first session with patients discussing the health issues, examining the body, and coming up with a plan of action (a treatment plan) designed to provide long-term relief. After all, when you create a work out plan for yourself, you don't stop working out the moment you achieve your strength goal. If you did, you’d lose your strength. It’s the same with chiropractic care: you need to maintain a well-adjusted spine through regular appointments for the best results!
What Are the Risks Associated With Chiropractic Care?
When performed by a licensed, knowledgeable chiropractor in a relaxing setting, there’s little to no risk associated with chiropractic care. Studies and data show that:
Visiting a chiropractor regularly can reduce personal pharmaceutical costs by 85%.
Visiting a chiropractor can reduce the likelihood of having to visit a hospital by 60%
Seventy-seven percent of people who saw a chiropractor described the experience as “very effective."
In some situations, chiropractic care was more effective than physical therapy and steroid injections for treating nerve pain.
Despite data in favor of chiropractic care, some rare situations do exist in which chiropractic adjustments and spinal manipulations carry risks. If you have severe osteoporosis, cancer in your spine, an increased risk of stroke, or a known abnormality in your neck, chiropractic adjustments may not be the best care plan for you.
Again, the experts at Hershey Family Chiropractic perform a thorough intake exam to understand the full picture of your body, address any risk factors, discuss potential challenges, and create a treatment plan that enables patients’ bodies to heal.
The Beauty of a Treatment Plan
Treatment plan creation and execution remains paramount to the success of chiropractic care. One spinal manipulation won’t fix a problem forever — it takes consistent work to train your body to heal in the correct way.
Sticking with your treatment plan ensures you get the most out of your spinal manipulations and chiropractic adjustments. Once your body becomes aligned and begins to learn how to heal, maintenance appointments won’t take as long. Your treatment plan soon pulls double duty: not only does it maintain the great feeling you get after an adjustment — it acts as a preventative treatment for joint, spine, neck, and back pain in the future.
What Our Clients Have Said
For many Americans, chiropractic care provides the pain relief other methods of medicine just can’t give. At offices like Hershey Family Chiropractic, ancillary services like massages and acupuncture add to the experience of lasting relief and realigning your body’s natural rhythm without relying on medication.
Don’t take it from us, though. With over 250 glowing client reviews, we’ll let our patients speak for themselves.
“My back and neck are so much better since I began having monthly visits at Hershey Family Chiropractic. It’s amazing. The staff is really good at communicating and super friendly. I’ve been to several other chiropractors in the area and this office is the best I’ve found.”
– Sue Kauffman
“Within five minutes of the [appointment starting], there was a clear understanding of what the issues were and a path of fixing it.”
– Somer Williams
It’s our goal to make chiropractic care accessible to the whole family, which is why we provide care for infants, pediatric patients, and adults. We also offer prenatal and postpartum care, acupuncture, massage, and more.
“Our family just moved to the area, and following several recommendations, decided to become a part of the Hershey Family Chiropractic group. They helped to make the transition from our prior family chiropractic center seamless. Office and staff were all extremely welcoming and Dr. Jen gave me the best adjustment I’ve had in a long time! I look forward to getting back on track with regular monthly adjustments and the added bonus — massage therapy!!!”
– Nicole Neuschwander
“I’ve received chiropractic care for almost 40 years. [This] provider is hands down the best chiropractor I have ever been to. Her adjustments are quick and painless. Their office is streamlined with short waits and multiple ancillary services if/when needed. They are kind and take time to explain things.”
– Jennifer Segessenman
It’s Time to Get Aligned
Now that you’re aware of what chiropractic care is and the inherent risks it carries, you may realize that chiropractic care can solve some of your physical issues. Whether you need chiropractic adjustments, spine manipulations, or a consultation to discover your options, we’re ready to help. Request an appointment today and take your first steps toward healing.
For new patients: Hershey Family Chiropractic takes a vested interest in integrative wellness practices. We require all patients to get an x-ray before we begin a treatment adjustment plan or perform manipulations.
