There is a lot of misinformation about Chiropractic out there. Here are some common Myths and the facts about them.

Myth: Chiropractic is dangerous

We hear this one all the time, and it is not true. Here are the facts: All medical procedures and treatments have risks, chiropractic care is not an exception. The most common side effects of chiropractic care are mild soreness and temporary tiredness. Serious complications of chiropractic care are possible and include rib injury, disc herniation, sprain/strain, joint dislocation, and stroke (See below), but these complications are incredibly rare and almost always avoidable with a proper exam and history. If you would like, you can compare our side effects to those of drugs and surgery that would commonly be used to treat the same condition. Please give us a call or visit us in the office if you have specific questions or concerns.

Myth: Chiropractic causes stroke

This is a confusing myth with a lot of media attention and misinformation around it. To fully explain it there are some things you need to know. The kind of stroke in question is called a VBA Stroke and it happens when you get a tear in a specific blood vessel near the base of your skull. This kind of stroke is also different from most other kinds because it can take days or even weeks to happen and causes severe headaches and neck pain days before it becomes fatal.

There has been a lot of very high quality research done and here is what it says: There is a slight correlation between going to a chiropractic office and having a VBA stroke, but that same correlation also exists for medical offices and hospitals. This is because people with VBA strokes tend to go see their Medical Doctor or Chiropractor to get help for severe headaches and neck pain and these people are already having a stroke. If the doctor they go see fails to recognize that a stroke is causing the symptoms, then the stroke may progress and become fatal after the office visit. There is no evidence that chiropractic care causes strokes, we are just one of the most common places people go to when they are already having them.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2271108/

Source: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/9/5/e025219.full.pdf

Myth: Chiropractors are not real doctors

Chiropractic education is actually pretty similar to medical education. While individual curricula differ for both professions, the overall classroom and clinic hours are comparable, both professions have to undergo rigorous board exams, and are strictly controlled by government licensing bodies to ensure safe practice. Chiropractors generally study more neurology, diagnosis, anatomy, orthopedics, nutrition and diagnostic imaging, spinal manipulation and physiotherapy because we work more with the structural and neurological parts of the body. Medical Doctors generally study more chemistry, psychology, physiology, pharmacology and surgery as they are trained to treat internal issues using drugs and surgery. There is a difference in the structure of the education, Medical Doctors undergo a 4-year program with partial summer breaks and usually a 2 year residency. Chiropractors undergo a 4 year program with no summer breaks and clinical rotations. The quality of the chiropractic clinical rotations varies by school. For example, the clinical rotations at D'Youville College where Dr. Zeke and Dr. Joe went to school are among the best in the country. They included work on the ground floor of a major trauma hospital, a busy neurosurgery center, and several other outpatient clinics.

Myth: Once you start going, you have to keep going forever

This is not at all true. It can take time to correct long standing issues, because the body takes time to heal and re-train bad habits. The average effective treatment time according to the best research is 12 visits to resolve most uncomplicated problems, although this time can be made longer or shorter by other health conditions. It is not our job to keep you coming back, it is our job to get you back on your feet and give you the skills and knowledge to take care of your body on your own so you don’t have to keep coming back to see us. If we helped get you better, please tell your friends about us. We are here to help and the biggest thanks you can give us is to help us help others. 

Myth: Adjustments hurt

It is possible but rare to have some discomfort during an adjustment. This is usually only true in special cases where the patient has an underlying condition. Chiropractic adjustments are usually very pleasant and have a neurologic effect that decreases pain in the treated area. The skill of the chiropractor and the types of treatments they are versed in are large factors in determining the comfort of the adjustment. We are well-versed in a variety of different treatment techniques and will happily tailor our treatment to maximize your comfort.

Myth: Cracking your neck/back yourself is the same thing

It may make the same noise or feel good, but it does not have the same beneficial effects as an adjustment. Here is why: your spine is a series of bones stacked on top of each other. Between each bone there are multiple tiny joints that can get restricted or “stuck” and cause pain, reduced range of motion, muscle spasms, injury to the joint, etc., if not mobilized. The joints of the bones next to the “stuck” joints are usually moving more than they should because the body tries to compensate for the “stuck” area. When you are cracking your neck or back, you are likely moving the already mobile joint, not the “stuck” joint that is causing the problem. Chiropractors are trained to focus in on the “stuck” joint and get it to move without moving the joints next to it, thereby fixing the problem. There are also some cases where it is not safe to mobilize joints. Your chiropractor is trained to look for these cases and approach with caution, but if you are cracking your own joints it could be unsafe, even if you have done it before.

Myth: Chiropractic care is more expensive

Studies actually show that chiropractic care is as much as 20% cheaper than standard medical care for musculoskeletal issues and has fewer side effects.

An Example Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4834378/

Myth: Chiropractors only treat the spine

Chiropractors are trained to work on every joint, muscle, and ligament in the human body. Back pain is very common so we tend to see the most of that, but we treat the whole body. We are also trained to recognize and diagnose many conditions we do not treat, and we will refer you to the most appropriate type of care for your issue.

Chiropractic care leads to joint instability

There is no solid evidence of this, and believe us, we have looked. We are not moving joints beyond where they are meant to go, we are restoring the normal motion to restricted joints.

Myth: Chiropractors don’t do rehab exercises

Yes we do!  We are very highly trained to rehab all kinds of injuries, at all ages. Doctors of Physical Therapy and Physical Therapists have more of a reputation for it, and indeed they do specialize in it more than we do, but we do it too and get great results. In fact, we get a lot of the same training they do and use many of the same techniques. Also, interesting fact: most Physical Therapists can manipulate joints similar to the adjustments we do, although they do not specialize in it as much as we do.

Myth: Medical doctors, nurses, physical therapists, etc don’t like chiropractors, and vice versa.

Sadly, this actually is still the case in some areas. Most of it is due to ignorance of what we do and lack of working together. It is partly the fault of our profession because chiropractic colleges are separate from medical colleges, so many chiropractors don’t know how to connect or work with other kinds of healthcare providers. But many health care providers from all disciplines dismiss other disciplines as inferior. This is almost always because they are ignorant of what other professions do or have not had the opportunity to work with members of those other professions.  We come from the only multidisciplinary chiropractic school in the US, and learned alongside doctors, physician assistants, physical therapists, nurses, nurse practitioners, occupational therapists, pharmacists, dieticians etc. The truth is that each profession tends to do what they do better than any other and knowing how to work with each other and get people to the appropriate type of care for their issue is key to being a good healthcare provider.

Myth: The noise with adjustments is your bones cracking

The “pop” or “crack” that is sometimes heard during an adjustment is actually a phenomenon called a Cavitation. It is a small bubble of gas that is released from the fluid in-between the two surfaces of the joint when they are pulled apart quickly and cause a rapid decrease in pressure. The best analogy we can give is the “pop” made when pulling a suction cup off of a shower wall. It is essentially the same thing, on a much smaller, faster scale. It is possible for multiple joints to cavitate from a single adjustment or for one joint to cavitate multiple times. It is also common for an adjustment to produce no sound. This does not mean the adjustment was not effective.

MYTH: Chiropractors need to do X-rays in order to treat you safely.

This is not the case. Chiropractors can get all the information we need to treat you safely from through history and physical exam. X-rays use potentially harmful radiation and can cause more harm than good if they are over-used, or if proper safety procedures are not followed, such as shielding you with a lead apron to reduce your exposure to extra radiation. There are great evidence-based guidelines for when an x-ray is necessary, such as following major trauma. These guidelines can be found here. The practice of x-raying every patient is a hold over from many years ago when chiropractors had to have an x-ray to get paid by insurance companies. This is no longer the case and x-rays should only be used when necessary.