When performed by a health care professional with the appropriate training and skill, chiropractic adjustments are commonly very comfortable and do not produce any pain. However, just like any therapeutic intervention, some adjustments can produce some pain and be slightly uncomfortable within an individual’s level of tolerance. This is typically no longer than a matter of a few seconds. Chiropractic adjustments often result in immediate relief of symptoms and this can last from hours to days. Individuals of all ages, from infants to the elderly can benefit from chiropractic treatment, even pregnant women. Visiting a chiropractor has become a part of the regular health routine for many people throughout North America and in around the world.

The benefits of chiropractic care spread much farther than helping with only back pain. Chiropractors do focus on correcting structural displacements of the vertebrae but these corrections have many benefits to one’s overall health and wellness. Chiropractors have the ability to assist patients with conditions relating to sleep, headaches, digestive concerns, stress, asthma, issues pertaining to the extremities and much more. Many conditions can be treated using a chiropractor’s care as the adjustments performed along with soft tissue manipulative therapy are organ/injury specific and thus leading to many long term benefits.

In Canada, a chiropractor must obtain a doctorate of chiropractic through four years of education at an accreditedchiropractic institutewith a prerequisite of minimum three years of university to apply. Also, a student of chiropractic must pass both national and provincial board exams before qualifying for a licence.In 2005, the CMCC (Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College) was permitted degree-granting privileges and now honours their graduates with a doctoral degree that is equivalent to those belonging to doctors of medicine, dentistry and optometry. A chiropractor is actually one of only five professionals in Canada that are legally allowed to use the title of Doctor. Just as medical doctors, chiropractors receive equally extensive education in basic human health sciences. The difference lies thereafter in the practitioner’s treating philosophy where a chiropractor will strive to treat a patient’s overall health and wellness without the use of prescription medication or surgical procedures unless absolutely necessary.

Up until the early 1980s, the medical establishment purposely conspired to try to destroy the profession. In fact, a landmark lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Illinois in the 1980s found that the American Medical Association was guilty of conspiracy and was ordered to pay restitution to the chiropractic profession.Since then, the opinion of medical doctors has changed: several major studies have shown the superiority of chiropractic in aiding people with a host of conditions, and medical doctors developed a better understanding as to what chiropractors actually do. Many people had returned to their medical doctors and told them about the great results they experienced at their chiropractors office. Hospitals across the country now have chiropractors on staff, and many chiropractic offices have medical doctors on staff. Chiropractors and medical doctors are eager to work together now more than ever as this collaboration of medical health care specialists along with a holistic approach will absolutely provide a patient with the most informed and effective care.

Although controversial, in today’s society more parents than ever before are bringing their infants and children to be treated by chiropractors for common health concerns and also to support a healthy lifestyle. Chiropractic therapy is absolutely safe for children. Very gentle and specific techniques are used to remove interference to the nervous system, which is the control center for all of the body’s organs, tissues and systems just as in adults. For infants, the birth process is highly traumatic and can introduce great stress to the infant’s skull, spine and pelvis. Infants can be assessed by a chiropractor to look for spinal subluxations that may impair nerve function and can contribute to colic, earache and asthma. As babies grow, they begin to crawl, sit, and walk by using their spine and proper alignment is essential for assuring normal function. As for children, toddlers are highly susceptible to trauma in their spines. Since spines grow rapidly during the first five years of life, ruling out abnormalities during this time is critical for proper development. Though symptoms may not surface until years later, injury to a child’s vital nerves can result in a lifetime of serious health problems. Chiropractic care allows children to have better nerve function, which directly affects all other functional systems, allowing a child to progress to their highest potential.