What's the difference between Chiropractic and your Chiropractor?!

Confused already? I’m warning you, you might need a strong cup of coffee for this article as I did whilst writing it!

I’m sure if I asked 10 people what Chiropractic is they would say ‘back cracking’, and I’m sure if I asked them about what a Chiropractor does they would also say ‘back cracking’! Let’s break this down to see what the difference is between ‘Chiropractic’ and your ‘Chiropractor’ from our point of view at Duffield Chiropractic in Derby. If you haven’t already, you can meet your Chiropractor here! (He’s the one on the right…)

Chiropractic means ‘done by hand’ and is defined by the World Federation of Chiropractic as ‘A health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health. There is an emphasis on manual treatments including spinal adjustments and other joint and soft-tissue manipulation.’

The specialist technique in which Chiropractors are trained which underpins the Chiropractic profession is spinal manipulation, also called a Chiropractic adjustment. This is a specific treatment technique applied to the joints of the spine to correct movement and restore normal function, by delivering a small but high speed thrust to the joint to do so. That is a bit of a lengthy description and it is extremely complex, which is why it probably just gets diluted to being called ‘back cracking’! It is however an extremely effective treatment.

So are all Chiropractors the same?

No! Let’s use football as an example for this. Every Chiropractor has to be trained to a very high level, be professionally registered with the General Chiropractic Council, and complete further training each year. This is the equivalent of saying that in terms of football, all Chiropractors are in the premiership, the top division! But within that top division all the teams have different styles of play, and that is what Chiropractors are like too. We all learn spinal manipulation, the cornerstone technique of Chiropractic, but all use other techniques and thoughts for problem solving too.

So the difference between ‘Chiropractic’ and ‘your Chiropractor’ is that your Chiropractor chooses how they assess you to find out what the problem is, the treatment techniques they use, and the advice they give. So it is really the person you are having treatment off, rather than the treatment itself.

In summary, at Duffield Chiropractic Clinic we don’t give you ‘Chiropractic’, we use Chiropractic to find out what you need. If you want to learn more you can find out what to expect at our clinic and more about our approach here.

Andrew Harlow – Derby Chiropractor