What do you do, anyway?

Interested in seeing a Vancouver chiropractor but don’t know what they do? Here’s your chance to learn more.
Mar. 9, 2009 | By: The Health Local Staff

You’ve seen their clinics in strip malls, offices and health care centres wherever you look – but have you ever wondered what a chiropractor actually does?

A chiropractor is a qualified medical healthcare practitioner. He or she has earned the designation Doctor of Chiropractic from an accredited medical institution. According to the Canadian Chiropractic Association, chiropractic care is complementary to other areas of primary health care. Chiropractic is not, for example, a replacement for medical care, but may offer an alternative to medication and surgery in appropriate circumstances.

Chiropractors are trained in the neuromusculoskeletal system. They diagnose and treat disorders of the spine and other body joints by adjusting the spinal column or through other corrective manipulation. These conditions include:

• Back pain
• Neck pain
• Head pain
• Other disorders of the skeletal system.

A good chiropractor can also give advice on corrective exercises, lifestyle and nutrition choices.

What to expect

Generally, during your first visit, the chiropractor will want to know about your health history as well as your current complaint. And since chiropractors tend to look at health from a holistic perspective, he or she may also ask you about your home and work life as well as your level of physical activity, as these factors can affect your health.

You can primarily expect your chiropractor to gently manipulate parts of your body with his or her hands, although many also use other methods such as heat, light, specialized adjusting instruments, ultrasound, electrotherapy, personalized exercise programs, muscle-testing and balancing.