Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic is a complementary and alternative health care profession which focuses on diagnosing, treating, and preventing mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, their effects on the nervous system, and on general health. Manipulation of the spine and extremities is the main technique in today's chiropractic adjustment, or treatment.

Chiropractic's contribution to the field of manipulative therapies is the concept of applying a precise adjustment to a specific affected vertebra, as opposed to the generalized maneuvers of the early osteopaths. While some chiropractors adhere strictly to the use of only spinal manipulation in their adjustment, others include a broad range of methods directed at correcting the dysfunction and/or relieving musculoskeletal pain.

Some chiropractors specialize in treating specific musculoskeletal problems or sports injuries, or they may combine chiropractic with manipulation of the extremities, physiotherapy, nutrition, or exercises to increase spinal strength or improve overall health. Chiropractors do not prescribe drugs as part of their treatment. Depending on the country or state in which the Chiropractic school is located, some train in minor surgery. When indicated, the doctor of chiropractic consults with, co-manages, or refers to other health care providers as appropriate.

Vancouver Spine and Rehabilitation Center is a full-service clinic that provides complete chiropractic care and a full suite of physiotherapy and therapeutic treatment modalities to help you recover from your accident or injury. Most medical insurance plans including Workers' Comp and L&I are accepted. Call for specific details if you have questions about your particular health care insurance.

Just in case you are interested, here are some interesting facts about chiropractic care:

Chiropractic is the largest, most regulated, and best recognized of the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) professions. (Meeker, Haldeman; 2002; Annals of Internal Medicine)
There are more than 60,000 active chiropractic licenses in the United States. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands officially recognize chiropractic as a health care profession.
In 2002, approximately 7.4 percent of the population used chiropractic care - a higher percentage than yoga, massage, acupuncture or other diet-based therapies. (Tindle HA, Davis RB, Phillips RS, Eisenberg DM. Trends in use of complementary and alternative medicine by US adults: 1997-2002. Altern Ther Health Med. 2005 Jan-Feb;11(1):42-9.)
Doctors of Chiropractic undergo at least four years of professional study at one of 16 chiropractic colleges accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), an agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. In addition, Doctors of Chiropractic must pass national board examinations and become state-licensed prior to practicing.
In national surveys, patients favor chiropractic over medical care for back or neck pain. Patients routinely rate Doctors of Chiropractic highly in skill, manner, and explanation of treatment.
Doctors of Chiropractic provide care in hospitals and other multidisciplinary health care facilities.
Chiropractic is the third largest doctoral-level health care profession after medicine and dentistry.
Back pain is the second leading cause of all physician visits in the U.S. In fact, half of all working Americans admit to having back pain each year. According to a study conducted by the American Chiropractic Association in 2001, 43% of patients seen by a doctor of chiropractic were treated for low-back pain.