Chiropractic Care Myth Busting – Part 2
Chiropractic medicine seems to be a mysterious profession to most people. As a Chiropractic Doctor, I often have people ask me questions and I’m happy to answer them to the best of my ability. Our East Vancouver wellness centre, Backs in Action, is a great resource — when we don’t know an answer, I’ll refer people to the appropriate sources so that I can inform the inquisitive.
Questions & Answers on Chiropractic Care
1. Should I go to a chiropractor or a physiotherapist?
Chiropractors and physiotherapists are complimentary practitioners that can often be utilized together. From my perspective, Chiropractors (DCws) are primary practitioners that take a hands on approach to your health. You can walk into a chiropractic office, be assessed, diagnosed and treated with muscle and joint techniques all in one day. Physiotherapists (PTs) work under a referral system, use pain modalities and are often involved in the rehabilitation of serious injuries such as heart attack/stroke patients, serious motor vehicle and sporting injuries along with the small day to day pains. Furthermore, chiropractic as a profession tends to focus on the holistic aspect of health and believe in a more proactive approach to care.
As a functional chiropractor, I utilize my expertise to uniquely assess your posture, your movement patterns and your functional requirements to meet day to day, occupational and athletic demands. By focusing on biomechanical deficiencies in a proactive manner, I help you minimize your chances of injury, pain and dysfunction. I often refer patients in need of specific physical training to PTs to maximize their recovery and keep them optimized.
2. Is chiropractic treatment safe?
Chiropractic care is very safe and effective in the treatment of muscles, joints and nerves. Though generally rare, minor side effects like a transient increase in pain, minor risk of rib fracture with thoracic manipulation and minor risk of disc herniation with adjustments do exist and something anyone undergoing manual care should be aware of. With respect to neck adjustments, studies fail to demonstrate any causal relationship between adjustments and vertebrobasilar dissection (VBI stroke). The most quality study to date concluded that increased risk of association of stroke with chiropractors and medical professional is likely due to patients with stroke in progress presenting to their chiropractor for treatment of stroke-related head and neck symptoms.
Nevertheless, always know that regardless of therapy type from over the counter pain killers to registered massage therapy, there are inherent risks to consider. I for one modify my treatment plan to provide the least invasive, most effective and comfortable care to the patient within their comfort parameters.
Chiropractic Doctors in East Vancouver
If you have any questions on treating your pain, or would like a chiropractic assessment, call us 604-876-9977 or email a today!
Come in for an assessment today and let us show you how chiropractic can help you! We are conveniently located steps from the Commercial Broadway Skytrain, which is only 30 minutes from Burnaby!
East Vancouver Chiropractor, Dr. Shervin Ranjbar
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