Who is a chiropractor?
A chiropractor is a licensed health professional who cares for the body's neuromusculoskeletal system, which includes muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and bones. They perform chiropractic treatment to correct musculoskeletal conditions, adjust the body's joints, and maintain overall body alignment.
Chiropractic treatment is usually conducted using hands or special instruments. It is also commonly called joint manipulation or spinal manipulation. Back pain, muscle pain, neck pain, and headaches are some of the most common conditions a chiropractor treats.
Primary conditions addressed by the chiropractor include:
- Fractures, sprains, strains
- Herniated discs, osteoarthritis, shin splints, stroke
- Ligament injuries, tendinitis, epicondylitis
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Plantar fasciitis, whiplash, myelopathy
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
- Ruptured tendons or discs
- Chronic discomfort, scurvy, scoliosis
- Muscle, ligament, or joint pulls and tears
- Frozen joints, dislocation
Chiropractic treatment aims to restore normal muscle balance and joint function. It helps to reduce stress on the body's immune system and decrease the risks of chronic diseases. Chiropractic care addresses the human body, including the ability to move and perform without mental or physical constraints. It can help manage chronic pain and help you to lead a good quality of life.
Chiropractor vs. physical therapist
Both chiropractors and physical therapists are licensed healthcare professionals who help manage stiffness, chronic body pains, and discomforts through various treatment methods across different age groups. They aim to enhance patients' flexibility and mobility by creating a personalized plan based on evaluating their injury type, needs, and body condition. Although both can treat a wide range of symptoms and health issues, their techniques and approaches may differ in achieving the desired results.
A chiropractor primarily focuses on the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, including joints, muscles, tendons, and their functions. They significantly emphasize spine alignment and manipulation to alleviate pain and inflammation. After assessing the symptoms, they may recommend massages, lifestyle modifications, and dietary changes.
On the other hand, a physical therapist concentrates on restoring strength, mobility, and body function, as well as managing pain in ill or injured patients, following a thorough evaluation and diagnosis. They design a treatment plan and suggest exercises, postures, therapies, and alternative ways to avoid injuries and pain.
What is a chiropractic adjustment?
A chiropractic adjustment, spinal or joint manipulation, is a standard treatment for lower back pain. Chiropractic adjustment aims to correct posture, reduce nerve irritability, increase the range of ambition, and improve physical functions.
In this procedure, chiropractors use special instruments or hands to apply a controlled force on a specific spinal joint. The pressure pushes the joint beyond its range of motion, relieving pain, improving posture, and increasing spinal movement and physical functions. It is common to hear cracking and popping sounds as the chiropractor moves the joints during treatment.
A chiropractic adjustment is generally safe and effective when performed by a well-trained and licensed chiropractor. It helps improve muscle balance and restore joint functions. It also reduces undue stress on the immune system, significantly decreasing the risk of any diseases.
Some patients may experience minor side effects such as fatigue, pain in the treated body part, or headache. These are temporary symptoms and go away within a few days post-treatment. Chiropractors recommended various techniques to manage these symptoms effectively. Chiropractic adjustment can effectively treat spine-related conditions, back pain, neck pain, and headaches.
Chiropractic treatment forms
Apart from a chiropractic adjustment, a few of the standard therapies in chiropractic care include the following:
Exercise: The exercise program may include stretches and exercises that strengthen the back muscles and further enhance the benefits of spinal adjustment.
Electrical muscle stimulation: Electrodes transmit soft electric pulses to specific body areas to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and prevent muscle spasms.
Massage: Soft tissue massage to reduce back pain-linked inflammation and swelling, increase blood circulation, and enhance quick healing.
Heat and cold: Chiropractors may recommend ice and heat therapy to treat back pain. First, ice packs numb the area for about 10 to 15 minutes. It is then switched to a heating pad, hot water bottle, or heat wrap to increase blood circulation and promote quick recovery.
Ultrasound: Ultrasound therapy utilizes sound waves to create deep heat therapy for micro-massaging the soft tissues and joints. It helps to reduce muscle spasms, stiffness, and pain, increase blood circulation, and ensure faster healing.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators (TENS): The most commonly used electrical stimulation technique for chiropractic treatment. It uses electrodes to transmit electric currents over the pain area. These currents block pain signal transmission along the nervous system and help release more endorphins - natural painkillers of the body.
Is seeing a chiropractor safe and helpful during pregnancy?
Chiropractic care can help relieve spinal nerve stress and promote overall health. Complications are usually rare in this type of therapy. However, doctors don't recommend chiropractic care for pregnant women experiencing ectopic pregnancy, vaginal bleeding, placenta previa or abruption, or moderate to severe toxemia. Therefore, seeking approval from a qualified doctor before receiving chiropractic care during pregnancy is essential.
Finding a chiropractor with expertise in prenatal care is significant for pregnant women seeking chiropractic care. You may ask the chiropractor if they have experience in this area or get a referral from your doctor. Chiropractors use adjusting tables and safe techniques to accommodate growing bellies without putting pressure on the abdomen. They can also show you effective stretches to relieve tension and discomfort.
During pregnancy, hormonal and physical changes can affect your posture and comfort. These changes can cause discomfort and pain due to misalignments in the spine or joints. As your baby grows heavier, the back curves, and changes occur in the pelvic region as the body prepares for labor. All these developments shift your center of gravity and posture. Regular visits to a chiropractor near you specializing in prenatal can address these issues. Plus, chiropractic adjustments can help you and your baby by re-establishing balance and alignment in your pelvis and spine.
Other potential benefits of visiting a chiropractor during pregnancy include ensuring a healthy pregnancy, managing nausea, reducing labor time, relieving back, neck, or joint pain, and preventing a cesarean delivery.
How to find the best chiropractor near you in Greenville, South Carolina?
Suppose you want to find the best chiropractors in Greenville, South Carolina, to choose from. Naturally, your first step would be finding someone close to your location. Next, you would call the clinic to learn about the doctor and clear your insurance considerations. Realistically, no matter how often you perform this time-consuming exercise, you might not find the perfect doctor matching your needs. Something is always bound to fall short, be it a lack of qualifications or distance. This is where Zocdoc comes in.
With the help of Zocdoc's extensive database, you can easily find the best chiropractor near you in Greenville, South Carolina. All you need to do is create a free account on Zocdoc. Next, choose your specialty or condition, location, date, and insurance plan. A comprehensive list of doctors based on your search criteria will appear. If you have insurance, include your insurance carrier's name in the search, and the website will show you the best chiropractors who accept your plan. All chiropractors listed on Zocdoc have unique profiles. You can read about their educational qualifications, board certifications, clinical interests, expertise, experience, and spoken languages.
Thanks to our updated and verified patient reviews, user ratings, and provider profiles, you can make an informed decision before visiting a chiropractor. You can even perform an area-specific search on Zocdoc to locate a licensed chiropractor near you. Furthermore, you can even filter the search results by gender for a more comfortable chiropractic visit in Greenville, South Carolina.
You can also book video appointments on Zocdoc before an in-person visit to better understand your chiropractor. Look for a purple video icon on chiropractors' profiles or filter the video appointment selection. Book appointments with the best chiropractors near you who accept your insurance plan in real-time. All bookings on Zocdoc are simple, secure, and free!
Statistics on chiropractors, chronic pain, and lower back pain in South Carolina, USA
According to the May 2021 data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were around 35810 practicing chiropractors in the US, with approximately 920 practicing in North Carolina.
The 2018 chronic pain data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that the affected annual count is almost 20.4% of adults in the USA. About 27.5% of adults in North Carolina experienced chronic pain. The chronic pain prevalence in suburban and rural areas was approximately 30.8% and 30.9%, respectively, higher than the prevalence rate of about 19.6% in urban areas. In suburban and rural areas, people with chronic pain are less likely to choose therapy treatments (physical therapy, exercise, acupuncture) than urban people suffering from chronic pain.
In 2019, about 58.9% of adults in the USA reported pain symptoms in the body in three months. At about 39.0%, back pain was the most reported pain symptom among adults, followed by lower limb pain(36.5%), upper limb pain(30.7%), migraine or headache (22.4%), genital, pelvic, or abdominal pain (9.8%), jaw or tooth pain (9.2%). Almost 45.6% of adults in the 65+ age group and 28.4% in the 18-29 age group reported having back pain, the highest and the lowest rates, respectively. At about 40.6%, women are more susceptible to back pain than men (37.2%).
The incidence of lower limb pain was highest among adults in the 65+ age group (50.3%) and the lowest among adults in the 18-29 age group (21%). The incidence of upper limb pain was highest among adults in the 65+ age group (42.0%) and the lowest among adults in the 18-29 age group (16.2%), according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Sources
Renew Accident & Injury Chiropractic Clinic
Healthline
Cleveland Clinic
Mayo Clinic
WebMD
CB Physiotherapy
Spine-health[1]
Spine-health[2]
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[1]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[2]
