Frequently Asked Questions
How many Americans visit doctors of chiropractic per year?
What do Chiropractors treat?
Doctors of Chiropractic frequently treat individuals with neuromusculoskeletal complaints, such as headaches, joint pain, neck pain, low back pain and sciatica.
Chiropractors also treat patients with osteoarthritis, spinal disk conditions, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and sprains/strains.
The focus of chiropractic medicine is conditions that affect the human frame, which is composed of your bones, joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons.
The basis of chiropractic medicine is the restoration of normal function and motion of a joint complex. The joint complex consists of a joint between two or more bones and all the surrounding muscles, ligaments and tendons.
When the normal joint mechanics become altered, this affects the function of the surrounding tissues and can cause muscle spasm and most often pain. Chiropractic treatment not only addresses the symptom but also the underlying cause of the pain.
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts which is concerned with human health and disease processes. Doctors of Chiropractic are physicians who consider man as an integrated being and give special attention to the physiological and biochemical aspects including structural, spinal, musculoskeletal, neurological, vascular, nutritional, emotional and environmental relationships.
The practice and procedures which may be employed by Doctors of Chiropractic are based on the academic and clinical training received in and through accredited chiropractic colleges and include, but are not limited to, the use of current diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Such procedures specifically include the adjustment and manipulation of the articulations and adjacent tissues of the human body, particularly of the spinal column. Included is the treatment of intersegmental aberrations for alleviation of related functional disorders.
Chiropractic is a drug-free, non-surgical science and, as such, does not include pharmaceuticals or incisive surgery. Due regard shall be given to the fact that state laws, as well as the nation's antitrust laws, may allow Doctors of Chiropractic to utilize ancillary health care procedures commonly referred to as being in the common domain.
How many Americans visit doctors of chiropractic per year?
According to results of a survey published in the November 11, 1998 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately 11 percent of the population had visited a doctor of chiropractic in the previous year.? According to the US Census Bureau, today there are approximately 288 million people in the United States.? Assuming the 11% annual figure has remained unchanged, the number of people who visit a chiropractor every year is now approximately 31.6 million.