Chiropractic Massage Therapy

People often associate chiropractors as medical professionals who deal with back, neck, or spine problems. While this is true in many cases, doctors of chiropractic are also trained to help people maintain their current state of health through chiropractic massage therapy.

Chiropractors are doctors, which means they have much more formal education than those who have graduated massage therapy programs or even colleges. That is because the field of chiropractic deals with the delicate nervous system, much of which is encased in the spine, and therefore must be treated with expert care.

Traditional chiropractors give what are often called “adjustments,” which are an actual adjustment of misaligned vertebrae or disks in the spine and neck. This kind of spinal manipulation is often accompanied by audible snapping or popping sounds, and although these adjustments can almost instantly relieve pain and pressure, they can scare off some timid would-be patients. Therefore, many chiropractors are introducing massage therapy to their practice, which can have just as many benefits as traditional spinal manipulation.

Unlike massage therapists, who can only work with what clients tell them about their aches and pains along with what is visibly out of alignment, chiropractors are able to take complete physical examinations, including x-rays. By collaborating with other medical professionals, such as neurologists or orthopedists, a chiropractor has much better access to a patient’s full bill of health and can therefore tailor a more effective regimen of chiropractic massage therapy.

Once the initial pain or spinal disorder is diagnosed, it might be recommended that the patient have ongoing chiropractic massage therapy to maintain a pain-free existence. Therefore, a chiropractor’s clientele would likely be a mix of first-time patients as well as those who return for wellness treatments.

When you enroll in chiropractic college, you will be introduced to a variety of new and traditional techniques in the care of the spine and the rest of the nervous system. If you wish to open your own practice and have a large, regular roster of clients, it is important for you to know a variety of techniques, including chiropractic massage therapy, that can assist a wide variety of clients in living healthful, pain-free lives.