Chiropractor Essay, Research Paper

Many people live with pain throughout their lives. These people find it hard to wake up in the morning and they find it hard to sleep at night. They take every kind of painkiller they can to be free of pain, but the pain always returns. Trying to hide it will only make matters worse. The reason people live with the pain is because they believe nothing can stop the pain for good. Doctors that specialize in healing the body through adjustments of the joints and spine are called Chiropractors. Adjustments of the spine heal the nervous system. Your nervous system controls the whole body and if there is a problem with the nervous system, the body feels it in the form of pain or soreness. In the past 18 months, I have been involved in two major car accidents that left me in tremendous pain for weeks. During the first accident, which occurred on November 16, 1998, I was stopped behind a bus and rear-ended by a woman driving 40 miles per hour. After a trip to the hospital, I was not able to do anything but stay at home and rest. I missed 10 days of school and two weeks of work. The pain in my neck and back was unbearable and my mother and I decided that I should see a chiropractor. I was unaware of what exactly a chiropractor does, but I soon found out that going to see one was one of the best decisions of my life. My latest accident, which happened on October 31 of this year, was not as severe as the first, but I was still in a lot of pain. Through this speech, I want to explain what a chiropractor does, explain the benefits from seeing a chiropractor, and explain why chiropractic care should come before drugs or surgery.

First, a chiropractor is not a doctor of medicine, but instead, a doctor of

Chiropractic. This means that instead of using drugs to cure an ailment, a chiropractor uses natural remedies and techniques to heal. A chiropractor performs manipulations of the spine, which are called adjustments, to free nerve impulses that may be altered by abnormalities of the spine. When the nerve impulses are interfered with, the body cannot function in a normal manner, according to Terry Rondberg, author of ?Chiropractic First?. By adjusting the spine, the nervous system can work correctly and you can be pain free. Sometimes it is necessary to relax the muscles in your back before being adjusted. This is done in many ways, but the most popular ways are ultrasound and heat. My normal day at the chiropractor consists of first, lying on a machine called the aqua-sooth, and then being adjusted. The aqua-sooth is a long waterbed that has jets that shoot up against your spine. The water is heated and the machine is designed to relax your muscles. I am then taking to a different room where I wait for the doctor. Sometimes I receive a heat pack before being adjusted, so the muscles in my back are relaxed. Then comes the adjustment itself. The doctor does some muscle relaxing exercises and then my spine and neck are adjusted. This is not a painful process; in fact, it feels very good. I am then quickly checked for any other misalignments and my day at the chiropractor is over.

Benefits of seeing a chiropractor include the relief from pain and soreness and the chance to lead a healthy lifestyle. Chiropractors believe that everything natural should be used to heal the body, therefore a healthy diet is necessary and all natural supplements help your body maintain a proper state. Calcium and Vitamin C are vital because of the energy they give the body for its daily activities. Before I was in my accident, I was involved in sports and because of the pain that I experienced, I was forced to stop competing for a while. It was not until after I saw a chiropractor that I finally was strong enough to play sports again. I went through days of intense rehab to get my body healthy again. I did everything I had to do to get back to the way I used to be. By seeing a chiropractor, you will not only get rid of the pain you feel, but you will feel healthier as a whole.

Chiropractic care should be chosen over drugs or surgery because it is obviously the healthiest choice. Taking drugs, even over the counter drugs, have many side effects. Taking Advil or other pain medication thins your blood and therefore harms your liver. Many prescribed medications do more harm than good, according to Tim Feuling, author of Chiropractic Compassion and Expectation. There are many cases sited where a person is scheduled to have back surgery, but after seeing a chiropractor, the surgery is not needed. Surgery is a very risky and expensive procedure that can possibly be avoided by seeing a chiropractor. By choosing chiropractic care first, over drugs and surgery, you give your body a chance to be free from illness with no side effects or recovery time.

In closing, chiropractic care is something we all should consider to free us from our ailments. Many health insurance companies are now accepting a doctor of chiropractic as a person?s primary care physician. By seeing a chiropractor, you are giving your body a chance to heal naturally, without the use of dangerous drugs. I urge all of you to choose chiropractic first, drugs second, and surgery last. It is a safer approach at health care and I hope you choose to benefit from it by visiting your local chiropractor.