A chiropractor’s goal is not to treat symptoms with a means of compensation such as drugs in order to mask the symptoms, but to discover the source of pain and other interference and imbalance to health, and then correct the problem.

Chiropractic care focuses on treating the nervous system through restoring the proper function and alignment of the body’s joint structures—primarily the spine—to allow for natural, surgery-free healing. A complex and highly interrelated system exists between the nervous system, the body's movement systems and related tissues, and subsequently the rest of the body's physical, glandular and neurologic function.

While the nervous system controls all of the body’s functions, it depends on the vertebrae in your spine to protect it. When something interferes with the nervous system, whether joint tissue dysfunction, nutritional / metabolic imbalance or even excessive stress factors, optimal operation of the nervous system becomes altered, which can lead to various physical problems.

Chiropractic is a natural means of restoring health and healing without invasive surgery or the dangerous side effects of drugs. In fact, chiropractic enjoys the reputation that more often than not, after periods of treatment, many patients note the benefit of positive side effects! There is often awareness that other aspects of health have improved!

Research in chiropractic is growing rapidly. In fact, millions of dollars of research grant money is now more often being awarded to chiropractic research more frequently and in larger grant sums. A recent announcement in June 2008 declared that The Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research has received a substantial grant, approaching $2.75 Million, from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Military utilization of chiropractic is not only increasing but a recent National Defense Authorization Act requires that full implementation of the chiropractic benefit be phased in for the three military services.

Although healthcare coverage and reimbursement is a struggling part of our economy, more insurance programs recognize chiropractic than ever before.

Overall, more people are turning to Complementary and Alternative Medicine, of which chiropractic is the largest sector, than ever before. In fact a comprehensive research study published in 2000 determined that nearly twice as many people in the US made visits to CAM providers than to medical practitioners. The statistics for the demand of those seeking natural health solutions only continues to rise!

In addition to neck and shoulder pain, headaches, lower back pain, numbness and leg pain, and auto crash or sports injuries, chiropractic can effectively treat muscle pain, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis, children's middle ear conditions, allergies, and other health issues including preventative and wellness care.

Chiropractic treatments are incredibly safe—actually, they’re one of the safest kinds of medical care available. Your chiropractor has completed a doctoral degree in chiropractic which is a training program comparable to the program of study for medical doctors. According to the American Chiropractic Association, more than 30 million people visited doctors of chiropractic last year for a variety of conditions, and more and more medical doctors are referring their patients to doctors of chiropractic.

Critics mistakenly suggest that adjustments to the neck can subject patients to unnatural stress or compromised blood supply to the brain. If the spine were that fragile, then many active people from football players to even children playing would be at risk of experiencing a high percentage of fatalities.

Thousands will die this year from anesthesia or needless back surgeries. Thousands more will perish from Ibuprofen and other so-called "safe" pain medicines. Adverse reactions to prescription medication are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.

Meanwhile, the rare complications from chiropractic care can be counted on one hand!

If you have concerns about risks of cervical spine adjusting please see the video below.

Chiropractic is Different from conventional allopathic medicine - the treatment of symptoms using drugs or surgery. And like anything different, it has produced misunderstandings and some skeptics.

While chiropractic is different, it is not something you have to "believe in" for it to work. Chiropractic is founded in scientific research with rapidly growing volumes of journals and research funding.

Myths:
Once you start treatments, you have to make continuous appointments.
First, it entirely depends upon the condition being treated. Some patients get relief from a single treatment and many simple injuries and "owie's" of daily life are often treated in a fairly short time.
Yet some people are pleased to be treated over time to restore a bad injury or chronic condition that allows them to 'get their life back' or regain function with little or no pain.
Much like going to the gym and working out, chiropractic is a means to restore and heal. You don't just go for one workout and are magically "in shape".
Ultimately, how long you decide to benefit from chiropractic care is always up to you!

Without belaboring the issue, consider one more important point:
For comparable conditions, medical care predominantly treats symptoms, and such treatments are typically administered at least daily if not multiple times per day. Those treatments are extensively proven to impose great risk and fatalities, without treating the cause of the problem. Most health conscious individuals understand that active participation in restoring health is a solution and not an obligation.

Chiropractic "wears out" your joints.
This is simply a ridiculous notion. Proper adjustments actually prevent joints from wearing out.
Properly restored joint movement allows for optimal circulation of joint fluid, decrease of inflammatory mediators that promote degeneration(arthritis) and optimal nerve signaling for balanced and smooth joint movement.
Also, when one joint loses any degree of motion, neighboring joints must compensate and move too much, causing even more problems. Accurate chiropractic adjustments are made to the specific joints needing adjustment, restoring balanced joint function which allows tissue healing and prolonged joint life.

Chiropractors take limited schooling and are not real doctors.
After the required pre-med undergraduate studies, a Doctor of Chiropractic completes an additional four year program at a chiropractic college. Furthermore, the reputation of excellence from Palmer College of Chiropractic comes from the fact that it is known as the "Harvard" of chiropractic colleges.
Of all medical schools, Harvard is the only school that has a higher curriculum-hour requirement for completion of the degree than Palmer.
Additionally, like other types of doctors, chiropractic doctors meet stringent licensing requirements, follow a strict code of ethics, and are approved by governmental agencies.

Regarding chiropractic education, doctors of chiropractic undergo a rigorous and demanding professional education equivalent to any other primary care provider. A doctor of chiropractic receives the same level of education as a medical doctor but with a different focus. To obtain the degree of DC, one must complete several years of prerequisite undergraduate education and spend nearly the same number of classroom hours at a fully-accredited chiropractic college such as that required of MD’s in medical schools.

Student doctors are thoroughly trained in the appropriate and sophisticated means of diagnostic procedures and the use of analytical equipment including X-rays, MRI and CT analysis, and other chiropractic investigative technologies. Before they can practice, all Doctors of Chiropractic must pass a series of National Board exams, as well as a licensing exams for the state in which they choose to practice. Even after all that, most states require that the doctors attend clinical continuing education programs for annual re-licensure.

Even though chiropractic is the second largest health care profession, some articles and authors have referred to chiropractic as “alternative”.  This label may not fit in the face of the growing numbers of people seeking chiropractic care.  In the 1998 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine is an article on chiropractic that makes a profound statement, “Even to call chiropractic alternative is problematic, in many ways it is distinctly mainstream.”
Even with all this growth and increased usage, many people are unaware of the rigors of a chiropractic education.

In order to become a “Doctor of Chiropractic” chiropractic students must go through college and a chiropractic program every bit as strenuous and in-depth as other health care practitioners.  To help demonstrate this better, the following charts are given.

The following tables are a comparison of Hours of Basic Sciences Education in Medical and Chiropractic Schools

Comparisons of the Overall Curriculum Structure for Chiropractic and Medical Schools

Referenced from: Center for Studies in Health Policy, Inc., Washington, DC. Unpublished data from Meredith Gonyea, PhD.