As a chiropractor for many years, I have heard and seen all the fears associated with common myths of chiropractors. That we’re not trained medical professionals (we are, I have the student loans and the four years of medical classes to prove it). That we don’t work with your physician or healthcare provider (I do, and often send patients to see their primary physician or orthopedist before they are seen by me or if they do not respond positively to my treatment.). Here are a few myths that keep people in pain and from receiving high quality, professional care for their pain and injuries:
MYTH: Chiropractic adjustments are dangerous.
TRUTH: This is probably the most common myth. While some muscle or joint soreness can occur after an adjustment, most people feel less pain. Too much adjusting of a joint (by you or by a chiropractor) can create laxity in the affected joints. Neck adjustments are particularly scary for many patients. Serious injury is extremely rare and several long term studies have backed that up (see this interesting study here)
*The key to safety is a thorough history and examination to ensure you are a candidate for manual chiropractic adjustments.
MYTH: You always need your neck/back/etc. cracked
TRUTH: Most people (and chiropractors) associate chiropractic adjustments with a 'crack'. However, there are many ways to manipulate joints that are not forceful and often make no noise. It you are concerned about that, ask your chiropractor if it possible to avoid that. If they say 'no', find someone else who can (like me).
MYTH: Is that 'cracking/popping' bad?
TRUTH: The 'popping' noise during a chiropractic adjustment comes from gas bubbles within the joints expanding rapidly to fill the vacuum created during the quick movement of an adjustment. It is similar to the popping noise when you snap your fingers. A vacuum is created and the noise is the rapid filling of that vacuum.
MYTH: I have to come 3 times a week for life
TRUTH: While every case is different, most non-traumatic injuries or conditions often require significantly fewer visits. A skilled and competent manual therapy clinician (physical therapist, chiropractor, massage therapist, etc.) should be able to accurately diagnose and treat most uncomplicated musculoskeletal complaints quickly and efficiently. If the patient works at the recommended corrective exercises the improvement will happen faster and the results will general last longer. Everyone is different and some patients respond more quickly than others but there is rarely a clinical justification for such a large number of visits.