Before making any major decision, there should always be the process of weighing the pros and the cons. It is only common sense that something as important as your health isn’t a decision to be made lightly.

Chiropractic care is no exception and for all the health problems it can solve, there are several it will prove ineffectual against. Below you will find the advantages and disadvantages of chiropractic care listed, hopefully giving a clear idea of the limits and abilities of chiropractic care.

The Advantages of Chiropractic care:

Chiropractic care is non-invasive.

Surgery on the joints will involve cutting, stitching and anesthetic, often for problems that could’ve been solved by external manual manipulation by a competent chiropractor.

Chiropractic care is relatively quick and inexpensive. Where a lot of medical fields rely heavily on expensive equipment and pricey prescription medicine, chiropractic care professionals use little more than their hands, keeping costs down, and all but the most serious musculoskeletal issues might be handled over just a few chiropractic care sessions.

Chiropractic care is effective on not just the musculoskeletal system, but on everything dependent upon the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. In fact, the first instance of chiropractic care in the United States was in the late 19th century, involving a patient who was complaining, not of joint or spinal aches and pains, but of deafness. His hearing troubles were cured by a chiropractor who subsequently established his own successful practice.

The Disadvantages of Chiropractic care

It may seem that chiropractic care can do just about anything and while it is certainly versatile, there is a disadvantage in that it is also limited as it can’t address problems as severe as surgery as medicine can correct. Chiropractic care works best as a preventative measure and as a means of correcting minor to moderate irregularities in the musculoskeletal system and related areas of the body. Intensive tissue damage, injury and disease are a little beyond what chiropractic care can solve, though chiropractic care shouldn’t be ruled out as a recuperative measure after appropriate treatment has taken place.

Some patients consider chiropractic care to be addictive. Where other methods of treatment work slowly, over time, chiropractic treatment can be immediate. The popping sound a chiropractic patient hears and the immediate added mobility makes for a kind of viscerally pleasing effect and some patients wind up becoming pseudo-hypochondriacs, looking for excuses to go back to the chiropractor’s office just because the process is so sensually satisfying.

Armed with the above list of advantages and disadvantages, it should be easy to determine whether or not to talk with your doctor about the possibility of seeking chiropractic care.

Scoliosis can be a painful, scary and seemingly hopeless health condition to endure. It’s not entirely uncommon for scoliosis to cause partial paralysis and back surgery has a relatively low success rate in comparison to what surgery can do for other parts of the body.

While chiropractic care is no guaranteed cure for every case of scoliosis, it can do a lot of good and should be the first line of defense.

If detected early in its development, the chances of controlling the problem are very good. Some sufferers who identified and addressed their scoliosis in the early stages have reported the scoliosis being cured completely after less than a year of regular chiropractic treatment and therapy.

The signs of scoliosis can include a ‘rib hump’, caused by protruding ribs thanks to an uneven spine, or shoulders that aren’t level. Many scoliosis clinics are conducted free of charge, so if scoliosis is suspected, there’s no excuse to not get a professional diagnosis as soon as possible.

The alternatives to chiropractic care as a counter-scoliosis measure include spinal fusion or the Milwaukee Brace.

The brace is uncomfortable and does nothing to correct the curves, it merely stabilizes the patient. The brace also limits mobility, so it’s seen as more of a temporary fix than any kind of permanent solution. Spinal fusion surgery is the very last resort.

Spinal fusion is an uncomfortable process involving taking splinters from other bones on the patient’s body, or a donor’s bones and applying them between vertebrae so that the two vertebrae eventually grow into a single bone. For obvious reasons, if successful, spinal fusion will demand drastic changes in the patient’s lifestyle and may be nearly as immobilizing as the scoliosis itself. Surgery will also have to be accompanied by medicine and intensive therapy.

If unsuccessful, it may cause intense pain or paralysis.

Chiropractic care, on the other hand, has shown to cause at least some significant improvement and curve reduction in about 70% of scoliosis sufferers and it has been shown to completely cure about 15% of them. That means that fifteen out of one hundred scoliosis sufferers may be able to rid themselves of the problem in less than a year’s time thanks to chiropractic care and seven out of ten will at least see their condition improve to the point where they won’t have to worry about expensive, time consuming surgery and the risks involved.

These latter sufferers may not be completely rid of their scoliosis, but thanks to chiropractic care, will at least find the condition becoming somewhat manageable.

Besides, of course, sudden, violent trauma to the neck, injury can alternatively be caused by prolonged minor abuses, such as incorrect posture or neglecting to stretch before heavy physical activity, or even something as seemingly harmless as an uncomfortable chair or mattress. An injury along the neck can result in not only pain, discomfort and limited mobility of the neck, but seemingly unrelated issues thanks to poor communication through the nervous system and limited blood flow.

These issues may include troubles with vision or hearing, headaches and limited mobility of the rest of the body.

Chiropractic care might seem the obvious choice for anyone suffering from neck pain, however, the practice is still considered an alternative form of care by many professionals in the medical and insurance industries. A chronic neck pain sufferer will probably be recommended prescription drugs, physical therapy or even surgery, long before anyone brings up the possibility of safe, cost-effective chiropractic care as a solution.

It is advised to mention the possibility of meeting with a chiropractor when discussing the problem with your physician. Of course, many family doctors are as distrusting of chiropractic care as anyone and someone seeking a capable solution for their neck pain may be stuck having to find a competent chiropractor all on their own as the alternative may be more expensive, painful, time consuming and less effective.

Contrary to popular belief, chiropractic care of the neck does not involve any dangerous twisting, jerking or yanking on the head and further injury is not a common result of chiropractic neck care.

Chiropractic patients are thoroughly diagnosed by the doctor to determine exactly what area of the neck needs adjustment, there is no element of the random or any kind of trial and error involved in this treatment, chiropractic care is as professional and exact as any alternative method of treatment may prove. If delivered by a trained professional, chiropractic care is not going to cause further injury or paralysis or anything of the sort.

There is a common myth that chiropractic care of the neck is painful.

On occasion, some slight discomfort may be experienced, but this is usually caused by the injury itself and the swelling and soreness that indicate that it is improving. Chiropractors will recommend daily exercises and stretching routines to help alleviate this strain. The need to adhere strictly to the chiropractor’s recommended exercise routine can’t be stressed enough, alternatively, you can neglect these exercises, relying solely on the adjustment, and seeing minimal, rather than full recovery from a neck injury.