Chiropractic care is classified as alternative medicine. The very premise of alternative medicine is debatable. If you believe in traditional medicine which is scientifically proven, then you would certainly not trust alternative medicine. You may consider chiropractic care and all its claims along with other forms of alternative medicine to be tall promises without any substantiation.
But the irony is that people who have tried traditional medicine and have seen no results or improvement in a certain condition are the ones who opt for alternative medicine. Strangely, alternative medicine comes in when traditional medicine fails despite the latter being the more scientific and certainly more proven. There is another context of this classification. Traditional medicine today is actually modern medicine and alternative medicine today was traditionally the remedies. But that was centuries ago so there isn’t much relevance today.
Chiropractic care is often touted as the safest form of physiotherapy and the most effectively holistic treatment available for a horde of physiological conditions. The popularity of chiropractic care has certainly been on the rise, often matching the decline in popularity of traditional medicine. Without delving into personal preferences or what opinionated accounts may state, let us shed some light on the pros and cons of chiropractic care. An objective assessment is what’s necessary, not one that is clouded with opinions.
List of Pros of Chiropractic Care
1. It is therapeutic.
Those who have benefited from chiropractic care stand by its effectiveness but other than remedying a problem, they also report being benefited therapeutically. Patients, who undergo chiropractic care report being calm, relieved of normal stress, they control their anxieties better and they often equate the effect with that of meditation. Now, obviously such an impact will not be the same for everyone but if a treatment can be therapeutic which traditional medicine isn’t, then it is certainly a huge advantage, and to think that it is not just physical stress relief but also mental or psychological.
2. Cheaper than traditional medicine.
One reason why so many people find chiropractic care desirable is because it eventually costs less than traditional medicine. And this is without substantial or any insurance coverage. The normal tests and diagnoses may cost the same but traditional medicine asks for many more tests than chiropractors. Also, the treatment is often holistic so the impact chiropractic care has is multifaceted and that helps people to cut down on different kinds of medications and multiple treatments.
There is a fact that doctors and traditional medicine practitioners often go overboard with their prescriptions, demand steep fees and seldom offer any financial relief. Chiropractors often come up with special offers and even combos for family and friends. Chiropractors are more contemporary and they understand that people need affordable treatments. Since chiropractic care is still not something that people would opt for straightaway, chiropractors with small practices are willing to reduce their fees and are often forthcoming to make treatments more affordable.
3. Popularity of chiropractic care.
One reason why we are discussing the pros and cons of chiropractic care is its popularity. The Chiropractic Association says that chiropractors across the country record about 250 million visits or appointments in a year. That is a staggering number. Assuming that a person visits five times a year, about fifty million people have already endorsed chiropractic care. Not many years back, people knew very little and many had not even heard of chiropractic care. And today, there are millions who swear by the treatments and their effect. It is worth considering that so many people cannot be wrong. It cannot be false advertising or paid endorsement.
List of Cons of Chiropractic Care
1. Soreness is common.
Typically, there are no side effects of chiropractic care but patients often report being sore. Chiropractic adjustments may pertain to any one particular area of the body or the entire spinal column. Chiropractic adjustments can and do cause soreness, from stiffened muscles to joint aches. There are many who don’t feel any relief from the main ailment due to this soreness and it is only after the dissipation of the discomfort that there is some respite from the actual condition that one suffers from.
2. No overnight solution.
There are many pills that you can pop and get relief in just a while. That is the beauty of traditional medicine. There are dozens of conditions that the human body deals with regularly and the pills come to rescue. Chiropractic care doesn’t have any overnight solution. No matter why you would consult a chiropractor, you aren’t going to get relief immediately. All chiropractic treatments require multiple visits. You may end up visiting twice or more every month. That is one reason why chiropractors record so many visits each year. Since you have to indulge in these multiple visits, your expenses can easily pile up despite the fees being relatively affordable. With no insurance coverage, you may not want to keep paying for a treatment that simply goes on.
3. Limited research.
Critics of chiropractic care talk about limited research. They say that studies are limited and there is no mass scale study to truly understand or infer the impact of chiropractic care. For believers in traditional medicine and obviously for traditional doctors, chiropractic care is all about hoopla. Physiotherapists have also joined such groups in echoing that traditional exercises, massage treatments and pain relievers work better than chiropractic treatments. In light of the fact that chiropractors have not really come out with peer reviewed researches or studies, one cannot dispute what physiotherapists are saying or what traditional medicine would have one believe. Trusting chiropractic care becomes a tad more difficult when the American Chiropractic Association admits that there is limited research.
4. Lack of insurance.
This is often the most troubling concern of chiropractic care. You don’t always get adequate insurance to pay for such care. Even if you do get a rare insurance policy, the terms or clauses and the coverage would be of little help. There are many people who would not mind trying out a new form of therapy or treatment, provided the expenses are taken care of or there is some financial help. When you get no financial help then opting for chiropractic care may be a tad expensive.
Many chiropractors offer financing options but that doesn’t help much when someone doesn’t have a lot of spare cash every month. Not only is chiropractic care expensive but the associated tests or diagnoses that you would have to undergo will cost you money. From normal x-rays to specialized tests, such diagnoses and subsequent treatments can cause a dent in any wallet. Fortunately, more insurance companies are realizing the need to cover chiropractic care in their policies and thus the scenario may change in some time.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to treatments, you should be free to choose whatever you think is right for you. Chiropractic care doesn’t have any major side effect so you are not at any grave risk. You can always try it out and then make an informed decision if you wish to continue it. Also, the quality of chiropractic care is not the same everywhere so when you do see a chiropractor, make sure you see someone good.