What is a Chiropractic Physician?

A friend of mine recently went to the hospital after being involved in a car accident. A nurse took her blood pressure in the emergency room, at which time my friend said, “My chiropractor took my blood pressure earlier.” The nurse scoffed and said something to the effect of, “why would a chiropractor be taking your blood pressure?” Obviously, this ill-informed nurse did not know anything about chiropractic medicine in the United States. That got me thinking that the information about chiropractic practice and education needs to be disseminated to the public over and over again. Here are some facts about being a doctor of chiropractic and about the way I practice here at Cherubino Health Center.

A portal of entry healthcare provider in all 50 states. This means that anyone can see a chiropractor without a referral from any other type of doctor. It also means that a chiropractor has been adequately trained to identify pathology in all areas of the body and appropriately manage or refer out for those conditions. As a portal of entry healthcare provider, a chiropractor must be able to identify red flag conditions. This means that a chiropractor may take vitals like blood pressure and temperature or perform neurological, orthopedic, and visceral examinations.

A neuromusculoskeletal specialist. Many recent studies have revealed that spinal manipulation and other chiropractic techniques are the most efficacious and cost effective methods of managing back pain, neck pain, and headaches. Chiropractic is so effective because it focuses on the health of the nervous system, which controls and regulates all organs and parts of the body. Therefore, other conditions that we do not necessarily associate with our spines may also be influenced positively by chiropractic care.

A fully trained physician. Educationally, a chiropractic physician has the same training as your traditional medical doctor with two exceptions: while the MD student is studying drugs and surgery, the DC student is studying advanced nutrition, biochemistry, and manipulative/rehabilitative techniques. The DC program is 4 academic years long and entered after completing a bachelor’s or master’s degree, which is the same length as traditional, allopathic, medical school.

At Cherubino Health Center, we treat a wide variety of problems, including pain, headaches, spinal stenosis and sciatica, as well as more complex issues like chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and dynamic instability.