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If you’ve been considering seeing a chiropractor, there are some things you need to know to be able to find the right doctor for you. There are many different philosophies, styles of practice, and techniques in chiropractic, and it helps to have a basic understanding of what these are so you’ll know what to look for.
While there are as many philosophies in chiropractic as there are chiropractors, there are two basic types. The first philosophical type is the “straight”, which is the basic philosophy that the practice of chiropractic is simply to detect and correct “subluxations” of the spine only. This type of chiropractor typically only does spinal adjustments (sometimes called spinal manipulation) as his or her sole treatment modality. This may be an excellent approach to many cases, but patients with problems outside the spine and/or who are looking for more direct attention to symptomatic areas may find the straight chiropractic philosophy to be off-putting.
The second major philosophical type of chiropractor is the “mixer”. Mixers view chiropractic as a broader type of practice and will usually include other types of treatment beyond spinal adjustments, such as electrical therapy, ultrasound, massage, exercise, nutrition, acupuncture, etc..
Styles of practice vary greatly as well, and it is usually helpful to choose a chiropractor whose style of practice matches your particular needs at the time. For example, some chiropractors primarily see personal injury and/or worker’s compensation cases and frequently work in cooperation with attorneys. Others may specialize in sports injuries. Still others may run family practices and possibly even pediatric practices. Others, like myself may have “holistic” or “integrative” practices that utilize nutrition, acupuncture, herbal remedies, and other “natural” treatment methods and work with both musculoskeletal and organ-based health problems (whereas most chiropractors focus solely on musculoskeletal problems).
The majority of chiropractors still take assignment on health insurance claims, but a growing number do not. It is a good idea to find out about a doctor’s payment policies and approximate costs of care before your first visit. Don’t automatically assume though that a doctor who takes your insurance will be less expensive than one you must pay out of pocket for care. Different techniques, different levels of experience, and the amount of time and attention the doctor spends on each visit can result in dramatic differences in the total cost and duration of care for the same patient.
For example, one patient I saw recently had been to another doctor for 12 visits without getting any relief before coming (back) to see me. She had been to me before, but considered me to be “expensive” because I charged considerably more per visit and I didn’t take insurance. So, she went to a doctor who did take her insurance, went 12 times, each time paying her $20 co-pay. That meant that she had spent a total of $240 out of pocket (plus the cost of the gas she burned driving to and from 12 office visits) and had not improved signficantly. After just one visit with me (at $100 with no insurance coverage) she was symptom-free. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about which was a better deal.
Most chiropractors provide relatively brief treatments. In most cases, your actual contact time with the doctor is 10 minutes or less (in some extreme cases, it may be less than one minute - literally!). Many will provide additional therapy done by either a machine or possibly a massage therapist, but total treatment time is usually less than 30 minutes. Holistic chiropractors like myself typically spend more time with each patient and will usually incorporate more than one type of treatment per visit to get a synergistic effect.
Regardless of the philosophy and practice style of the chiropractor, the vast majority employ some type of spinal manipulation on most visits. Spinal manipulation can be performed via many different methods, ranging from very gentle instrument-assisted techniques like Activator or Pro-Adjuster, to more traditional manual methods that typically produce the joint “cracking” noise that many people associate with chiropractic. I myself use several techniques that span the spectrum of forcefulness. For overall healthy individuals, in my opinion, the manual techniques are usually more effective and efficient, but low-force techniques are still very beneficial and are more appropriate for those patients who are too fragile or too fearful for manual adjustments.
Many chiropractors also offer massage therapy in their practices, and massage can be an excellent adjunct to chiropractic treatment. If you are interested in massage therapy, you may wish to try to find a chiropractor who offers this service. Likewise, a small but growing number of chiropractors utilize acupuncture, nutrition, herbal remedies, etc., and all of these additional services have value for certain patients. It is a good idea to ask around to find a chiropractor who offers a wide variety of services if you are looking for a more comprehensive healthcare provider rather than simply a doctor for treatment of an acute musculoskeletal injury.
I think the best way to find the right chiropractor for you is through word of mouth. Ask your friends, family, coworkers, and other healthcare providers for recommendations. This is far more reliable than choosing at random from the yellow pages or from your insurance provider manual. Again, don’t be too quick to dismiss a recommendation simply because the doctor does not take your insurance. You may find that you can get much better service, much better results, and at an overall lower cost with a doctor who is not on your insurance than with a doctor who is.
One final tip… If you can’t get a recommendation from a friend, and you have to resort to using the yellow pages or your insurance provider list, check out the yellow pages and look for a doctor who has a listing only - no display ad. Why? Because if the doctor is not advertising, there’s a good chance that he or she gets most of his or her new business from referrals - which is a good sign. Ultimately you may need to try a few (or perhaps even several) doctors before you find one who is the right fit for you and what you’re looking for. But finding the right doctor is usually well-worth the effort.
Tags: Chiropractic, choosing a chiropractor
