Many people with pain think that the best thing for them is to see a chiropractor. This might work for some, but as with anything there are pros and cons.

There are good and bad things that everyone says about seeing the chiropractor. Here we’ll look at a few things that people are saying about the pros and cons of seeing a chiropractor.

Related: Finding the Best Chiropractor For You

What is a Chiropractor

A chiropractor practices a form of alternative medicine that focuses principally on the spine. They suggest that the nervous system affects general health. Treatments consist of manipulating the spine, joints, and soft tissues. People who seek chiropractors are typically looking for relief from back pain, or lower back pain.

While there are many success stories from people helped by chiropractors, it has yet to be backed by scientific studies and evidence. There have been many clinical studies for chiropractic treatments, but they have yielded conflicting results.

What is a Chiropractic Treatment?

Chiropractors perform spinal manipulation, which is called a spinal adjustment or chiropractic adjustment. It involves thrusting on joints to increase the range of motion. The adjustments are done to the back, spine, and neck areas.

There are various techniques for treatment and a chiropractor may use one or more techniques for your care.

Activator chiropractic technique – using a spring-loaded tool to deliver adjustments.

Diversified chiropractic technique – full-spine, arm, and leg manipulation.

Gonstead chiropractic technique – spinal evaluation and non-rotational adjustments.

Koren Specific Technique – (KST chiropractic) – may use an ArthroStim for assessment and spinal manipulations.

Nimmo Receptor-Tonus chiropractic technique – using muscle testing for diagnosis.

There may be a popping noise during treatments. It’s similar to cracking knuckles, as small air pockets form and are released from the joints. There is no damage from this.

Repeat visits are often necessary because treatments require a cumulative effect to work. The repetition conditions the body like a stone sharpens steel.

Chiropractor Pros

Let’s start out by looking at the pros of seeing a chiropractor. The first thing that some will find about seeing a chiropractor is that it’s cost effective. One gets a lot of care for little money. It’s one of the cheapest forms of medicine out there.

It’s easy to try. A simple appointment is all that is necessary to get things started. Depending on your situation, the chiropractor may suggest that you come in 2-3 times per week for 3-4 weeks. You can decide at anytime whether to continue or not. There are no side effects for stopping treatments.

It is generally safe. Most people hate other treatments for extreme pain, because of side effects or other safety risks. Other things out there have many precautions and so forth. Using a chiropractor is all natural in that there are no medicinal addictions or side effects to worry about.

The biggest pro of this is that it can work and reduce pain.

Chiropractor Cons

Nothing is ever one hundred percent good. There are flaws with everything. So, one needs to look at the cons of seeing a chiropractor. The biggest complaint about chiropractors is that there is some discomfort after treatments.

The other thing is that while it is cost effective, the costs can run up. There is also a possible downfall. In some cases, insurance companies won’t cover chiropractic treatments and one is left to pay for the office visits out of their own pocket. This can add up because you have to go repeatedly.

The other thing is that some people may have difficulty getting to the chiropractor. While a chiropractor can help with many things, you have to actually go in to see them. It might be too painful to make the visit. Thus, there are some people who have illnesses where seeing a chiropractor isn’t such a wise idea.

Finally, there is a small risk for damaging an artery that results in a stroke or death when manipulating the neck. This has not been scientifically proven, however.

One needs to weigh the good and the bad about seeing a chiropractor. There are many things that are good about this as well as many things that aren’t so good. One has to see if the chiropractor can meet their needs or not. Many think that just because it’s not invasive then anyone is a good candidate, but that’s simply not the case.

Have you seen a chiropractor? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments below.