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More
of your Questions????
Some
Chiropractors won’t really do an exam before treating me?
Is this safe?
No.
All good chiropractors should perform an in-depth exam including a
past medical history, a detailed look at your
chief complaint, and an Orthopaedic/Neurological exam before
offering you a diagnosis. By
looking at you past
medical history and performing these and other tests is the only
way a Chiropractor can advise you if you are a
candidate for Chiropractic care.
Otherwise it’s like treating something blindly.
If your chiropractor does not do an
exam on you and explain to you if you are/are not a candidate for
chiropractic care, walk out of that office and find
another chiropractor.
What
is this Informed Consent form that I have to sign?
Informed
consent form is something a good Chiropractor uses as a consent to
treat form. This form is used after the
appropriateness of chiropractic care for the individual patient is
ascertained and stated to the patient, and the alternative modes
of care are also offered to the patients.
This allows the patient to be informed of the problem being
addressed, and how it is being addressed.
All good chiropractors are informing their patients about
the course
of treatment and what to expect from chiropractic care.
Is yours? If
not, ask for an informed consent form from your doctor of
chiropractic. It is
your right!
Is
Chiropractic a new type of Health Care?
Not
at all. Chiropractic care has been around for thousands of years.
Over the past 100 years or so, defining terms
like “Chiropractic”, “Medicine”, “Dentistry” have
brought together certain types of care under respective umbrella
names. As a matter of
fact, manipulation as used by chiropractors has been documented as
being performed in ancient Greek and Egyptian times.
Some
of my friends have expressed some concerns about chiropractic
safety and effectiveness.
Any
health care procedure has the potential for things to go wrong.
This can range from very minor, such as soft tissue
irritation, to something more serious.
You should remember, however, that when compared to other
therapies/procedures, chiropractic is safer and more effective.
In fact, people usually undergo chiropractic care before
moving onto something that might carry a greater risk.
I’d
feel better if I knew that many people visited a chiropractor, are
there any numbers?
Recent
stats have shown that over 3 million Canadians see a chiropractor
every year. That is approximately 12%
of the population. The
good news is that, the number are on the rise as more and more
Canadians discover chiropractic and find out how good they feel
when they include chiropractic in their health care needs.
A
LITTLE INSIGHT TO YOUR QUESTIONS
TAKE
CARE OF YOUR BODY AND YOUR BODY WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU
What
is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic
is the science, art and philosophy that concerns itself with the
restoration of good health by restoring and maintaining a properly
functioning nervous system without the use of drugs and surgery.
“Chiro”(hands)-“practic”(practice) is the use of hands to
manipulate the spine and the soft tissues to restore proper
function and balance between the neuromusculoskelatal system (“neuro”-
nerves, “musculo” – muscles, “skeletal” – bones).
Can
Chiropractic help me?
Chiropractic
has shown very good success rates for many different types of
conditions from back pain, foot pain, neck pain and even
headaches. It is important for you to realize that not all
conditions have the same cause. Back pain may be due to many
different reasons ranging from strain/sprain, arthritis, to kidney
problems like stones that are out of the scope of chiropractic.
It is important for a Chiropractor to examine you to find out if
Chiropractic is for you and if not, then refer you to the
appropriate specialist.
Is
Chiropractic safe?
Chiropractic
is one of the safest among the healing arts professions.
There have been thousands of reports and research done proving
Chiropractic safety and effectiveness. Due to the
conservative approach to Chiropractic medicine, Chiropractic
adjustments are safer than surgery, medications, and even aspirin.
Can
Chiropractic prevent back surgery?
In
many cases, YES. The spinal cord is a very intricate part of
your body that is very complex in its functions and its position.
A lot of orthopaedic surgeons are very hesitant performing
surgeries as the risks outweigh the benefits of “poking”
around in an area and performing a procedure in a highly
neurologically complex region that may end up doing more harm than
good. There are many surgeons opting for conservative care
such as Chiropractic and leaving surgery as a last resort.
Chiropractic
education?
Lot
of people are not sure as to what type of education is required to
be a Chiropractor. Chiropractic is a regulated health care
profession in Canada and Chiropractors have the same level of
education as your medical doctor or your dentist. Chiropractors go
through an intensive science program involving extensive training
in anatomy, physiology, diagnostic imaging, and general diagnosis.
Where the education differs is in the area of specialties.
In the 3rd and 4th years of a traditional
medical program, students go into rotations for pharmacology and
surgery and other rotations. Chiropractors in that time
frame go into specialized rotations in Diagnostics (Imaging and
Diagnosis) and techniques specializing in neuromusculoskeletal
care.
Do
I have to go to a Chiropractor forever?
Some
people go to their Chiropractor or their Medical doctor when they
are sick or when they are in pain. What lot of people
don’t realize is that pain and feeling sick are just the
symptoms of an underlying process and not the problem itself.
Unfortunately, a lot of people have a mindset that they will do
whatever it takes to get rid of the pain and once its gone, they
forget about it. Having the cause addressed and treated is
still a little strange to some but the mindsets are changing.
People are starting to realize that, if they have to go to their
dentist every six months for a cleaning or to maintain their teeth
so their teeth wont bother them as they get older, shouldn’t
they have their spine and their joints maintained as well.
Same concept.
TAKE
CARE OF YOUR BODY AND YOUR BODY WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU.
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ARE
YOU HEALTHY?
Canadians
are constantly bombarded from the time they are born with false
images of what it means to be healthy. To many, the state of
optimum health is merely an absence of the signs of symptoms that
constitutes a disease. Advertising giants and pharmaceutical
companies have strived and to a great degree succeeded in
convincing the large array of the population that “popping a
pill” or “drinking some formula” will “cure” the
disease. That is why most of us don’t think twice about
taking medication, or popping a pill, or even consider the side
effects of any medications.
Do
pills work? Absolutely. Medicine has come a long way
in managing situations that require attention after we have
misused and abused our bodies. Many times environmental and
genetic factors place a large role in our state of physical and
mental health, but the key to anything in life is balance.
We all require a “ balance of care” to be optimally healthy in
life. If you think you may know what to do during those
times when you get “sick”, don’t you think you should
consider having a plan to make sure that you don’t!!
Pain
pills and “formulas” may mask the symptoms of a problem; in no
way do they cure anything. Pain is a body’s response to
indicate a lack of balance and highlight a problem. If you
numb the pain receptors in the body, then does the underlying
problem go away? To illustrate this point, lets ask ourselves a
question: Are headaches caused by an Aspirin deficiency? Of
course not! But this is what the pharmaceutical companies
would like us to believe. Not only are headaches not caused
by a lack of aspirin, but also continuous aspirin use can have
serious side effects, including ulceration and bleeding of the
lining of the stomach not to mention increased rebound headaches.
One needs to understand that headaches are a symptom of a disease
process and not the disease itself. We, as Canadians, are
hiding our poor health with drugs.
I
am a Chiropractor who is very passionate about what I do. I
am not going to tell anyone not to do something that doesn’t
feel right to them. My message through my articles and my
practice will always be to help people attain a balance in life.
If you can take a minute in your everyday life to think about the
type of gas you put in your car, don’t you think that you can
take the time to ask your doctor and yourself about what exactly
is this pill for? Do I really need it? Side effects? Am I
really sick?
My
focus through my science, art and the philosophy of my profession
is to try to make you think. Chiropractic is not about your
back. Chiropractic is not about your pain. Chiropractic is
about your life!!
“The
doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instead
interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and
in the cause and prevention of disease.”
* Dr.
Kapil Deswal earned his Honours Bachelor of Science degree from
the University of Toronto, and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree
from New York Chiropractic College. He is certified by the
Canadian Board of Chiropractic Examiners, College of Chiropractors
of Ontario, and the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners
(United States).
He
is in private practice in Etobicoke, Ontario. He has
successfully treated low back pain, neck pain, nerve pain,
headaches, whiplash injuries, and work and sports related
injuries. He believes in a holistic approach to patient
care, and is committed to his patients in healing and recovery.
For
an appointment or to find out more about Dr. Deswal, Please
call: 416-7-HEALTH.
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