Making a move to attend chiropractic college is a move many with a passion for patient care are making these days. After all, the healthcare world is quickly becoming a place for specialists due to ever-expanding discoveries about health and wellness. And when it comes to musculoskeletal pain and conditions, today’s chiropractic college graduates are the specialists.
Chiropractors Address Back and Neck Pain
Odds are, you or someone you know has had at least one occurrence of neck or back pain that interfered with their daily life. In fact, surveys show 8 of 10 adults will experience major neuromuscular pain during their lifetime. Not surprisingly, it’s the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed workdays.
As you’ll learn in chiropractic college, there’s a worldwide increase in musculoskeletal conditions. More occupations than ever involve long periods sitting or standing. Repetitive motions without attention to proper neuromuscular mechanics are also contributing to back and neck pain.
Add to these scenarios a trend toward strenuous exercise or sports activities after a 40-hour week of limited physical activity, and a deep concern about opioid-based pain medicine, and you can see why the demand for doctors of chiropractic is increasing.
Between 2018 and 2028, the Bureau of Labor Statistics sees the growth of the chiropractic profession increasing more than 7%. Much of this is due to an increase in evidence-based research that supports chiropractic care. In 2017, the American College of Physicians (ACP) changed its guidelines for neck and back pain to include chiropractic treatments.
Patient surveys put satisfaction with chiropractic care near 90%, according to data from the 2017 report titled Chiropractic: As Safe and Cost Effective Approach to Health.
What to Know About a Chiropractic College Degree
Whether you’re earning an undergraduate degree while thinking about a healing arts profession or already considering a chiropractic college, a doctor of chiropractic degree is uniquely focused on non-pharmaceutical ways to improved health and wellness.
A chiropractic education embraces the belief in optimizing health through nutrition, exercise, posture, lifestyle counseling, and proper spinal and extremity joint biomechanics.
You’ll also have to master it fast. A 3.3-year chiropractic college education is considered equivalent to medical school in the total number of class hours. Chiropractic students do internships while they’re in school, not after.
One More Smart Move
According to many college advising sources, the best way to get the full story about any college is to do a full on-site visit. That way, you can check for a precise fit by meeting other students like yourself, talking to faculty, and whenever possible, hearing from alumni first-hand.
Lucky for you, though, insight from chiropractic college alumni is closer than you think.
Advice from Chiropractic Students, Alumni
“Chiropractic college is a short amount of time for you to chase your dreams. I would tell people to show up and put in the work, because It’s something that’s going to fuel your family, fuel your life, and fuel your soul.”
Breanna B.
3rd-year chiropractic student
“Chiropractic is a profession where you really can find that meaning, and you can give it away every day that you’re practicing.”
Dr. Sherri H.
2011 chiropractic college graduate
“Our profession is positioned exactly where it needs to be: as the first line of defense against musculoskeletal pain and chronic visceral issues. There seems to be a health trend that’s going away from the conventional medicine side for non-surgical procedures.”
Dr. Justin G.
2008 chiropractic college graduate
“Students considering chiropractic should be very passionate about it because our profession is all about taking care of patients in highly personalized ways.”
Dr. Sammy S.
2018 chiropractic college graduate
3 Pathways to a Doctor of Chiropractic Degree
Becoming a Chiropractor at CUKC
Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is a private, nonprofit, healthcare-focused university specializing in the chiropractic and health sciences. The CUKC campus is in Overland Park, Kansas, a Kansas City area suburb of 190,000 people. Today, more than one out of every 10 U.S. chiropractors have earned the doctor of chiropractic degree from our chiropractic college.
In addition to the three-year doctor of chiropractic (D.C.) degree, CUKC offers a concurrent B.S./D.C. degree program that can reduce the amount of time in school.
Other students earn their B.S. in Human Biology degree at CUKC, which is excellent preparation for the chiropractic degree – it sets up students to successfully navigate the rigorous coursework of a chiropractic college.
To get all the right information, get the one free ebook with all the right information: Your Complete Guide to the Chiropractic Profession.
