Nearly 50 million people every year suffer from life-interrupting musculoskeletal conditions, and low-back pain is the leading cause of disability and lost work days. Becoming a doctor of chiropractic is the right career choice for a career in natural back pain relief, and that’s just the beginning of your career story.
The idea of being a healthcare professional is not new to you – in fact, it’s a recurring dream that fills you with excitement, pride, and a sense of duty.
Choosing Chiropractic: Providing Natural Back Pain Relief
In an age of ever-increasing specialization in healthcare, it’s not a surprise that people suffering from injuries and years of chronic pain have turned to specialists known for providing natural back pain relief – doctors of chiropractic. Although doctors of medicine (M.D.s) are what most people know, it’s the chiropractic profession that is putting up impressive patient satisfaction statistics.
How people feel about doctors of chiropractic:
It’s Only Natural: Back Pain Relief is Only the Start
In 2017, the American College of Physicians (ACP) presented evidence that resulted in ACP issuing clinical recommendations for first choosing conservative, noninvasive treatments, including spinal adjustments such as those performed by a doctor of chiropractic.
Natural back pain relief through soft-tissue treatments like spinal adjustments are only part of what a chiropractor does. In addition to a drug-free approach, chiropractors lead patients toward better health through exercises, nutritional and dietary assistance, and lifestyle counseling.
There are three phases of chiropractic care, which depends on the patient’s current conditions. Here are the three phases of care:
Chiropractors Go for Comprehensive Care
As a chiropractor, you’re choosing to look at health from a whole-person perspective. Many chiropractic patients say their initial physical exam is one of the most comprehensive ones they’ve ever had.
Before recommending any treatments, doctors of chiropractic will check blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and reflexes. Additional orthopedic and neurological aspects checked include:
Chiropractors are at the Center of Health Care’s Future
Long before integrative care became as popular as it is now, chiropractors were already there. In integrative care practices, sometimes called multi-disciplinary health care, the goal is a closely coordinated plan for each patient’s best care from the most appropriate specialist.
Chiropractors often coordinate care with M.D.s, occupational health practitioners, physical therapists, and sports medicine specialists. The move to integrative care prevents duplication of services or conflicting care. The number of doctors of chiropractic holding staff privileges at a hospital has been growing steadily since 1991.
Medical Plans Cover Chiropractic Care
According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), medically necessary chiropractic care is now included in more than 90% of U.S. medical plans to provide natural back-pain relief.
Coverage is also provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield plans for federal employees, workers’ compensation, Medicare, and some Medicaid plans.
In late 2018, legislation introduced into the U.S. Senate would require TRICARE’s coverage of active, retired, and non-activated reservists to include all chiropractic care services.
The College of Chiropractic at CUKC
Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is a private, nonprofit, healthcare-focused university in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of nearly 190,000 people within the Kansas City metropolitan area. Overland Park is a city known for its livability, family friendliness, and plentiful housing options.
The University’s College of Chiropractic has been a national leader since 1922. An option to the Doctor of Chiropractic degree is choosing the concurrent B.S./D.C. option. This educational choice results in both a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology degree and the Doctor of Chiropractic degree, which reduces time in school by as much as a year.
CUKC is the first U.S. chiropractic college to have two Force Sensing Technology Tables (FSTT) in the adjusting laboratory on campus. FSTT™ improves students’ mastery of effective adjustment techniques by recording the amount of adjusting force for further review.
To learn how to become a doctor of chiropractic, download a free copy of the eBook, Your Complete Guide to the Chiropractic Profession today!
