Times are a changin, which has its impacts on chiropractic care as well. Though chiropractic care started out as a controversial practice and was treated like pseudoscientific mumbo jumbo by traditional medicine of the time (practitioners even got jail time if you can believe it), time and statistics have shown that chiropractic care is a valid practice
Traditional medicine likes evidence (and rightly so) so let’s look at the statistics. As of 2024, more than 35 million Americans visit chiropractors once a year, and the industry in the United States alone is valued at approximately $19.5 billion. This value is projected to grow as there are trends of an aging population and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders that rise globally.
Naturally, this is reflected in an increased interest in becoming a practitioner of chiropractic care. This increased interest has resulted in more than 70,000 registered chiropractors just in the U.S. Relevant rest of the world data is more difficult to come by, but if the U.S. data is any indication the interest must grow globally as well.
The threshold is the time to pause so let’s take a moment and sum this up. All of this signals that chiropractic care has a major role in modern medicine, but how do we understand this role?
How do you start a chiropractic career? What issues will you be helping people with? What is the role of chiropractic care in the bigger picture?
We’ve endeavored to answer these complex questions in our three sections below.
Table of Contents
How To Start Your Career In Chiropractic Care
So, you’ve decided to throw your hat in a chiropractic career and it’s not time to start. There are many ways to go about it, but we’ve decided that the tried and tested method is the best way to showcase here.
We’ve divided them into getting an education, gaining experience and continuing education
Education And Licensure
No particular surprises here, you’ll first need an education.. Look for an accredited chiropractic school that can give you a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) degree which is required by US law. Programs like these typically take four years and include courses in subjects usual for the field – anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, chiropractic techniques, and patient care.
Before enrolling in a DC program, you generally need an undergraduate degree, often with a focus on sciences such that would make sense for your interest in chiropractic care.
Having completed your education, your next step is to get licensed. In the United States, this requires passing the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) exam, which is divided into several parts covering different aspects of chiropractic knowledge and practice you should already have covered while you were getting an education.
There might be specific state requirements, which may include jurisprudence exams or additional certifications
Gaining Experience And Building Your Practice
Once licensed, you can begin practicing, and gaining experience is now your goal. In order to get that experience new chiropractors habitually start as associates in already established practices. By doing this they can learn the ins and outs of how to run a clinic, manage patients, and apply the skills they spent time getting. On top of this, new chiropractor can also use this time to build a patient base and a reputation, all of which is absolutely necessary if they plan to open their own practice further down the line.
We should also mention that opening a private practice is not just about the healing aspect there is also the business aspect. You will need to secure a location, manage finances, hire staff, and develop a marketing strategy to attract and retain patients.
Don’t forget about the possibility of opening a franchise. It is also a viable option that offers more flexibility but also comes with its own set of challenges and rewards.
Continuing Education And Specialization
These two aspects overlap which is why we decided to band them in one section. The reality of the world is that you will need to work on additional education at least until retirement whatever you do and chiropractic care is no exception. As a chiropractor, odds are you will need to keep an eye on medical and tech developments, attend seminars and other professional development happenings. Continuing education will naturally get you thinking about specialization, because while you’re already at it you might as well specialize in an area such as sports chiropractic, pediatric care, or chiropractic neurology depending on where your passion lies.
Specializations in the chiropractic field require additional certifications from relevant bodies. American Chiropractic Neurology Board or the American Board of Chiropractic Pediatrics depending on which branch you want to specialize in. We just don’t have the space to list relevant bodies, but you get the picture.
Bear in mind, this isn’t just about expertise, it’s about money too since it can increase your marketability, allowing you to offer more targeted treatments and potentially command higher fees.
Specific Health Issues Chiropractic Care Can Help With
Ok, we’ve covered the basics of starting your career but what will you actually be doing? What are the most common issues you’ll be facing?
We’ve divided these issues into generally three sections: back and neck pain, headaches and sports injuries
Chronic Back and Neck Pain
Most people seeking help seek it for their constant back and neck pain. There really is no surprise here, since most people lead sedentary lifestyles and modern jobs require a lot of sitting in place which leas to conditions like herniated discs, sciatica, or degenerative disc disease.
After spinal manipulation provided by chiropractic care patients often experience significant pain relief. There are examples of patients who have successfully avoided surgical interventions through consistent chiropractic care, regaining mobility and reducing their dependence on pain medications
Headaches and Migraines
Next up it’s headaches and migraines. This usually comes as a bit of a surprise – headaches and migraines are often linked to misalignments in the cervical spine (the neck area).
With techniques like soft tissue therapy chiropractors are able to reduce muscle tension. Patients usually report relief both in cases of tension headaches and migraines after long term chiropractic treatments. The key here is the long term effect, patients will require a series of treatments.
Sports Injuries and Performance Enhancement
Injuries like sprains, strains, and joint issues are the day to day struggles of both professional and amateur athletes.
Chiropractic care is the go to method for these people due to its non invasive methods. As before, due to manipulations of the spine chiropractors are able to relieve tension in joints and muscles and relieve strains.
The Role Of Chiropractic Care In Modern Medicine
We’ve covered how to get into chiropractic care and the issues you’ll be helping with as a chiropractor. But what about the bigger picture?
The role of chiropractic care in modern medicine has radically changed and is likely to change more in the coming years. Modern medicine is a big and complicated machine and it takes time for effects of chiropractic care to actually show results.
Regardless, let’s have a look at what chiropractic care means today and we might be able to glean what it might mean in the future for modern medicine.
We’ve divided this into three sections: integration into modern medicine, addressing the opioid crisis and enhancing preventative care and wellbeing.
Integration Into Mainstream Healthcare
Traditional medicine is all about evidence and the scientific approach. Luckily there is more and more evidence showing that chiropractic treatments can reduce the need for more invasive medical procedures.
A recent systematic review showed that patients who sought chiropractic care for spinal pain got fewer opioid prescriptions (which we will go into later), surgeries, and hospital visits compared to those who relied solely on traditional medical management.
This has led to a broader acceptance of chiropractic care as a cost-effective and generally effective treatment option for managing musculoskeletal pain and improving patient outcomes.
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Addressing The Opioid Crisis
Out of the three points we are making in this section this is most intriguing one. If you’re not familiar with the opioid crisis, it basically revolves around the use of opiates as painkillers for people with spinal injuries.
The problem there is that it leads to addiction and by the time individuals have recovered from injuries they may be addicted to opioids they no longer have a medical basis to use. We won’t go further into it here, but there are truly horrific stories of people’s lives being ruined by opiods. So, you must be asking yourself, how does this connect to chiropractic care?
Studies indicate that chiropractic care can reduce opioid prescriptions by up to 50% for patients with spinal pain. This reduction is necessary not only for addressing the immediate risks associated with opioid use but can literally save lives and help with an ongoing crisis of a larger scale.
Enhancing Preventive Care And Wellness
It has become obvious by this point in this piece that chiropractic care has a major role in treating acute and chronic conditions. The question now is can it do more? It sure can, as chiropractic care is being recognized for its contributions to preventive care and overall wellness.
Chiropractic treatments have been shown to enhance immune function, improve athletic performance, and reduce stress, all of these being key factors for preventative medicine.
How does this actually work? Well, for example, if an individual already knows they are prone to spine problems it may be a good idea to visit a chiropractor on a regular basis regardless of whether they’re currently experiencing symptoms.
Wrapping Up
Here we are at the end of this piece. We hope that it’s sufficiently shown that not only does chiropractic care have a role in modern medicine – but that that role is very likely to expand in the future.
If you’re thinking about a career in chiropractic care or considering it as a patient there are measurable benefits to taking this route. These benefits are being recognized by traditional medicine more and more which can only signal further growth for chiropractic care.
Another recent trend underlines this, modern diagnostic tools like scanners and MRI are being used to indicate areas of the spine that need chiropractic care, which further emphasizes the connection between chiropractic care and the role it has in modern medicine.
