At my San Diego Chiropractic office I often find that patients that are both new and returning to chiropractic care have misconceptions regarding the differences between medical care (allopathic) and chiropractic treatment (holistic).

Most of my patients initially come to my office with neck pain, back pain or headaches. Regardless of the complaint, I often check many chiropractic subluxation indicators. One of the most substantial differences between chiropractic treatment and medical treatment is the way in which we look at you, the patient. Chiropractic care is holistic in its approach to you. A holistic approach sees you as a whole person whose parts are interdependent on each other. Medical care takes an allopathic approach meaning that your care tends to be focused on the specific area that has become problematic.

If we use tension headaches as an example to expose the differences between the two types of care the differences between allopathic and holistic treatment become clear. As a chiropractor the first thing that I do when a patient comes to me complaining of muscle tension headaches is look for the source of the muscle tension. Sometimes the muscle tension lies in the thin band of muscle that crosses the bottom of the skull while other times the muscle tension comes from the neck or shoulders / upper back. The point here is that different sources of pain drive a need for different types of care. After the source of the muscle tension is found, treatment is delivered to the source of the problem.

If you present to your MD with the same muscle tension headache, you will probably be prescribed some kind of medication to dull the pain but not to address the cause of your headache. This kind of care is allopathic – focusing only on the pain of the headache – not the cause of the headache.

Chiropractors and medical doctors have two very different philosophies, yet each has its place. If you have broken bones or you’re bleeding by the side of the road, you need the lifesaving measures of emergency medical treatment.

On the other hand, if you have chronic aches and pains or if your interest lies in wellness and health maintenance, you definitely want the “focus on health” approach that is the objective of chiropractic care. 

Since chiropractic care has a positive effect on your nervous system, chiropractic treatment can have a positive effect on many different conditions.  It is not unusual for patients that I treat for headaches to indicate that not only is their headache much improved but that their neck stiffness is much better and that the numbness and tingling that was running down their arm is now gone.  This is typical.  If you have any questions about whether or not chiropractic could help you, call us at (619) 280-0554.  We are here to help.