Close to one million Albertans choose chiropractic treatment each year as part of their health care. Patients of chiropractic achieve relief from pain and discomfort that helps them lead healthier, more active lives.
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is a health care profession that diagnoses, treats and helps prevent disorders and conditions related to the spine, nervous system and musculoskeletal system.
The form of treatment used by chiropractors is called a chiropractic adjustment or manipulation. This is a gentle, controlled, and directed pressure that helps to restore the spine’s ability to function and relieve nerve irritation.
What to Expect
On your first visit the chiropractor will ask you to fill in a health history form and then they will review your history and current health with you.
Your chiropractor will then conduct a full assessment of your condition. This will include a physical examination, orthopedic and neurological testing, and direct palpation of joint movement. Your chiropractor might order x-rays or other diagnostic imaging to diagnose the source of your condition.
They will then tell you what they find and recommend a specific course of treatment.
Practitioner Training
Doctors of Chiropractic are trained as primary contact health care practitioners. In Canada, Doctors of Chiropractic require a minimum of seven years post-secondary education.
Following the completion of the required post-secondary education, chiropractic students complete a 4500 hour classroom and clinical program from an accredited chiropractic college that typically takes 4 years to complete.
