Is Chiropractic Safe After Surgery?

By Dr. Molly Casey

Chiropractic care is about improving your overall health, experience in/and quality of life. It’s as simple and profound as that, all in one. Chiropractic care is done by hand and works through the avenue of restoring spinal joint motion. This promotes the health of the spinal structure, proper movement, and it facilitates clear brain-body communication. Can chiropractic care be used for everyone, even if you’ve had surgery? The short answer is yes. The longer answer explains a bit more about chiropractic, the adjustment, and options when one has had surgery.

Uniqueness

Patients and their background or history are unique. It’s as simple as that. Surgeries and complications are unique as well. There are various elements that make chiropractic a very safe and viable option for those who have had surgeries or significant procedures in their past history. Certainly how this all applies is specific to the individual.

Training and Tools

First, chiropractic care is very conservative and the doctors are well-trained. Chiropractic is done by hand and the doctors performing the adjustments are well trained both academically in regard to the physical body and within their trade of spinal adjustments. Most state licensing boards now require doctors of chiropractic have undergraduate degrees in addition to four years thereafter in an accredited chiropractic school to complete the academics and training. In this training, patient lifestyle and history are studied within regard to proper fit with chiropractic care. In other words, is the surgery patient a good candidate for chiropractic? That is something chiropractors are taught in school based on the entire patient picture and presentation.

Second, the amount of movement and applied force is very specific, quick and light. There is no part of treatment that involves adding something to the physical body. Being that it is arguably the most conservative option for spine health care, the side effects are minimal and it can be safely administered to a wide variety of people with significant traumas and health histories.

Techniques and Approaches

There are various techniques, some in which more manual (done by hand) pressure and force is applied and some of which involve less pressure and force. There are instruments that can assist the doctor in performing the adjustment. These can lighten the pressure and force that’s applied even more. In addition to different techniques, there are adaptations as to how patients can be positioned: lying down on one’s stomach, lying down on one’s back, or seated. The ability to adapt positioning also aids in completing the adjustment in a way that best serves the patient and their history should it include, in this instance, surgery. Additionally, the time, date and other specifics of the surgery will dictate the technique, position, and approach the doctor takes.

The true, tried, and trusted way to see if you or someone you know/love is a good fit for chiropractic care is to go see a chiropractor. Schedule an initial consultation and be informed by the doctors that have studied and practice the trade. Stop into The Joint Chiropractic and let us help you help yourself. It’s as simple as that.

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