If you’ve been on this chiropractic red flag journey with us, we want you to know we appreciate you. We never set out to make this blog series about badmouthing other chiropractors or tooting our own horns, but we are extremely passionate about chiropractic care and its incredible power. We want the world to know that healing and health IS possible through neurologically-based chiropractic care, and we want the general public to understand what to be wary of when seeking a new chiropractor. Our profession has had a stigma for decades and we don’t want to propel that on any further, so we feel strongly about shedding some light on some less-than-ideal practices that we’ve run into within our field.

Today’s topic is our final blog on chiropractic red flags, and it’s a BIG one. If you’ve ignored all our other blogs or if you disagree with them, please hear this one.

Chiropractors should be taking X-rays. Period.

Adults have all sorts of repetitive trauma and unresolved health issues because of spinal trauma that they may not even be aware of. And while there are very few anomalies that make chiropractic adjustments unsafe, we want to be in the know 100% of the time. X-ray imaging allows us to see the structure of the spine, postural concerns, and functional impairments. It eliminates guesswork and allows us to more properly diagnose the root cause of health concerns.

Many chiropractors feel strongly about a popular saying: “To see is to know. To not see is to guess.”

We don’t want to guess when it comes to your health and wellbeing. We want to be certain that what we’re doing is in your best interest, and we want to be able to point to new X-rays in a few months and show you the difference so you can see it for yourself.

If a chiropractor isn’t taking X-rays before they’re adjusting you, they are guessing with your health. They may not understand the full extent of a spinal problem, or they may miss a spinal anomaly that puts you in danger. Guessing with someone’s spinal health is far too risky for us to be okay with, so we urge you to only see a chiropractor who takes X-rays before adjusting you.

Safety and Importance of X-Rays

Years ago, medical professionals were concerned about the radiation associated with X-rays. While it’s not encouraged to get one X-ray after another on a constant basis, the benefits of having X-rays done for chiropractic care far outweigh the downsides. In fact, a study was conducted on X-rays in chiropractic, and it claimed that imaging is “essential” for quality care and that it “increases benefits and reduces risks.”

To learn more about how much Greater Life Chiropractic values you, your health, and your chiropractic education, contact us today. Our team is passionate about sharing the benefits of chiropractic and would love the opportunity to explain why we do things the way we do. We look forward to hearing from you and scheduling your consultation.

Source

Oakley, P.A, Cuttler, J.M., Harrison, D.E. “X-Ray Imaging is Essential for Contemporary Chiropractic and Manual Therapy Spinal Rehabilitation: Radiography Increases Benefits and Reduces Risks.” Dose Response, 2018 Jun 10; 16(2). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29977177/