Sports Chiropractors: Why They Are Different and Where Do They Fit In Your Healthcare Team
Whether you realize it or not, you create your own healthcare team as you get older. Most likely first on the list is a primary care physician, or PCP. Your PCP is terrific at first point of contact for just about anything that ails you, but their expertise is centered on common infectious diseases, managing diabetes, and managing hypertension. It's vital you have a PCP for other reasons, but in general this is the PCP's role.
The rest of the team starts to fill itself through specialties and personal need: Dentists for dental care, Pediatricians for your children, Neurologists for progressive neurological disease, etc. But what about general aches and pains? There are actually several options here.
The traditional route may to go to an orthopedist. Orthopedists generally evaluate for acute injury or trauma, and may prescribe medications, injections, surgery, or physical therapy. Physical Therapists (PTs) are more inclined to help through conservative measures, such as therapeutic exercises. Only drawback here is that most PTs require a referral from a medical doctor, and they do not have the ability to order x-rays or MRI. If you do not progress, you go back to your doctor for further evaluation.
You may opt to see a massage therapist, who may be excellent at manual therapy or other soft tissue procedures. Unfortunately massage therapists cannot diagnose an injury or condition. They cannot prescribe exercises or order x-rays/MRIs either. They usually aren't accepted by insurance unless prescribed by a medical doctor.
Traditional chiropractors are an option, but they mainly deal with low back and neck pain, and have limited expertise on extremity conditions or evidence-based rehabilitation procedures.
But what if there was a professional who could encompass everything I mentioned above with no drawback? That's where a Sports Chiropractor comes in and fills that gap. Sports Chiropractors can diagnose, order x-ray/MRIs, treat with manual therapy/soft tissue procedures, prescribe exercises, and make appropriate adjustments to the spine. They do not require a referral from a medical doctor, and insurance is accepted.
No longer do you need to go through 2 or 3 different physicians or therapists in order to get a solution to your problem. Sports Chiropractors treat any musculoskeletal condition with advanced conservative measures. They should be your first point of contact with any ache or pain, and if they cannot help you, they'll refer you to the appropriate source.
Dr. Evan Kahn, DC, DACBSP