Patients seek chiropractors for neck and lower back pain relief. When a patient initially sees me for chiropractic care, I can take X-rays of the spine of the area of their complaint. This article will discuss the history of how chiropractic and X-rays are related and the importance of X-rays in diagnosis and treatment for spinal pain relief.
There is historical evidence that forms of spinal manipulation for back pain have been used for more than 5000 years. The modern area of spinal manipulation began in 1895 in the United States when Daniel David Palmer began to successfully treat patients with misalignment spinal adjustments. Dr. Palmer soon realized how chiropractic care could benefit people suffering from back and neck pain and started a school to train future chiropractors that became Palmer College of Chiropractic.
Interestingly, also in 1895, Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen is credited with developing the first use of X-rays. In 1901, Rontgen received the first Nobel Prize in physics for his discovery. The relationship between X-rays and chiropractic continues to this day.
While attending five years of doctoral training at a chiropractic educational institute, students gain extensive education in the process of taking x-rays and reading and evaluating x-rays. Most people know that an X-ray technician must undergo a rigorous course of study to learn his profession. At a chiropractic college, students must earn a similar guardianship degree. In fact, at the National College of Chiropractic, the school I attended, we were trained by certified X-ray technicians and physicists. By learning the skill of taking X-rays, chiropractic students must learn to read and interpret X-ray images.
Chiropractic students have numerous X-ray interpretation courses that include conditions such as bone fractures and dislocations and pathologies such as cancer, infections, and arthritis. The chiropractic fellowship also focuses on biomechanics, which simply evaluates images for segmental malpositions and misalignments, postural distortions, scoliosis, ligamentous instabilities, etc. Leading scientific research journals have confirmed the competence of chiropractors to read and interpret spinal radiographs.
The decision to take X-rays of a patient is a clinical decision of the chiropractor. This decision is a combination of complaints, history, and examination findings.
A National College of Chiropractic research study showed the results of a review of all radiographic examinations performed during the 1982 calendar year. The article’s authors stated: “The use of plain film radiography has long been a staple of the chiropractic profession. Radiographic examinations are a valuable tool in the diagnosis of the patient’s condition by the chiropractor. “
There are many benefits to both the chiropractor and the patient of having spinal X-rays to aid in the analysis, diagnosis, and treatment of spinal symptoms.