Chiropractic and the medical field
Patients are often surprised to find that the Chiropractic profession is not new. The first College of Chiropractic was founded in 1910. Chiropractors were the also first profession to train students to take and read X-rays for medical diagnosis. Much pioneering work on radiology (X-ray techniques and analysis) was done by chiropractors in the early 20th century which was approximately 18 years before the ordinary medical profession started training their students to become radiologists!
Chiropractors receive their doctor title when they graduate which means “doctor of chiropractic". Chiropractic students study for a minimum of four years in full-time training to obtain their doctorates in chiropractic. Most importantly, in a similar way to medical doctors, chiropractors are regulated by law and must work within strict professional and ethical boundaries.
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Some differences between medical doctors and chiropractors are obvious. For example, chiropractors do not study surgery, A&E medicine and do not prescribe medication, but they study orthopaedics, neurology and musculoskeletal medicine to a much more advanced level. These differences are also highlighted in the postgraduate training.
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When Scott Middleton graduated as a doctor of chiropractic he too practised for three years with a Trainer, concentrating his studies on orthopaedics, neurology, rheumatology, paediatrics, sports injuries and the specialised tests and specific treatment protocols designed to alleviate the many musculoskeletal pain syndromes that he would be treating for the rest of his career.
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A GP should have a good general knowledge of most aspects of medicine. They are the gatekeeper of health in the community and should be proficient enough to know when to refer a patient for specialist care and to whom that patient should be referred to.
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A chiropractor is one of the specialists. We have an excellent knowledge of, and expert skills to deal with low back pain, sciatica, neck pain and others as mentioned on our conditions pages.
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