Spine, the focus of chiropractic

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame--and in the cause and prevention of disease." Thomas Edison's quote symbolizes the chiropractic's goal, according to Drs. Joseph and Carolyn Clauss of the Adirondack Family Chiropractor in Plattsburgh, NY.

"Chiropractic concerns itself with the interrelationship of structure and body functions, and only chiropractic effectively utilizes natural, drugless methods of treatment--primarily spinal adjustments," states a Parker Chiropractic Research Foundation pamphlet.

"In another words, an example would be a person who has heart burn," Joseph Clausse said. "Medical treatment may be Rolaids or Tums--something to neutralize acid in the stomach. What a chiropractor does is a spinal examination. What we are looking for are pinched nerves which we call subluxations. If a patient has a subluxation, very gently, with a chiropractor adjustment, we take the pressure of the nerve so the stomach can adjust normally."

TRAINING

A pamphlet available in the office broke down the training a chiropractic doctor has to complete, usually with six or more years of college. In addition the basic requirements of a medical doctor total 4,248u hours, while a chiropractic doctor's classes total 4,485 hours. An official from New York Chiropractic College said the total of hours were higher. "Total class hours in the new curriculum is 5,245 hours," Jeanne Brucia, Admission Counselor of New York Chiropractor College said. Curriculum requirements are continually changing. Class topics range from anatomy to diagnosis to X-ray. "We take and read our own X-rays," said Carolyn Clausse.

"We have to know how to rule in and rule out diseases," she said. Her husband, Joseph added, "We have to be able to diagnose cancer (and other diseases)--anything a regular doctor can diagnose. And then refer (the person) to the proper place.

PAIN

"We try to educate the patient in how to prevent health problems and not to go by how they feel," Carolyn explained. Sometimes a person does have warning signs, but ignores them or covers them up.

The latter are the people who mask the warning signs with aspirins or some other pain relievers. Medicine only postpones the pain, Joseph said.

"There are a lot of causes for headaches (such as allergies, sinuses, and tension)," related Dr. James Amioka of the Family Health Care in Plattsburgh. By making adjustments, "Chiropractors have a good success rate in stopping the headaches. A person may simply need to realign the spinal cord to stop a nerve interference. Muscle spasms or tension headaches--the ones that seem to start in the back of the headache and move upwards are the types of headaches chiropractors usually deal with.

"Manipulation may not help," Amioka cautioned. For example, if a person has a chronic headache, he or she may need to see someone else. "I think ;people should realize there are certain conditions that can be effectively taken care of by a chiropractor and other conditions that need other specialists.

Other conditions that may be helped by chiropractors are back problems, asthma, colds, headaches, migraines, and menstrual problems, according to the Koren Publication pamphlet available at the doctor's office.

ROUTINE SERVICES

Chiropractic services usually include an evaluation, X-rays, a a counseling session and chiropractor adjustments, according to the Clausses. The actual decision to see a chiropractor or other doctor depends in each individual case.

Some patients are referred to him, while at times, he may refer them to a medical doctor or other specialist. If a patient has an "acute low back pain, and I don't feel I can help," said Amioka, "I'll refer."

DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHIES

According to Amioka, "there are different philosophies" or methods a chiropractor may choose to use. "Originally, a chiropractor worked on the back and spine. The traditional adjustment was done by hand to remove any nerve interferences," he explained.

Today, each chiropractor set-up has their own practices, and there may be some overlap. "Some chiropractors incorporate physical therapy and nutritional counseling," Amioka said. "As far as physical therapy, a chiropractor may stimulate muscles using machines to help speed the healing process versus straight manipulation."

The practice of chiropractic has come a long way and is more widely accepted and practiced.

**This interview was conducted in Plattsburgh, NY, and my article was originally published in the Press-Republican newspaper. For more information, see their website at http://www.clausschiropractic.com/.