Why aren't all chiropractors the same?

This is a question I hear a lot, even if people don't really know they are asking it. Let me explain. Have you ever been to see a chiropractor that you either loved/hated and then for one reason or another had to see some one else (moved away, were on vacation, changed insurance, ect.)? How often did you feel that you got the same feeling walking out of their office? As a former patient myself I can attest to the fact that this can be frustrating as you wish they could all just treat you like the one doctor you had who had you figured out. And while it is still frustrating at times, there is a reason that chiropractic varies from doctor to doctor, and there are ways around it if you know what you are doing.


Chiropractic, unlike some other health professions that function on an algorithm (if A then do B, if B then do C, ect.) there is definite physical skill component that many practitioners liken to an art form. Likewise most chiropractors believe in a sort of three pronged approach to the practice of chiropractic.


There is the science, encompassing an understanding of the workings of your body as well as some of the algorithmic type knowledge mentioned before. This can be varied from doc to doc just like the education of a subject can vary from school to school.
Second there is their is the art. To me this comes into play in the actual application of a therapy, adjustment, treatment (whatever you want to call it) as there is a skill involved that must be trained and honed, and in my opinion can never truly reproduced by a machine. Because in many cases doctors choose to "freelance" or create their own styles (from scratch in many cases) treatments, good and bad can be difficult to reproduce. (Fear not there is a remedy to this, just read on.)
The third prong in this three prong approach is the philosophy of the chiropractor. Don't just write this one off as ethereal or mystic, simply put (in my opinion) the philosophy of a chiropractor comes in how he or she applies the art and science to the patient. How a doctor combines his or her understanding of the science behind a patients problems with the delivery of their art form is their philosophy. Maybe an over simplification to some, but I'm not writing a thesis here, its a blog.


So with this understanding one can see how you would end up with a wide array of differences from doctor to doctor. But as I said before you need not fear. There are ways to find consistency. Like in most other cases, it helps if you do your homework. Find out a little about the doctor you are seeing. What school did they go to? This can often have a significant affect especially on their science and philosophy. It used to have an affect on the art as the techniques taught at different schools varied, but for more recent graduates most schools have migrated towards a core technique system that gives a doctor the skills in what most would call "diversified" technique. While having similar educational backgrounds may be of some help in finding commonality it still leaves a lot to chance. I need only think about the wide variety of styles I see in the members of just my small graduating class to know that going to the same school does not mean getting the same education. You may also wish to find out if they have any postgraduate or other advanced training in a specific field.
At this point you may wonder if there is a way to tell what you are getting. I can assure you that this not only frustrates patients, but has been frustrating doctors for years. There is a simple solution in most cases. You see some doctors who wanted their patients to feel like they could depend their chiropractor to give them a consistently applied treatment developed guidelines and standards to their application. Their artwork didn't become paint by numbers so to say as much as it became reproducible. (As nice as a Jackson Pollack painting may be to look at good luck reproducing one for the next visit.) Out of this desire grew named technique systems. In chiropractic today there are literally hundreds of them. Many are named after their founder, (Gonstead, Petibon, ect.) while others are more a description of their therapy (Active Release Technique, Chiropractic Bio-physics, Sacro-occiptal-technique, ect.) While some chiropractors chafe at the idea of using a "named technique" (hey we like our autonomy) it is probably the most sound way of determining not only similarity from doctor to doctor but from treatment to treatment with the same doctor and the wide variety of techniques means doctors don't have to give up their unique skills but instead find a technique that will best utilize them and help them apply them in a consistent manner.


As for me I love the Gonstead Technique. For myself and my patients it gives me the best results on the most consistent basis. To learn more about Gonstead and what you can expect when you visit a Gonstead doctor visit my office site at ChiroSC.com or visit this older post on the Gonstead System.

For More Info Visit ChiroSC.com 

Dr. R. Tyler Johnson, D.C., CCSP

Chiropractic Center

1502 N. El Camino Real

San Clemente, CA 92672

(949) 436-6440