Table of Contents
Heya Friends,
Today in 5 mins or less
- ☆ Is Chiro pseudoscience?
- ☆ Popular Chiro Myths on Tiktok
- ☆ Chiropractic What!? Is not just “cracking backs”
Happy Winning Monday! How are you?
Nice to meet you! I’m Ollie, your Chiro girl & entrepreneur who loves matcha, yoga, beach, and everything health and wellness. I get asked this more than 100 times. Let’s get straight to it:
Chiropractic Answered, NOT pseudoscience
#1 – Is Chiro pseudoscience?
Chiro is rooted in evidence, not magic. Over 200 peer-reviewed studies confirm chiropractic’s efficacy in pain management.
Chiropractic focuses on the relationship between the spine and the nervous system, aiming to restore and maintain health (physical & emotional) by ensuring proper nerve flow.
In 1895, Father of Chiropractic, D.D. Palmer defined Chiropractic,
“Chiropractic embraces the science of life, the knowledge of how organisms act in health and disease, and also the art of adjusting the neuroskeleton.”
Clinical Effectiveness & Patient satisfaction
- High Satisfaction: Nearly 77% of individuals who visited a chiropractor within the past year rated their care as “very effective.” [1]
- Top-Rated Treatment:
- In a consumer survey, chiropractic care outperformed other back pain remedies, like prescription medications, deep-tissue massage, yoga, pilates etc.[2]
- Chiropractors are rated the highest for low-back pain treatment, ranking above physical therapists, specialist physicians (e.g., neurosurgeons, orthopedists), and primary care physicians. [3]
- Proven in Clinical Trials: A study at three military medical centers found that chiropractic care, when combined with standard medical treatment, led to significantly better pain relief than medical care alone. [4]
Featured research
Effective Manual Therapy: Below comparative trial showed: [5]
- >30% pain reduction: 94% with chiropractic adjustments vs. 54% with standard care.
- >50% pain reduction: 76% with chiropractic adjustments vs. 39% with standard care.
Manual – manual assisted adjustment (chiropractic)
Mechanical – mechanical assisted adjustment (chiropractic)
Medical – standard medical care (non-chiropractic)
Popular Chiro Myths on Tiktok
#2 – I’ve watched 1000 Viral TikTok cracking videos, chiropractic is not legit!
Ollie: TikTokers believe Chiropractic is all airy fairy. Critics challenge –
- “Chiropractors just crack”
Correct term for ‘crack’ is Manipulation or adjustment
Debunked
- ‘CRACK’ Explained – it’s called Joint Cavitation. Don’t worry not your bones breaking.
- Before ‘CRACK’ – gas bubbles form within synovial fluid around joints
- After ‘CRACK’ – adjustments allow rapid compression to these gas bubbles, we then hear the POP sound. Caused by sudden release of pressure within joints.
- More than adjustments – we have >150 techniques, including activator, drop table, applied kinesiology, soft tissue intervention, ergonomic advice, to reduce pain, restore range of motion, and improve function.
- “I can crack myself, why pay extra for a chiro?”
Self-cracking must feel satisfying, isn’t it? From a 6am wake up crack, to a friend crack show-off battle. Professional manipulation vs Home cracking is very different.
Debunked
- Self-cracking risks -you risk overstretching ligaments (bone-to-bone connective tissue, NOT tendon), increased risk of osteoarthritis (joint inflammation or damage links to pain)
- Chiropractic clinical precision – we chiropractors go through 4-5 years of professional, accredited training, that’s 1825 days!! To study the depths of biomechanics and safety of our human body.
- “Chiro isn’t safe”
Before 1st day of chiropractic school, when I was watching my first TikTok Chiro video, the pops the cracks really did freak me out.
Debunked
- Non-invasive focus- when you look at conventional medicine, do you think doctor prescribed, or drugs you buy from your local pharmacy eg. antibiotics painkillers Panadol opioids are safe!? Do you really think surgeries are safe!? Chiropractic offers a holistic, gentle, well-regulated option for pain relief.
- Evidence based practice – day 1 of chiro tutorial at Macquarie, my convenors emphasised chiropractic = evidence based care.
Screenshot from my Week 3 Chiro lecture
Chiropractic What!? Is not just “cracking backs”
#3 – Then, what is Chiropractic?
Ollie: Words inspired by Ian, an amazing chiropractor, friend and mentor
WE acknowledge the body’s intelligence and natural capacity to heal. WE open up paths to allow the body connect and heal. Elevating function, awareness and consciousness is WE do as chiropractors
Love the way he put it. Another 2019 quote from the Australian Government Department of Health [6],
“Chiropractors diagnose and treat back pain and disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Chiropractic treatments may include manipulation, soft tissue intervention or advice about mobility.”
Final quote from Hippocrates, Father of medicine [7]
Let your food be your medicine and your medicine your food. Look well to the spine for the cause of disease.
