All About Chiropractors

A. Becoming a chiropractor in Canada requires a minimum of 7 years of post-secondary education including at least 4 years of full-time classroom and clinical instruction at an institution accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education Canada. Chiropractic students undergo a rigorous course of study similar to that of other doctors. Entrance requirements are also similar. The education of chiropractors concentrates on training in the biological and health sciences, specialized training in the chiropractic discipline, and extensive clinical training. Find out more about our Chiropractor>>

A. Chiropractors are educated as primary health care practitioners, with an emphasis on neuro-musculo-skeletal diagnosis and treatment. After graduating, Chiropractors must pass rigorous Provincial and Federal Board Examinations in order to obtain a licence to practice chiropractic. Chiropractors are regulated health professionals and the licensing college in each province is charged with protecting the public and setting standards of the profession.

A. The official beginning of the chiropractic profession dates back to 1895 when Daniel David Palmer restored the hearing of Harvey Lillard by manually adjusting his neck. Two years later Dr. Palmer went on to begin the Palmer School of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, which continues to train doctors of chiropractic to this day.

Manual manipulation of the spine (and other joints) has been around for a long time. In Greece and China, ancient writings dating between 2700 B.C. and 1500 B.C. mention spinal manipulation and the manoeuvring of the lower extremities to ease low back pain. Hippocrates, the famous Greek physician who lived from 460 to 357 B.C., published a text detailing the importance of manual manipulation. In one of his writings he declares, “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases.
The profession of chiropractic has gained much recognition and scientific support throughout the twentieth century. Research studies that have very clearly demonstrated the value of chiropractic care in reducing health care costs, improving recovery rates and increasing patient satisfaction. In fact, one very large study conducted in Canada, the 1993 Manga Study, concluded that chiropractic care would save hundreds of millions of dollars annually in work disability payments and direct health care costs. Several other studies conducted by the U.S. Government, the Rand Corporation and others, have all demonstrated the value of chiropractic care.

A. To chiropractors, health is much more than freedom from disease. Wellness is the state of health where your body is free of interference to any part of your nervous system, enabling you full expression and enjoyment of life. How well you feel is not always a dependable indicator of your actual health. True health relies on an active focus on healthy diet, balanced and strong muscles, an environment of minimal physical and emotional distress, exercise, optimal weight and posture, and proper spinal alignment. Your spinal health depends on a thorough assessment and removal of impedances to spinal function. Chiropractors don’t wait for “the straw that broke the camel’s back” to create a health crisis. They help to ensure that your body is in its optimal state to cope with all of life’s challenges.

A. Yes. Graduates of chiropractic colleges use a variation of the following oath across North America:
I do hereby swear before these assembled witnesses that I will do my utmost to keep this oath as a doctor of chiropractic. I will light the way to the understanding of those natural laws that preserve the human body, as a fitting temple for the soul. I will keep the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of the sick as my foremost duty, ever searching for and correcting the cause of their disease to the best of my ability. I will at all times stand ready to serve humanity without distinction of race, creed or colour. I will prevent and alleviate human suffering. I will exemplify a pattern of living in harmony with the laws of nature. With purity I will pass my life and practice my art. I will refrain from any act of wrongdoing. I will regard the keeping of a patient’s confidence as a moral obligation. I will at all times consider the patients under my care as of supreme importance. I will not spare myself in rendering them the help that I have been taught by my alma mater. May the skilful use of my hands be so directed, that I may bring strength to the sick, relief to the suffering, peace of mind to the anxious, and the inspiration to the human race to attain bountiful health, that we may live this life to the fullest expression of its innate endowments. I therefore solemnly swear to uphold these principles and precepts, to the best of my ability, so help me God.