Every day, more and more people are turning to chiropractic to ease the pains in their back, neck and other parts of the body affected by misalignment or injury. What’s driving this surge in popularity?
Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute site states, “Nearly 65 million Americans report a recent episode of back pain. Some 16 million adults – 8% of all adults – experience persistent or chronic back pain.”
According to Dr. Matthew Murrin, owner of Chiropractic USA in Mount Pleasant, 80% of people will have a back issue at some point during their lives. While the majority of those issues are one-time experiences, people who suffer from chronic back, head or neck pain are often looking for alternatives to the constant cycle of injury and medication.
“A lot of people are just tired of meds,” Dr. Murrin said. “People who have had more than a few injuries just get tired of that same routine. When you dive deep and go to a chiropractor, you find out exactly the root cause. That’s what I love doing: diving deep and uncovering the real problem.”
Only about 4% of all back issues require surgery, yet a much higher number than that end up going under the knife. Most of these patients will never know that their pain could have been treated much less invasively and are prone to return to a surgeon again for follow-up procedures.
According to Dr. Murrin, the kind of detailed assessment a patient will receive at a practice such as Chiropractic USA is a much more effective means of making an accurate diagnosis and charting a path that takes the least-invasive route possible to healing.
“When patients come to my office, they are going to get better no matter what,” said Dr. Murrin. “Sometimes that means telling a patient that chiropractic is not their best option, but we will always work with them to find out what that best option is. The whole point is to serve the patient – that’s our only job!”
Patients often leave appointments with medical doctors feeling like their back problems are a result of their own ignorance, weakness or weight, when actually they simply have not been given a correct diagnosis or a game plan to correct the issue.
An assessment at a chiropractor’s office such as Chiropractic USA begins with a detailed consultation to discover if the problem is a one-time issue or if it is chronic. An examination follows to determine if the issue is rooted in the nerves, the muscles, range of motion, posture or other cause, followed by X-rays and an explanation of the findings with the patient. At that point, the patient is given estimates of what they are really hoping to find out: how long it’s going to take and how much it’s going to cost.
According to Dr. Murrin, the process is a team effort: “I give my patients homework so that eventually, together, we can make it so they never need to see me again!”
For more information, contact Chiropractic USA in Mount Pleasant at 843-881-0046 or visit www.chiropracticusasc.com.
