There is literally a treasure trove of misinformation available on the subject of chiropractic care. You will find below a list of some of the more popular myths of chiropractic care as well as the truth:

Chiropractic adjustments will loosen the spine- This myth is understandable, as the chiropractic process involves a lot of stretching, pulling and popping of the joints and spine, but only the “locked up” areas suffering from will be adjusted. This allows affected areas to naturally adjust themselves into the correct position.

Chiropractic care is risky or unsafe- This myth is somewhat destructive, as those who fall for it might wind up avoiding proper medical treatment at the hands of a chiropractor. In fact, a New Zealand study declared chiropractic adjustments to be “remarkably safe”. There is the rare occasion of a person for whom chiropractic care is unsafe, but the examination process will identify such a problem before chiropractic adjustment is administered.

Chiropractic care is unsafe for children- This is another dangerous myth. Even newborns might require chiropractic care as the spine can become misaligned during childbirth. Rest assured that this kind of chiropractic care is administered very, very gently. A chiropractor treating a baby will use such little pressure as to be nearly undetectable if applied to an adult.

You can perform chiropractic adjustments on yourself- You can crack your knuckles and back and neck, but that’s not really chiropractic care, that’s just popping your joints. No amount of training can really allow a person to practice self-chiropractic care. Professional chiropractors don’t even self-treat, they get treated by a colleague. Self-chiropractic to treat an injury can even do more harm than good.

Chiropractic care should be your first line of defense for everything- There are devoted chiropractic patients who will recommend every one of their friends and family go and consult a chiropractor. However, the vast majority of minor health problems can’t be blamed on the nervous system or musculoskeletal system. Proper diet, sleep and exercise are the main weapons against sickness and injury and seeing a medical professional should be seen as the second line of defense. In other words, before going to see a chiropractor to improve your breathing, it might be wise to see if quitting smoking and going for daily walks helps. Even minor subluxations usually clear up on their own after a good night’s sleep.

‘The Slipped Disc Theory’- You may hear that someone has a ‘slipped disc’. The disc is a soft shock absorber for the spine and the way it connects to the vertebrae makes it pretty much impossible for the disc to literally ‘slip’. The term ‘slipped disc’ really refers to a wide variety of injuries that the disc can suffer, so a slipped disc might be anything from a hernia to drying out due to the natural aging process.

There are many more myths about chiropractic care and what it addresses. But the above are probably the most common.