No other medical professional is quite as associated with overall physical wellness as the chiropractor.

Granted, in some circles, a chiropractor’s work is still referred to as “bone cracking.” However, this kind of thinking is quickly dying out, especially now that chiropractic care is entering the mainstream.

It is not surprising that more and more patients flock to chiropractors; many insurance companies now recognize them as primary care physicians and will cover their visits.

In the past, it was an uphill battle to have a chiropractors’ visit covered by any health insurance company. But since then, there have been many indisputable advances in chiropractic care, and it has grown very popular.

Of course, with these privileges also come responsibilities. Quite a few practitioners have waiting rooms full of new patients that expect their chiropractors to be members of an interdisciplinary team of internists, orthopedic practitioners, and a host of others.

Promoting wellness through chiropractic care now involves not only treating the patient but also keeping the other members of the team informed as to progress made, assessments found, and changes in general health or complaints the patient may have.

Conversely, if a chiropractor is chosen as a primary care physician by a patient, this will involve long hours pouring over charts and reviewing information sent over to the office by other physicians.

As part of a team, the patient will also expect you to refer them to another doctor for blood work and other testing as needed, and it is no longer considered to be out of form for a chiropractor to do so.

In some cases, this might require a chiropractor to educate a patient who is searching for overall health in alternative medicine and may be dubious about the idea of also dealing with the established forms of medicine.

As such, the new chiropractor has to weigh up the limitations of different types of treatment for each patient, as well as the ability of the patient to follow a strict regimen of nutrition and exercise, an essential part of a holistic approach to health and healing.

Thus, a chiropractor promotes wellness not just through treatment of the individual patient, but also through education of the patient and the idea of involving her or him in the process that will lead to wellness.

For some, the latter might be a new experience, especially if yhey have only been on the receiving end of shots and pills, rather than actual holistic care.