The Three Medical Options

When a patient sees a medical doctor because of pain-- whether it be migraines, neck pain, back pain, sciatica, etc., there are three courses of care 99.9% of the time.

1. The doctor will prescribe a drug.  The problem with drug therapy is that it does nothing to correct the cause of the pain.  Medications only attack the effect.  At best, the relief is temporary.  At worst, chronic use of drugs can cause damage to the kidneys and liver.  Strong prescription painkillers can be addicting and cause new, worse problems for the patient.
2. If the pain is severe enough and actual damage has been done to the tendons, spinal discs, ligaments and/or bones, the medical recommendation will probably be surgery. These invasive procedures are designed to fix damaged structures that could have remained healthy if they were properly cared for and maintained.
3. The third option is a referral to a physical therapist.  Physical therapy can be a great approach to rehabilitating muscles and other soft tissues after an injury.  However, many times a physical therapist will focus only on stretching and strengthening exercises to the injured area before sufficient healing has occured.

So when you see a medical doctor in search of relief, expect one of the three: drugs, surgery or PT.  The focus will be on the symptom, not the cause of the symptom.  A chiropractor, on the other hand, will assess the problem with the intent to uncover the cause.  And if, in fact, the pain is either directly caused by or exacerbated by a spinal subluxation, the one and only option will be to correct the misaligned backbone with a chiropractic adjustment.