Can you go to the chiropractor if you feel ok? (If you don’t feel any symptoms)
Yes. Just because you don’t feel any symptoms doesn’t mean your spine is moving the way it should do. Symptoms often only appear when the spine is functioning very poorly. Chiropractic is great at alleviating pain and symptoms, but most people use chiropractic more as a preventative measure.
You brush your teeth to prevent dental problems. You service your car to keep it in good shape. So why wouldn’t you do that for your spine? (You can buy a new car, and even new teeth, but you can’t buy a new spine.) Your spine is the chassis of your body. It holds you upright, allows you to move freely. But perhaps more importantly it houses the spinal nerves. These spinal nerves carry messages between you brain and your body, controlling everything, and these nerves need to be protected.
Many people go to a chiropractor thinking that they feel ok, but after having their spine worked on they feel looser, lighter, sometimes even more energetic or more relaxed. (A bit of a moment of “Oh! That’s what normal feels like? That’s what I’m supposed to feel like!”) They were so used to feeling that way that they’d forgotten what it feels like to be loose and mobile again.
Sometimes people even ask the opposite: Can I Go To The Chiropractor While In Pain?
Can I go to a chiropractor without a referral?
Yes. Chiropractors are trained as primary health care practitioners, meaning you can visit them directly without the need of referral. This means that chiropractors are trained to know all the things that might causes symptoms in or near the spine.
For example, gall stones, stomach and bowel problems, ovarian cysts and many other organ-related problems can cause back pain. They can mimic a problem in your spine. But primary health care practitioners are trained to know all of the ‘differential diagnosis’ of spinal related symptoms. Chiropractors train for 5-6 years full time to learn these skills. Often more hours than a medical doctor.
Stefan Becker
English-Speaking Barcelona Chiropractor