Good Spirit Chiropractic

The role of chiropractic in primary health care is characterized by direct access, integrated, conservative care of patients’ health needs, emphasizing neuromusculoskeletal conditions, health promotion, and patient centered diagnosis and management. The chiropractor in the primary health care system is a first contact practitioner for neuromusculoskeletal conditions.

The principles noted below are intended to better serve the health needs of the public. They also provide policy makers, other health care professionals and the public with a clear understanding of chiropractic. These principles are also intended to provide a focal point to which members of the profession can gravitate and will allow the profession to pursue its legitimate aspirations for growth and development.

• Chiropractors are first-contact practitioners who possess and exercise the diagnostic skills to differentiate conditions that are amenable to their management from those conditions that require referral or co-management.
• Chiropractors provide conservative management of neuromusculoskeletal disorders including, but not limited to back, neck, head and extremity pain.
• Chiropractors are expert providers of spinal and other therapeutic manipulation/ adjustments/ mobilization.  Chiropractors may utilize a variety of supportive and complementary therapeutic modalities. Chiropractors also provide patient evaluation and instructions regarding disease prevention and health promotion through proper nutrition, exercise and lifestyle modification. The range of diagnostic and therapeutic services offered by chiropractic is dynamic and will be modified by education, research, technological change and society’s evolving health care needs.
• Chiropractic diagnostic and therapeutic goals should be achieved as safely, quickly and economically as possible to promote patient health and independence.  Optimal patient care can be achieved when chiropractic is integrated within the health care system. Interdisciplinary collaboration is important for this purpose.
• The diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines adopted by the profession should be evidence-based, the absence or ambiguity of scientific evidence requires sound clinical judgment in place of hard data.
• Chiropractors offer accessible and appropriate care to all population groups.
• Chiropractors recognize the multi-faceted aspects of health, disease, etiology and related patient care.