Chiropractic: Alternative Practice or Wellness Lifestyle?

Dr. Gregg D. Rubinstein, a chiropractor at 57th Street Chiropractic in New York City, gave us his opinions on chiropratic as an alternative and complementary practice:

I personally believe that chiropractic should be the forefront. There is research out there that shows that people who use chiropractic care use medical services less. They miss less work. So when you say it is complementary – complementary to what?

Traditional medicine is allopathic, which means that doctors respond. If you have inflammation, they give you an anti-inflammatory; if you have pain, they give you a painkiller; if you have muscle spasms, they give you a muscle relaxant. All those things do is treat the symptoms, but they don’t address the cause of the problem. We address the cause. We try to get rid of the pressure on the nerve which allows the body to heal itself and get to the root issue, rather than just treating the symptoms. So it is not complementary to traditional medicine. I believe that traditional medicine should be your last resort. Why not try conservative treatment first before you start using drugs or surgical procedures?

What are some conditions that you treat?

I don’t treat specific conditions. If someone comes in and his child has asthma or is wetting the bed, I’m not treating bedwetting and I am not treating asthma. What I am doing is eliminating any nerve interference that I find to the spine, improving the mechanics of the spine. When that nervous system is free from interference, your body is just going to work better. Your body will start to heal and grow. Your body has an innate intelligence that heals itself. If I break my leg, my body will heal it. Even if it doesn’t get set, that bone will heal. It might not heal straight, but my body heals has the ability to heal itself. It’s only when the body’s innate intelligence, or the capacity for it to heal itself, is interfered with and offset that you get sick.

Let me give you an example: Lets say a guy just lost his girlfriend, got fired and is really depressed. Ever seen anyone like that? He is all hunched over, bummed out and sighing constantly. If someone sneezes a mile away, that guy is the one most likely to catch that cold because his nervous system is run down and he is not able to fight off that infection. He is weakened. It’s the same thing. If your nervous system is functioning the best it can and you stack the deck in your favor, then you are going to be less likely to get sick. So I don’t treat any specific disease. What I do is remove misalignment in order to keep your nerve system functioning at its optimal potential.

You need to take care of yourself. If you don’t take care of your body, where are you going to live? People abuse themselves. It’s a wellness lifestyle. Chiropractic is not just a modality, it really is a lifestyle — The Chiropractic Lifestyle. If you eat right, exercise, don’t smoke and you keep your spine in good alignment –- all these things are just stacking the deck in your favor and that’s what keeps you healthy. Health is not just the absence of disease or symptoms. It’s that full expression of your innate, or genetic, intelligence working to keep you at your prime.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.