Sophie Okolo, MPH

If you’ve been dealing with back pain, whether that’s long term or short term, the result of an injury or not, you need to speak to a chiropractor. A chiropractor is going to be able to keep your back in the best condition and help you to get your back to its best. Whether you’ve been suffering from back pain or headaches or neck pain, or your range of motion sucks and your joints are starting to fail you, a chiropractor is going to be the person that supports you the best.

But the problem is that you can’t just let anybody lay their hands on you. You need to make sure that you are choosing the best chiropractor who can meet your needs, and that’s going to take some research on your part. Let’s take a look at some of the things that you need to consider when choosing the right chiropractor.

1. Ask your physician for a referral. One of the best ways to make sure that you are getting a qualified chiropractor and not a hack is to make sure that you are getting a referral from your doctor. You don’t need a referral to see a chiropractor. However, your physician will know your medical history and be able to put you in contact with the chiropractor to meet your needs. They will also be able to recommend your chiropractor that they know is good for their patients and therefore you can trust the opinion of your physician. 
   
2. You’ll be able to speak to a specialist who knows your pain. Consulting a chiropractor could be the best thing that you do for your overall health and well-being. But if there is a specific type of treatment you are looking for, then you have to find a chiropractor that specializes in that. So some chiropractors work better on the upper back than the lower back. So identify where the pain is and then speak to chiropractors who specialize in that particular area. Whether it’s sacroiliac pain or sciatic pain, you need to make sure that you have somebody who knows what they’re doing.
   
3. You have to like them. If you’re going to trust somebody to manipulate your back or massage the areas that are in the most pain, then you have to like that person. It’s important that you work with a chiropractor who listens and understands you and speaks to you like you are a human and not just somebody who’s paying for an appointment. 
   
4. They’ll be able to recommend complementary therapies. There might just be more than chiropractic treatments necessary when it comes to helping your pain or treating headaches or injuries. A chiropractor who takes a bigger and broader approach to your care is the chiropractor you should be listening to. Diet and exercise can affect your spine and your soft tissue, so you need to ensure that you have somebody who understands your back, neck and joint health and gives you the right treatment.