Does Chiropractic Have to be a Hero or Zero?

Life is full of opposites. Up or down. Left or right. Happy or sad. There are some things in life that simply should not be polarized or seen as mutually exclusive—chiropractic is one such example. In error, chiropractic is often seen as a direction of care that excludes other medical disciplines. Specifically, it is treated as if you much choose between chiropractic exclusively or not choose it at all—that is a faulty mentality. At Tuck Chiropractic Clinic we know that chiropractic does not have to be a hero or a zero when it comes to an individual’s care plan.
Chiropractic can serve in a complementary or alternative role within a healthcare plan.  Although it is best to avoid surgical procedures and choose a conservative care approach, there are times that surgery unavoidable and required for health or quality of life reasons. Patients who have had surgery should not feel that they have somehow opted out of chiropractic care by choosing or requiring surgery. In fact, chiropractic can be a helpful compliment to someone recovering from a procedure.
As the American Chiropractic Association shared on their website it is helpful for those within various medical disciplines too, “move past our differences toward a multidisciplinary cooperation and collaboration, we all stand to benefit.”
While this sounds great in theory, what can it look like in practice? Let’s take a look at a specific case, to bring these ideas of multidisciplinary cooperation to life within the context of kids and ear infections. Is very common for children under the age of 5 to suffer from acute infection of the middle ear, the medical term is “otitis media”. Common treatments include antibiotics and ear tubes placed during a surgical procedure.  
The conservative care approach for chronic ear infections in children is to first use chiropractic treatment in hopes of promoting drainage within the ears (the eustachian tubes) and thus avoiding antibiotics and surgery. While this is a great first approach and something we always recommend, we know that there are still times where ear infections do persist and tubes are indicated. In this case, chiropractic does not need to become a “zero”. Even after ear tubes have been placed chiropractic should be used to promote optimal drainage in the child’s ears.
The reality is, a health care provider is not the one living the life of the patient. It requires an empathetic approach to offer wisdom, expertise, and best practices for care but ultimately acknowledging the patient as the final decision maker about care. It takes teamwork and it takes collaboration to create a custom treatment plan that will best serve the needs of the patient.
Our doctors collaborate with each other, as well as additional physicians you may be seeing; we call this collective power. We know that you receive the best treatment when healthcare providers bring their experience together for your benefit. We know that when we stop positioning chiropractic in opposition to other medical disciplines and allow them to work cooperatively, great things are achieved for our patients—the maximum positive impact is felt.