This month I have a quick thought and then an answer to a question I was asked a few times in the past several weeks. First, the quick thought…
Spring is a busy time…yards to clean up, flowers to plant, lawns to mow, school activities to attend, and just getting outside to enjoy the nice weather. It’s easy to put things on your “to do list” ahead of taking care of yourself. Please do yourself a favorthough, and don’t allow that to happen. Get your rest, eat well and keep your chiropractic appointments. You may be feeling well and have 5 things that you would rather do than drive across town for an appointment, but please don’t neglect your spine. A lack of pain is not a good indicator of your spinal health. Please don’t assume that just because you are not feeling pain that your spinal health can be put on the back burner. Bending over to work in the yard, sitting on bleachers, going for a run, etc., all put a stress on your back. You may not feel it right away, but eventually that stress tends to show up as pain if you neglect your spine. Keeping your appointments, even when you are feeling well, is a great way to help your spine stay healthy and avoid injury.
Next, the question I was asked a few times recently was how many years of college did it take to become a chiropractor and what was it like. Well, most chiropractors have 4 years of undergraduate studies and then approximately three and a half years of Chiropractic College. The undergraduate studies focus on the sciences. Essentially, we take pre-med classes; chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, physics, biology, anatomy, physiology, etc. Chiropractic College starts with a lot of those same classes again as well as several spinal anatomy and neurology classes. There are also many x-ray classes that teach how to take and read an x-ray of any part of the body. After we learn seemingly everything you could possibly imagine about the body, we spend the next year learning how to perform an exam and how to adjust the spine and extremities. The final year of school then focuses on adjusting people while under supervision at the college clinic. The whole process is a lot of work, but it is definitely worth it. There is nothing more rewarding I can think of than helping someone with their health!
Dr Paul Aalderink DC
