Essay Example on Chiropractic Philosophy

Chiropractic care refers to the natural kind of health care that takes use of the spinal adjustments to rectify misalignments and reconditions the right functioning of the nervous system. Chiropractic care helps natural healing of the body as it does not incorporate the use of surgery or drugs. It involves a chiropractic adjustment of the spinal cord by applying a precise force to specific parts of the spinal segment, thus, correcting the misalignment. Misalignment correction permits normal transmission of nerve besides assisting the body to recover on its own. Chiropractic care has various models as discussed below

Biopsychosocial Model

The model is highly accepted by the majority of the health care practitioners who are involved in patient care. The model has physical dysfunction, distress, beliefs and coping social interactions, and illness behavior as its elements. It involves the placebo effect which recognizes the doctor-patient and mind-body role in healing and the stress reduction which is a vital consideration in a medication of a spinal dysfunction (Foster, Pincus, Underwood, Vogel, Breen, and Harding 2003). Biopsychosocial model has the spine care and pain medicine as the centerpiece where it majors in the delivery of care and patient assessment. It incorporates biological effects which form a crucial component of disease and health particularly in pain and spine care management areas. Also, it takes into account the social and psychological aspects of care for patients which hold a very critical point in health care delivery. The model has the biomedical model as its predecessor which was as a result of Virchows deduction that all disease took roots from cellular aberration (Murphy, Schneider, Seaman, Perle, and Nelson 2008). The need to formulate a new model was politicized where the biopsychosocial model was adopted to offer a new paradigm of health care.

Musculoskeletal Centered Model

The model aims to make a chiropractic diagnosis which assesses the lower back pain as for whether it is potentially serious, nerve problem, or non-specific. In potentially serious diagnosis, the back pain is assessed of any infection, tumor, or a fracture while in nerve problem diagnosis checks whether the nerve roots in the lower back is compressed (Mior, Barnsley, Boon, Ashbury, and Haig 2010). In non-specific diagnosis, there is a check on the mechanical back pain which is characterized by pain with no identifiable cause. After the diagnosis, there is the adjustment of the misaligned segments which is aimed at resolving the present symptoms. Also, the model rehabilitates the patient until he/she attains the standard functionality (Hush, Cameron, and Mackey 2011).

Evidence Based Model

The model has registered an enormous impact on the chiropractic education as well as in the provision of chiropractic care. The model requires two levels of penetration to transform and penetrate a profession. The first level involves the extent to which the professionals have the primary skills and the willingness to assess and search the literature (Nelson, Lawrence, Triano, Bronfort, Perle, Metz, Hegetschweiler, and LaBrot 2005). The second level checks on whether the therapeutic intrusions used by a particular health care discipline go in tandem with the clinical research. Evidence based model is very vital to health practitioners as they are required to deliver care which results from the best proof which improves patient outcomes. Also, evidence based practice enhances patients safety, satisfaction, and increases the credibility of professionals. Evidence based model attracts political interests in case of patient negligence and poor treatment as the medical practitioners are required to offer quality treatment based on top notch research (Haas, Groupp, and Kraemer 2004).

Patient Centered Model

The model incorporates the presence of an unbiased relationship between the clinician and the patient. It is a typical method of the chiropractic practice which majors on a holistic way to handle patients, self-healing, and a human attitude based on the doctor/patient relationship. Decision making within this relationship should at all times be based on clinically tested evidence and what an individual patient terms as the best (Borkan, Reis, Hermoni, and Biderman 1995). The model aims at encouraging the patients to take considerable responsibility for their health as well as encouraging them to go for the minimally encompassing and drugless care. The model is in contrary to the evidence based model involved in clinical practice which is currently favored by educators and policy makers (Russo 2014). The chiropractic vocation which is patient centered is associated with excellent patient satisfaction, improved health behaviors, and patients status. The model experiences political threats due to its inability to put in use the external and genuinely appraised evidence to offer direction on decision making (Meeker, Watkins, Kranz, Munsterman, and Johnson 2014). Also, the model provides a mono-therapeutic method of managing patients which act as a barrier to the genuine patient centered care practiced within chiropractic field.

Subluxation Centered Model

The model is the core of the chiropractic care which is mainly involved in the restoration and preservation of health taking a keen interest on the subluxation. Subluxation is a comprehensive structural and pathological change that weakens the neural system integrity which affects the organs functions and the general health (Amorin-Woods, and Parkin-Smith 2012). In this regard, a chiropractor is applied with the aim of removing the subluxations in the patients body upon signing of a disclaimer to that effect. The model involves the evaluation, diagnosis, and management by the use of chiropractic ways which are based on the best empirical and rational evidence available. Also, the model is based on valid and reliable clinical evaluations in the functional and biomechanical components of vertebral subluxation. The model involves correction of the vertebral subluxation which is aimed at improving the quality of life.

Phase Model

A phase model of chiropractic treatment is founded on the platform of sequential care. The model recognizes three stages which must be undertaken to achieve maximum results. In this light, the three phases are used to lessen the symptoms, enhance healing, and improve body wellness. The first step is the acute care which is the foundation of the chiropractic care. The phase applies to patients who are more desperate either as a result of an injury or situations causing pain or immobility (Eklund, Bergstrom, Bodin, and Axen 2015). The second phase is the corrective and repair care which is the chiropractic care designed to check on the immediate problem of a persons condition. The phase is concerned with the ligament and muscle repair where the focus is directed on repairing spoil to the soft connective tissues. The third phase is the wellness care which begins when the body has completely and thoroughly healed. In this phase, chiropractic care becomes a lifestyle aimed at maintaining the results and evades possible pains and aches.

Dynamic Model

The model takes pain and disability as the two primary sections which take place with time. It proposes that low back pain is as a result of a physical problem like tissue injury. The model recognizes altered behavior and physical dysfunction as the aggravating factors for disability and pain (Francio, Boesch, and Tunning 2015). In this light, it is highly advisable to take chiropractic care for the nervous system whenever pain is experienced to alleviate the possible cause of disability. The transition takes time though much care must be employed to maintain one's well-being.

Disease Model

The model is based on a mechanistic view of pain regarded as a simple response and a Cartesian model which separates the mind and the body. It takes into account the fact that illness is subject to signs and symptoms which must be diagnosed to identify the disease. Upon the diagnosis, there is a need to apply physical treatment with the expectations that the illness will improve (Davis, Yakusheva, Gottlieb, and Bynum 2015). For instance, in the chiropractic care, the chiropractic doctors identify the nervous system injury or discomfort where he/she applies the needed physical treatment to alleviate the problem. The model assumes pain to be a result of tissue injury, therefore, causing physical impairment which may graduate into disability. In this light, the pain requires being cured to ensure disability does not occur. This contradicts the fact that in most patients there are no structural lesions which can be identified; therefore, depicting that pain does not in all cases reflects a tissue injury. In this case, pain is defined as a sensory experience and unpleasant emotional that is associated with actual or potential tissue damage. Also, the model puts it clear that back pain does not always equate to disability (Blanchette, Stochkendahl, Da Silva, Boruff, Harrison, and Bussieres 2016).

Wellness Centered Model

The model is based on the fact that an individual wellness is only achieved through responsible healthy lifestyle. It incorporates encouragement and guidance from trained medical practitioners who play a significant role in the wellness equation and health promotion. The model goes hand in hand with the individualistic method which is aimed at promoting patients health via the use of patient centered and informed wellness practices and conventional health care (Gliedt, Schneider, Evans, King, and Eubanks 2017). Chiropractic health professionals enhance wellness by determining the patients state of health followed by encouraging and educating them on a wellness lifestyle and healthy habits. Also, the chiropractic doctors check on the patients physical well-being by relating the function and structure by improving the efficiency of the nervous system enhancing the bodys natural healing ability. The model emphasizes on strong interpersonal relationships and social support which are viewed as platforms for wellness (Ciolfi, and Kasen 2017). It also takes into account the need for the chiropractic professionals who offer great conventional care with a preference for minimally invasive, drugless, and natural interventions. The doctors are committed to facilitate wellness and promote health by considering the factors that help one's well-being.

References List

Amorin-Woods, L.G., and Parkin-Smith, G.F., 2012. Clinical decision-making to facilitate appropriate patient management in chiropractic practice: the 3-questions model'. Chiropractic & manual therapies, 20(1), p.6.

Blanchette, M.A., Stochkendahl, M.J., Da Silva, R.B., Boruff, J., Harrison, P. and Bussieres, A., 2016. Effectiveness and economic evaluation of chiropractic care for the treatment of low back pain: a systematic review of pragmatic studies. PloS one, 11(8), p.e0160037.

Borkan, J., Reis, S., Hermoni, D. and Biderman, A., 1995. Talking about the pain: a patient-centered study of low back pain in primary care. Social science & medicine, 40(7), pp.977-988.

Ciolfi, M.A., and Kasen, P.A., 2017. The relationship between chiropractor required and current level of business knowledge. Chiropractic & manual therapies, 25(1), p.3.

Davis, M.A., Yakusheva, O., Gottlieb, D.J. and Bynum, J.P., 2015. Regional supply of chiropractic care and visits to primary care physicians for back and neck pain. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 28(4), pp.481-490.

Eklund, A., Bergstrom, G., Bodin, L., and Axen, I., 2015. Psychological and behavioral differences between low back pain populations: a comparative analysis of chiropractic, primary and secondary care patients. BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 16...