"Shalom. Is this Dr. Medwed? Avraham Noach speaking. My
doctor told me that I need surgery on my lower back for a
herniated disc. I've been in constant agony for three
months. I can't sleep and I can't function. I was warned
that chiropractic treatment could damage me."
Although the above exchange sounds dramatic, unfortunately,
it is an all too common occurence in my office. Mr. Noach
subsequently came in for treatment which consisted of
specially designed gentle techniques appropriate for severe
cases. He started responding within the first week and has
had a complete recovery since.
We live in a time when health ministries from the U.S.,
England, Canada, Australia and numerous other countries have
conducted careful examinations of the chiropractic
profession and researched studies as to its effectiveness.
Among their findings are the following facts about
chiropractic:
* It is a safe and highly effective treatment for back
pain.
* Its effectiveness is documented by scientific research.
* It is the most cost-effective treatment.
* Chiropractic is now the third largest primary health care
profession in the western world after medicine and
dentistry.
However, as the above incident highlights, public awareness
of chiropractic in Israel simply does not conform to the
established facts. It would be difficult to imagine a
society where people were uninformed of the benefits of
medicine and dentistry. Could a person with a cavity, for
example, question whether or not they should go to the
dentist or a person with an infection question whether or
not they should take antibiotics? Yet, when it comes to
back, neck, disc or knee pain, the most prevalent ailments
next to the common cold, people suffer needlessly and all
too often, turn to chiropractors only as a last resort.
*
"My mother, she should live and be well, is a very active
person. But 35 years ago, when I was a little girl, I recall
that she was stricken with an attack of acute back pain,
advised to take codeine and stay in bed for two months.
Having been raised on home grown remedies, she refused and
announced to the family that she was going to a
chiropractor. `Honey, you can't do that! Chiropractors are
quacks!' my father exclaimed. But since she was determined,
I pleaded to come with her. As I sat outside in the waiting
room, I heard a series of cracking sounds that scared me out
of my wits. But out walked my mother, a lot straighter.
After a few weeks of intensive treatment, she was back to
her normal routine, faithfully doing her newly learned
morning exercises to keep her back in shape, which she does
to this day."
*
Chiropractic comes from a Greek word meaning "tratment by
hand." Archeologists have discovered stone engraved pictures
of spinal manipulation dating back to ancient societies.
Chiripractic arose as a separate profession in the United
States in the 1890s. The first Chiropractic School in 1906
had 24 students. By 1923, the number was already 3,100. Due
to its effectiveness, the chiropractic profession grew by
leaps and bound with schools being established in many
states and countries. Eventually, licensure was granted
throughout the U.S. with major medical insurance companies
providing coverage. Now over 70,000 chiropractors practice
in over 70 countries.
The educational requirements of a chiropractor are: 4 years
of undergraduate study, 4 years of post graduate training in
the medical and chiropractic sciences, and thousands of
hours of internship. Chiropractic, the largest drugless
healing profession in the world, is concerned with the
health restoration and maintenance of the human frame, in
particular the spinal column and nervous system. Nerve
energy flows from the brain along the spinal nerves to all
parts of the body. Pressure on a nerve by a misaligned
vertebra (a subluxation) causes pain or symptoms in the part
that the nerve is linked to, whether it be the head or legs,
muscle, skin or organ. This can produce a variety of
ailments: back pain, head, neck shoulder, leg and arm pain,
disc problems, knee pain, numbness and tingling of the
extremities, stiff and painful joints, migraine headaches,
jaw pain (TMJ) etc. A doctor of chiropractic is a specialist
who is trained to diagnose and correct subluxations. He uses
his hands to gently and precisely move the vertebrae back to
their normal place, allowing nerve energy to flow freely,
enabling your body to heal itself without drugs or
surgery.
The human body is Hashem's masterpiece of creation. In my
eight years of study and 17 years of practice, I have always
been in awe of the wondrous self-healing ability of the
body. Chiropractic is a tool to access this inate
potential.
For more information, contact Dr. Zalman Medwed at 02-654-
0246.
