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Silver Spring Chiropractor – Finding the Best Chiropractor in Silver Spring MD and other local markets.

Hello, My name is Vince Ilardi. I assist people in finding the Best Area Chiropractors in Silver Spring MD and other local markets. In this article you will find useful information pertaining to the field of Chiropractic and how it increase your quality of life.

For more information please visit http://www.SilverSpringChiropractor.us

How to choose a chiropractor

When selecting a chiropractor, take time to find a DC who:

* Is recommended by your physician, other health care professionals or friends.
* Is licensed to practice chiropractic.
* Has experience treating your specific condition or symptoms.
* Is board certified if you need specialized care in areas such as such as chiropractic neurology, chiropractic rehabilitation, chiropractic orthopedics or chiropractic pediatrics. Board certification indicates the DC has completed studies and testing beyond those required to be a Doctor of Chiropractic. * Is willing to work with your other physicians as part of your medical team.
* Uses diagnostic tools such as x-rays, ultrasound and paraspinal digital infrared imaging.
* Offers holistic, preventive care and counsel.
* Will provide an initial consultation free-of-charge
* Doesn’t claim that chiropractic treatment will cure an alphabet soup of medical conditions.

You also can get names of DCs in your area from the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) web site at www.AcaToday.org or by calling, toll-free (800) 986-4636. You also can contact your state’s chiropractic association. State contact information is posted at the ACA web site.

CHIROPRACTIC TRAINING

Ian D. Coulter, PhD; Alan H. Adams, DC; Ruth Sandefur, DC, PhD

A. Chiropractic College Profile

In 1996, there were 16 colleges of chiropractic in the United States (Table 3). The geographic distribution of chiropractic educational institutions demonstrates concentrations in the Midwest and the West with five colleges in each region. Ten of the colleges were established prior to 1945, though they may have gone through several reorganizations or mergers before achieving their current name and status. The most recently established college in the U.S. is the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic in Connecticut.

Table 3. Chiropractic Colleges in the United States (1996)

West Midwest South Northeast

Cleveland Chiropractic College
Carl S. Cleveland, III, DC
President
590 N. Vermont Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90004 Cleveland Chiropractic College

Carl S. Cleveland, III, DC
President
6401 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64131 Life College

Sid E. Williams, DC
President
1269 Barclay Circle
Marietta, GA 30060 New York Chiropractic College

Kenneth W. Padgett, DC
President
PO Box 800
Seneca Falls, NY 13148
Life Chiropractic College West

Gerard W. Clum, DC
President
2005 Via Barrett
San Lorenzo, CA 94580 Logan College of Chiropractic

George A. Goodman, DC
President
PO Box 1065
Chesterfield, MO 63006 Parker College of Chiropractic

James W. Parker, DC
President
2500 Walnut Hill Lane
Dallas, TX 75229 University of Bridgeport

College of Chiropractic
Frank A. Zolli, DC
Dean
Bridgeport, CT 06601

Los Angeles College of Chiropractic
Reed B. Phillips, DC, PhD
President
16200 E. Amber Valley Drive
Whittier, CA 90609 National College of Chiropractic

James F. Winterstein, DC
President
200 East Roosevelt Road
Lombard, IL 60148 Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic

Thomas A. Geraldi, DC
President
PO Box 1452
Spartanburg, SC 29304
Palmer College of Chiropractic West

Peter A. Martin, DC
President
90 E. Tasman Drive
San Jose, CA 95134 Northwestern College of Chiropractic

John F. Allenburg, DC
President
2501 W. 84th Street
Bloomington, MN 55431 Texas Chiropractic College

Shelby M. Elliott, DC
President
5912 Spencer Highway
Pasadena, TX 77505

Western States Chiropractic College
William H. Dallas, DC
President
2900 NE 132nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97230 Palmer College of Chiropractic

Virgil Strang, DC
President
1000 Brady Street
Davenport, IA 52803

Since 1974, standards for chiropractic education have been established and monitored by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), a not-for-profit organization located in Scottsdale, Arizona (CCE, 1995). Recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the specialized accrediting agency for chiropractic education, the CCE sets standards for the curriculum, faculty and staff, facilities, patient care, and research. One of the CCE’s major functions is to assess chiropractic institutional effectiveness and outcomes. This involves a periodic cycle of accreditation where member institutions perform a self-study of their strengths, weaknesses, and educational outcomes as they relate to CCE Standards. A visitation team made up of educators and practitioners conduct a site visit to review compliance with CCE Standards and the institution’s mission and goals. The visitation team to the CCE Commission on Accreditation generates a report. The Commission holds a hearing for the institution for further clarification and verification of information and then renders a decision. The maximum length of accreditation is 7 years. Member institutions file yearly reports of their activities as they relate to CCE Standards.

All 16 chiropractic educational institutions currently have accredited status with the CCE. Regional accrediting bodies such as the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges also accredit 13 of the colleges. Admissions requirements of chiropractic colleges are influenced by CCE Standards and chiropractic licensing board requirements. A minimum of 2 years of undergraduate education are required with successful completion of courses with a grade of “C” (a 2.5 grade point) or better in Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Psychology, English/Communication, and the Humanities (CCE, 1995). Each required science course must include laboratories. The cumulative grade point average must not be less than 2.25. The total college preprofessional credit units must be at least 60 semester units. Two colleges currently require 75 semester units and one requires 90 semester units. Four colleges will soon require a bachelor’s degree for admission. Currently, six State Licensing Boards require a bachelors degree in addition to the doctor of chiropractic degree for licensure (Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards, 1997).

The chiropractic college admissions process usually includes an application review, assessment of academic transcripts, letters of reference, and an interview. Currently, there is no standardized admissions test. At most chiropractic colleges a “rolling” admissions process is used with qualified applicants being admitted on an ongoing basis. The “typical” (median) successful applicant has completed more than 90 college credits with a “B- ” (2.7) average (Coulter, submitted).

B. Chiropractic Students

Total enrollment in the United States chiropractic colleges in the fall of 1995 was 14,040. The mean enrollment per college was 878. Between 1990 and 1995 enrollment increased by 44 percent. During the same period the total number of graduates per year increased 13 percent, from 2,529 to 2,846 (CCE Report, 1996).

Wardwell described the characteristics of a chiropractic student in his comprehensive historical account of the chiropractic profession, Chiropractic: History and Evolution of a New Profession, published in 1992. Studies conducted more than 40 years ago found that students often pursued chiropractic as a second career. A 1978 study reported that chiropractic students are primarily from working and middle class backgrounds (Wardwell, 1992). A more recent study reported that the predominant reason students decided to pursue the DC degree was influence from a family member or friend who was a chiropractor (Kaynes, 1992). Secondary reasons were interest in health care and personal health interests. Wardwell concluded his profile of the chiropractic student by stating that today’s students are most attracted to the profession of chiropractic by its holistic, drugless, and natural approach to health.

In an inventory of preadmission requirements comparing schools of medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, podiatry, chiropractic, and optometry (Doxey, 1997), chiropractic students scored the lowest of all professions evaluated on four outcome measures (minimum number of semester hours, completion of 4-year bachelor’s degree, minimum GPA required on entrance, and average GPA of previous years entering class). The study examined printed resources collected during 1995 from 17 medical schools, 16 chiropractic schools, 15 dental schools, 16 optometry schools, 16 osteopathic schools, and 7 podiatric schools. All of the included colleges were located in the United States and represented a broad geographic distribution. Table 4 compares the various professions in terms of entrance requirements. The authors were careful to note that although the data reflect differences among health care professions on a limited number of entrance criteria, they do not explain the causes of the differences nor do they offer any insight as to how these measures correlate with successful practice or patient care.

C. Curriculum

1. Program Length

A chiropractic program consists of 4 academic years of professional education averaging a total of 4,822 hours, and ranging from 4,400 hours to 5,220 hours in the 16 colleges.1 This includes an average of 1,975 hours in clinical sciences and 1,405 hours of clinical clerkship. The minimum hours for accreditation by the Council on Chiropractic Education is 4,200 hours.

2. Structure and Organization

The program of study at all chiropractic schools is divided into Basic and Clinical Sciences. The average total number of basic science contact hours is 1,420, which accounts for 30 percent of the entire chiropractic program.2 Basic sciences education includes an average of 570 hours of anatomy (40 percent of all basic science hours), 305 hours of physiology (21 percent), 205 hours of pathology (14 percent), 150 hours of biochemistry (11 percent), 120 hours of microbiology (8 percent), and 70 hours of public health (5 percent).

On average, 70 percent of the program is composed of clinical education. Chiropractic schools devote an average of 3,380 contact hours to clinical education: 1,975 hours (58 percent) are spent in chiropractic clinical sciences and the remaining 1,405 hours (42 percent) are spent in clinical clerkships. These contact hours are in lectures, laboratories, and clinics. Table 5 shows the distribution of hours in these three settings for both basic and clinical sciences.

There are five curricular areas that are emphasized in chiropractic education: adjustive techniques/spinal analysis (averaging 555 hours or 23 percent of the clinical program), principles/practices of chiropractic (averaging 245 hours or 10 percent), physiologic therapeutics (averaging 120 hours or 5 percent), and biomechanics (averaging 65 hours or 3 percent).

The clinical courses offered in chiropractic colleges are shown in Table 6. Subjects dealing with diagnosis and chiropractic principles are given the most time, followed by orthopedics, physiologic therapeutics, and nutrition. Three areas within the clinical sciences shown in Table 6 (adjustive techniques/spinal analysis, physical/clinical/laboratory diagnosis, and diagnostic imaging) account for an average of 52 percent of the education in clinical sciences. Thus the emphasis in chiropractic clinical sciences is clearly on diagnosis and manipulative therapy.

3. Content

The sequencing of subjects in two chiropractic colleges are illustrated in Tables 7 and 8 (Coulter, submitted). Table 7 represents a year-round trimester program and Table 8 illustrates a semester program. Both programs are representative of other colleges in terms of total numbers of hours of clinical and basic sciences. The program from Table 7 is spread over 4 years with 10 trimesters. The first 2 years of the program are heavily focused on the basic and clinical sciences. In year 1 (three trimesters of 15 weeks each) there are a total of 1,515 contact hours (960 hours in basic sciences and 555 in clinical education), of which 585 are spent in lectures and 930 in the laboratory. This represents an average of 34 contact hours per week for the students.

In year 2, the focus is again on basic sciences (375 hours) and clinical sciences (1,110 hours). There are a total of 1,485 contact hours in year 2 (795 in lectures, 690 in laboratory), and there are an average of 33 contact hours per week. In year 3, all of the contact hours are spent on clinical education (which includes clinical sciences and clinical clerkships). Year 3 has a total of 1,410 contact hours (330 in lectures, 300 in laboratory, 780 in clinic), an average of 31 contact hours per week. Year 4 is given over to a clinical internship for 15 weeks (one trimester) for a total of 450 hours or 30 hours per week.

Table 6. Average Total Contact Hours in Specific Clinical Subjects Taught in 16 Chiropractic Colleges (Includes lectures and laboratories).

Clinical subject

Hours % of Total Adjustive technique/spinal analysis
555 22% Physical/clinical/laboratory diagnosis
410 17% Diagnostic imaging, radiology
305 12% Principles of chiropractic
245 10% Orthopedics
135 6% Physiologic therapeutics
120 5% Nutrition/dietetics
90 4% Professional practice & ethics
65 3% Biomechanics
65 3% Gynecology/obstetrics
55 2% Psychology
55 2% Research methods
50 2% Clinical pediatrics & geriatrics
50 2% First aid & emergency
45 2% Dermatology
30 1% Otolaryngology
25 1% Other
160 7% Total hours of clinical training
2460 100%

Source: Center for Studies in Health Policy, Inc., Washington, DC. Personal communication of 1995 unpublished data from Meredith Gonyea, PhD.

4. Faculty
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Despite a growing body of literature about chiropractic education, the role of faculty has received little attention. As a result of standards set by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) for chiropractic college faculty, all basic sciences faculty members at chiropractic colleges have earned university degrees of MS or PhD in their discipline, and many of the D.C. faculty also hold higher degrees (Wardwell, 1992). Clinical sciences faculty must either have a baccalaureate degree, several years of chiropractic experience, or teaching experience at an institution of higher education (CCE, 1995).

Table 7. Subjects Taught in a Typical Trimester-Based Chiropractic Program, by Year and Numbers of Contact Hours
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Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4

General anatomy (210)* Pharmacotoxicology (30) Integrated chiropractic clinical application (90) Clinical internship (450)
Functional anatomy and biomechanics (210) Clinical microbiology (90) Physiological therapeutics (30)
Histology (90) Pathology (135) Chiropractic principles (75)
Human biochem. (105) Chiropr. principles (60) Practice management (75)
Chiropr. principles (90) Chiropr. procedures (300) Imaging interpretation (90)
Clinical chiropractic (60) Physics and clinical imaging (90) Radiological position and technique (30)
Palpation (120) Clinical orthopedics and neurology (180) Differential diagnosis (90)
Neuroscience (120) Nutritional assessment (60) Clinical application of manual procedures (60)
Normal radiological anatomy (90) Community health (60) Clinical internship (390)
Human physiology (135) Physiological therapeutics (105) Dermatology (15)
Fundamentals of nutrition (60) Clinical nutrition (60) Clinical psychology (15)
Introduction to physical examination skills (120) Research methods (30) Obstetrics/gynecology (15)
Chiropractic procedures (105) Practice management (30) Pediatrics (15)
Imaging interpretation (75) Geriatrics (15)
Differential diagnosis (90) Clinical laboratory clerkship (15)
Clinical chiropr. applied (90)
Total hours: 1,515 TOTAL HRS: 1,485 TOTAL HRS: 1,410 TOTAL: 450

*Number of contact hours is noted in parentheses.

Source: Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, Whittier, California.

5. Recent Trends and Innovations

Within the health sciences in the past decade there have been numerous innovations in educational principles and practice. In chiropractic, most of the teaching institutions are involved in curriculum reform. Key innovations include the move to problem-based learning, self-directed learning, computer-assisted learning, the use of standardized patients, and the use of objective structured clinical examinations (Adams, 1991; Traina, 1994).

Unlike most public- and private-sector institutions of higher learning, limited external education and research funding have hindered chiropractic institutional development thereby contributing to excessive tuition dependence. Recent Federal initiatives focusing on developing and prioritizing research within the chiropractic profession have highlighted this i