Chiropractic
What chiropractic is
Chiropractic is natural care focused on the spine and the nervous system, the network that directs and coordinates how the whole body works.
«Chiropractic is the profession concerned with the care of the musculoskeletal system and the effects its disorders have on the nervous system and on general health.»
In Spain, chiropractic is not yet regulated as a healthcare profession; we quote the international reference definition here.
What is a chiropractor?
A chiropractor is the professional trained to assess the spine and its relationship with the nervous system, and to restore movement by hand to the vertebrae that have lost it. That precise movement is the chiropractic adjustment, and it is the core of the work.
A chiropractor is not a doctor, a physiotherapist or a massage therapist: chiropractic is its own university degree of five to seven years, with its own body of knowledge. And since the profession is not yet regulated in Spain, the practical way to check that someone has completed that training is to confirm they belong to the AEQ.
Is a chiropractor a doctor?
No, and it is worth saying plainly. They are different qualifications: chiropractic is its own university degree and does not qualify anyone to practise medicine. In Spain it is also not regulated as a healthcare profession. Chiropractic care does not replace the advice, diagnosis or treatment of a medical professional, and a good chiropractor will refer you on when what you need falls outside their scope.
Spine and nervous system
Chiropractic aims to keep the body’s master system working well: the nervous system. Protected by the spine, it directs, controls and regulates how the body works and its innate capacity for self-regulation. By caring for the spine, we help that communication flow normally.
The vertebral subluxation
We speak of a subluxation when one or more vertebrae shift and affect how a nerve works. That interference can echo through the nervous system and, with it, the activity of other systems of the body. The chiropractic assessment seeks to locate it in order to work on it. We explain it in detail in Do subluxations hurt?.
The chiropractic adjustment
The adjustment is a manual, specific and non-invasive technique. Vertebrae are adjusted precisely to restore mobility to the spine and help the nervous system work without interference. It is painless and quick, and involves no surgery or medication. Chiropractic uses more than 150 different techniques, which each professional adapts to each person’s needs. If you are interested in a specific area, here is cervical chiropractic care in Ibiza.
What training does a chiropractor have?
Training is university-level: five to seven academic years (around 5,500 teaching hours), leading to the degree of Licentiate or Doctor of Chiropractic. International accreditation councils oversee the curricula to guarantee the quality and consistency of the education.
What does “chiropractic” mean?
It comes from the Greek cheir (“hand”) and praktikos (“done with”): literally, “done by hand”. The name describes the method well, because the adjustment is a manual technique that uses neither drugs nor surgery. The term was coined in 1895, when the practice finally got a name of its own.
A little history
Chiropractic was born in 1895 in Davenport (Iowa, USA), through Daniel David Palmer. It has since developed all over the world, and today around 70,000 professionals practise it across the five continents. In Spain, work continues towards its regulation.
AEQ
A guarantee: the AEQ
Our chiropractor is a member of the Spanish Chiropractic Association (AEQ), the only body that brings together chiropractors with specific university training in Spain. It’s your guarantee of trained, responsible chiropractic care. You can meet Irati García and the rest of the team, see what visiting us in Ibiza involves, or clear up doubts in our FAQ. And if you need a chiropractor outside Ibiza, the Quiropractica.com directory lists professionals across Spain.
In Spain, chiropractic is legal but not regulated as a healthcare profession. Chiropractic care does not replace the advice, diagnosis or treatment of a medical professional.
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