No other medical professional is quite as associated with overall physical wellness as the chiropractor.

Granted, many people have never visited one and still refer to their work as “bone cracking."

Luckily, this kind of thinking is quickly dying out, especially now that chiropractic care is entering the mainstream.

It is not surprising that more and more patients flock to chiropractors. Many insurance companies now recognize them as primary care physicians and cover their visits.

But in the past, it was an uphill battle to have a chiropractors’ visit covered by any health insurance company.

Since then, there have been indisputable advances in chiropractic care and education. Of course, with these privileges also come responsibilities, and quite a few practitioners who only yesterday saw only the occasional patient in search of alternative healing have suddenly found themselves facing full waiting rooms.

For many, this has required a shift in thinking, because they are no longer only sought out by those who favor alternative medicine. They are now becoming members of a team often comprised of internists, orthopedic practitioners, and a host of others.

Patients also expect you to refer them to another doctor for blood work and other testing as needed. It is no longer considered strange for a chiropractor to do so.

This change in the way a chiropractor handles their cases has also affected patients who are more in favor of alternative approaches to medicine than established forms. The ultimate goal of chiropractic has always been the overall health of the patient, and this hasn't changed. This is achieved in the most natural way possible, with as little medication as is indicated. But chiropractors may need to routinely offer to refer these patients to doctors schooled in the established forms of medicine.

As such, a chiropractor will need to weigh limitations of treatment, time spent on alternative methodology, and also the ability of the patient to follow a strict regimen of nutrition and exercise.

So, a chiropractor promotes wellness not just through treatment of the individual patient, but also through education of the patient and the idea of involving her or him in the process that will lead to wellness.

For some, the latter might be a new experience, especially if they have only been on the receiving end of shots and pills, rather than actual holistic care.