Find a good Chiropractor

Find a good chiropractor requires a little diligence; it is important to do some homework ahead of time.

Locating someone with whom you are going to click and who is up to date on your particular problem is never an easy thing; but no more difficult than ferreting out a good doctor, dentist or architect. He or she needs to be knowledgeable and thorough; kind and conscientious.

Spine and pelvis are central to a good chiropractor.

You also need someone who is able to crack the whip and be a bully if need be. Like if you are not doing your rehabilitation, missing consultations or are a smoker; any doctor worth his salt should at least once say what needs to be said. I could go on. Getting on top of a difficult neck or slipped disc takes a commitment on your part too.

For example if you are suffering from severe lower spine pain and an aching leg, the greatest single factor counting against you will be smoking; the joint just doesn't get enough oxygen to heal. And when your DC fails, the surgeon will tell you the same thing; at least cut back at this time.

Where do you start in your mission to find a good chiropractor?

Family, friends and your medical doctor are usually places where you can get good advice. Some of course may be prejudiced against chiropractic; you must make up your own mind. 

My advice is not to start with the biggest advert, the yellow pages or the best website; and hence not me, or flyers in the post when looking for chiropractic help. Begin rather by asking your friends, relatives and acquaintances. And, yes, pester even your doctor to help you find a good DC.

Definition of professionalism should be uppermost in your mind whether you are looking for an attorney, medical doctor or chiropractor.

This page was last updated by Dr Barrie Lewis on 4th January, 2024.

Chiropractic poster of an old advert is not the way a good chiropractor works.
Yellow pages for a good chiropractor.

"THE LIFE SO SHORT, THE CRAFT SO LONG TO LEARN."

- HIPPOCRATES, father of Medicine.

Find a good chiropractor

Find a good chiropractor gives a few thoughts on how to locate a conscientious and competent DC who has the particular skills needed for your problem.


Young vs Older

A young Chiropractic physician is likely to be filled with enthusiasm, energy and up to date with the latest research; but short on experience.

Your older doctor of Chiropractic has cut her teeth with many years of experience, the hardest master. But unless he keeps up to date with enthusiasm, he may well have passed his sell-by date.

A tough choice, both have their merits. My advice? Look for the doctor who is has a reputation for being conscientious, gives a thorough examination and does not seem to be constantly rushed off his feet. That's where you'll generally get the best Chiropractic help.

No question about, changing chiropractors can be very awkward if it is someone you've been consulting for a long time.

Consulting a chiropractor you will find is not big deal, not that different to any other doctor, only the treatment will be less invasive and have fewer potential risks.

Man or Woman

For the average patient, I personally think it makes no difference. Find the best person who knows about your problem, and comes highly recommended; and do not concern yourself with their gender.

But we are not all average.

One other confusion is the inappropriate use of chiropractic terminology.

Can a physiotherapist or medical doctor give a chiropractic adjustment? No more so than I could do an orthopaedic hip replacement.

Tingling in arms and hands

Most patients consult chiropractors needing help for sciatic pain, or neck symptoms. Tingling in arms and hands is very common.

You can test for a pinched nerve in the cervical spine yourself, though be warned, interpretation of the Upper Limb Tension Test is not straight forward; nevertheless it gives you an indication.

Lower Back Exercises

Does he have a reputation for giving lower back exercises? Is rehab and prevention important to you? If not, you may find yourself going for treatment twice a week for the rest of your life. Well, that's an exaggeration of course, but you get the drift.

Find a good chiropractor who has an active interest in prevention and actually reducing your dependence on doctors in general; nowhere is this more important than in the treatment of low back pain. Each episode means a deterioration in the size and condition of the disc; eventually you end up with lumbar spinal stenosis. It's vital to limit and reduce the number of episodes each year.

In my experience, patients who faithfully do their lower back exercises and come occasionally for maintenance care have far fewer calamities. And when they do, it often passes over without chiropractic help.

Likewise these Carpal tunnel exercises may save you from surgery on which research casts serious doubts in any case.

Help for sciatica pain

Lower back and leg pain is the most common reason folk consult us. So when you find a good chiropractor he should have a working knowledge of help for sciatic pain.

A neglected lower back pain often will begin radiating down the leg, either following the sciatic or femoral nerves.

The latter tends to be affected in older people, radiating to the side and front of the thigh, and sometimes down the inner lower leg. The quadriceps muscle may be affected and stairs become difficult; falls are consequently not uncommon in the elderly.

A weak quadriceps muscle, in the absence of pain, may be caused by diabetes. Knee problems often affect the thigh too.

The sciatic nerve symptoms are often at the back of the thigh, calf and side of the foot, though it depends on the root involved. Help for neuralgic pain is at hand; don't wait until it is full blown and your leg goes lame.

The lower leg muscles then may be affected. Can you raise your big toe? Are you able to stand on your toes on the affected limb?

When it becomes difficult the surgeon is waiting in the wings. Lower back exercises are part of the solution; think prevention now before it goes down your leg.

Are you anxious about a chiropractor who will be forthright, honest and direct? It's a difficult issue for all doctors; do you confront the patient and risk offending and losing him or her?

Or do you hold your tongue and let him continue on the downward slide to disability, pain and even death?

If you don't want to hear recommendations about how to get those extra fifty pounds off, why you should start exercising and that a good diet is vital for healthy cartilage in your joints then it is best that you choose carefully someone who will let you continue on your merry miserable path of doom without comment. Because there is only pain ahead for those who will not hear.

Rather find a good chiropractor who is not afraid to address these issues.

Nevertheless, the smart chiropractor says what needs to be said bluntly and directly once, very clearly, and then holds his tongue. Don't be offended; he or she cares. Rather be angry if your DC says nothing; he should have.

Chiropractors are a primary contact profession; that means that they have a far greater responsibility for your general health than simply addressing spinal subluxations. Discussing exercise instead of hormone replacement therapy and keeping your animal protein down is important for every woman. Osteoporosis and breast tumour don't just happen to other people. 

Breast cancer and prevention is an important part of a chiropractor's practice too. Metastases to the ribs, spine and breastbone are not uncommon.

Maintenance care

Maintenance care is for those with a long and difficult history. No one is going to "cure" you.

Maintenance care is one of the solutions. A daily exercise program is another.

A good chiropractor is not going to recommend maintenance care if you get a stiff neck once in five years, unless you've had a whiplash perhaps.

Consulting a locum

Consulting a locum is an issue faced by us all periodically; you crack a tooth and your dentist has gone fishing, or you injure your back and your chiropractor has his feet up some place. Rest and relaxation is needed by us all, or we burn out.

The are a few pros and cons, and some red flags to be considered when consulting a locum.

South Africa

South Africa has a long tradition; how to find a good chiropractor should not be difficult.

Cape Town is where many good chiropractor congresses are held.

Choice Foods

When you find a good chiropractor he or she should also talk to you about taking vacations, how you exercise and ask whether you are eating correctly; choice foods too. Excellent wellness is not just about having your subluxations adjusted.

If your cholesterol or blood pressure is raised, you are taking numerous different prescriptions or are a couch potato are all factors that will profoundly affect your well-being.

Find a good chiropractor who is interested in your overall state of being, and not just help for sciatica pain and headaches; or whatever.

Is it your desire to find a good chiropractor who will avoid these contentious issues? So be it, tell him or her; I regularly have patients who complain that they came to me for back pain, or whatever, and have no interest in these so-called peripheral issues.

Do you want to sit under those trees you once planted and watch your grandchildren grow up? I do, so I'm into choice foods; you should be too if it is your desire to live long in the land without medication and pain.

What we eat and drink, and what we don't but should, has just as profound an affect, perhaps an even greater influence on your well-being as spinal subluxations.

Looking for ideas? HEALTHY SLOW FOOD, MADE FAST is our motto.

"Authentic hummus recipe" is the richest source of one of the anti-frailty vitamins. Do you know what the other three are? Is granny on a tea and toast menu?

"Fresh spinach salad recipes" are where you get the folate.

"Healthy choice foods" are where you'll find the elixir of life, but not from a supplement.

Use the Site Search tab above in the main menu to find out more about these subjects.

As a chiropractor I encourage all my patients to enjoy dark green leafy-vegetables on a daily basis.

Knowing how to cook beet greens for example is so simple, and important. They contain a vital component called betaine in the fight against inflammation in the body.

If all the tissues in your body are angry, red and swollen then you cannot expect a good result no matter which professional you've chosen to treat your low back pain.

  • Chiropractic Conditions is a central page at our site. It provides you simply and easily with the sorts of diagnoses that the average DC would be treating.
  • Healthy Living Tips is another vital page at Chiropractic Help. Sparkling wellbeing is not just about having your subluxations adjusted. This link gives you some insights into different foods you could and perhaps should be eating.

Chiropractic Coalface

Every chiropractor will have a long list of successes and some failures. Here are a few of mine...

Is chiropractic dangerous?

There is no treatment on the planet that doesn't have potential dangers. Anti-inflammatory drugs for example are prescribed right, left and centre, yet have some very serious side effects. So bad that they kill about 12,000 people EVERY YEAR in the USA just from a bleeding ulcer.

It's known an Iatrogenic Illness or, doctor-caused disease.

A neurosurgeon's malpractice insurance is in excess of 100 x that of a chiropractor, and 19% of them have a claim every year.

And, yes, let us be honest, Chiropractic Iatrogenic Illness also exists.

Mostly it is fairly self-limiting; increased back pain after treatment, a cracked rib and breastbone bone pain after an overly enthusiastic midback manipulation; which, more seriously, can lead to Tietze's Syndrome.

Very occasionally, a patient may have a stroke after an upper neck manipulation, but really it's very rare, about one in 2,5 million manipulations.

Find a good chiropractor and these dangers are really very minimal. But yes they do happen, and even to the best of DCs; medical doctors too, of course.


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