According to the General Chiropractic Council, chiropractic is "a health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health".
Chiropractors (practitioners of chiropractic) use their hands to treat disorders of the bones, muscles and joints. Treatments that involve use of the hands in this way are called "manual therapies".
Chiropractors use a range of techniques, with an emphasis on manipulation of the spine. They may also offer advice on diet, exercise and lifestyle, and rehabilitation programmes that involve exercises to do in your own time. Some chiropractors may also offer other treatments, such as acupuncture.
Learn more about what happens in chiropractic.
Chiropractic is part of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). This means that chiropractic is different in important ways from treatments that are part of conventional western medicine.
Some uses of chiropractic treatments are based on ideas and an evidence base that are not recognised by the majority of independent scientists.
Uses
Many chiropractors only treat conditions related to the spine, such as lower back or neck pain.
Some chiropractors, however, treat a wider range of conditions, including asthma, infant colic, irritable bowel syndrome and many others.
The General Chiropractic Council says that the care provided by chiropractors should be "informed by the best available evidence, the preferences of the patient, and the expertise of practitioners".
See common uses of chiropractic for more.
The availability of chiropractic on the NHS is limited (see box, left). Most chiropractic patients pay for private treatment.
Does it work?
Chiropractic is a healthcare profession, and not a single treatment. Evidence about chiropractic generally refers to one or more of the treatments that chiropractors offer.
There is good evidence that spinal manipulation – as practised by chiropractors – can be an effective treatment for persistent lower back pain. Conventional treatments for lower back pain include painkillers, exercise and physiotherapy.
There is some, mostly poor quality, evidence that that spinal manipulation is an effective treatment for some other musculoskeletal conditions involving the bones, joints and soft tissue. The evidence on spinal manipulation is not strong enough in these cases to form the basis of a recommendation to use the treatment.
There is no evidence that treatments offered by chiropractors are effective for other conditions.
There is also no scientific evidence to support the idea that most illness is caused by misalignment of the spine.
For more information, see evidence for chiropractic.
