Not too long ago chiropractic care was scoffed at by internists and other physicians.

Yet as time went on and chiropractics established itself more and more as part and parcel of acceptable healthcare, it soon became obvious that chiropractors attained real results in their care of patients, and soon the word spread and patients for all types of illnesses, autoimmune ailments included, flocked to the waiting rooms of chiropractors all across the country.

Physicians noticed that some patients were relieved of long-time aches and pains caused by all types of ailments – autoimmune illnesses included – and suddenly no longer needed weekly shots or monthly prescriptions.

Instead, these treatments allowed them to resume activities they had been robbed of since their autoimmune illness diagnosis.

This increased attention led to close governmental scrutiny of chiropractic, and the beginning of proper licensing and educational requirements. Now, nothing stood in the way of open access to chiropractic – or so many thought.

But insurance agencies were a lot slower to permit chiropractic care to fall under the umbrella of covered medical expenses and severely limited patient access to chiropractors.

But this hurdle, too, was overcome and today insurance companies recognize chiropractors as primary care physicians.

While this is a very positive step for patients, it has been a bit of a challenge to chiropractors of the old school who still view themselves as alternative healers and have little use for other medical disciplines.

While this may have caused problems for a few, the majority of chiropractors embraced their newfound status to improve their overall care they provide.

Chiropractors can now assess the health risks of patients who may present a multitude of ailments, some of which are dependent on proper medical care involving medications.

So they are not only responsible for assessing the possible problems that a patient’s health history may present, but also for compiling a comprehensive record of health information, acting as a clearinghouse for health facts, and for consulting with other healthcare providers on an as-needed basis to ensure that facts are made available to anyone who is involved in the patient’s care.

In addition to this sometimes hard to fathom balancing act lies the idea that as a chiropractor and thus a member of the medical arts, it falls to the chiropractor to engage in lifestyle counseling of the patient, and as such there are sometimes differences between the ideas of the chiropractor with her or his roots in the alternative healing community and the more conventional physicians whose philosophy may quite possibly be “better living through chemistry.”

But involving the patient in the care makes it possible for the chiropractor to be a primary care physician, as well as ensure that the patient receives the quality of care they are seeking, and also the much-needed alternative healing angle that can be so desirable.