It’s very important to know just some of the basic differences between an MD (medical doctor) and a DC (doctor of chiropractic) in order to understand the unique role that each type of medical professional plays in helping you to maintain or regain your optimum health.
MDs and DCs are both fully licensed health care providers. They will examine, diagnose and treat patients. However, most medical doctors have trained for more hours in physiology, whereas doctors of chiropractic will usually have trained for more hours in the anatomy of the body.
Their different methods of practice can help to explain this difference. DCs are experts in musculoskeletal health, neurology and general wellness. Like an MD, a DC will use diagnostic imaging, lab tests, clinical exams and questionnaires to diagnose their patient, but the type of treatment that they administer will be different.
MDs usually prescribe pharmaceuticals and surgery as a form of treatment for their patients, whereas DCs will generally use a more holistic approach which involves a variety of hands-on treatments, as well as some advice on diet and exercise.
Office visits are also very different experiences. On a visit to an MD, you will most likely be asked by a nurse or assistant to fill out certain paperwork and provide information about your condition. The MD will then visit you, take a look at the information, perhaps perform a brief clinical examination and quickly prescribe a treatment.
However, by doing this, most doctors only take a small amount of time to understand your overall health. And their form of treatment usually involves drugs and/or different medical procedures.
