If you’re dealing with back pain, maybe you’ve considered seeing a chiropractor. These medical practitioners are probably most known for “cracking backs” — that is, putting targeted, controlled pressure on different parts of the spine to relieve aches. Adjustments for back, neck and other skeletal or muscle pains are the main reasons most people see a chiropractor, says Iben Axén, a chiropractor and manual therapy researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. “It’s an option for people with musculoskeletal pain — that’s our area of competence.”
Of course, the back-cracking image people might hold in their minds is an oversimplification of the profession. Chiropractors might offer other kinds of aid, like massage treatments or nutritional advice, as a way to address the range of factors that might contribute to someone’s aches and pains.
