Chiropractic is one of the largest primary-contact health care professions in Canada with over 6,000 practicing chiropractors. Approximately four and a half million Canadians visit a chiropractor each year.

Chiropractors assess disorders related to the spine, nervous system, and joints of the extremities and provide diagnosis, treatment and management of those disorders. Chiropractic spinal manipulation (commonly referred to as a chiropractic adjustment) is a drug-free, non-invasive, controlled manual procedure, which uses the highly refined skills developed during four intensive years of chiropractic education. The primary goal of chiropractic manipulation is to treat areas of decreased movement in the joints of the body, particularly the spine. These decreased areas of movement can create a reaction in surrounding tissues (ligaments, muscles and nerves) resulting in pain, inflammation, dysfunction and muscular spasm. Chiropractors are also trained to employ other treatments such as soft tissue therapy, acupuncture, electrotherapy, rehabilitative exercises, and nutritional counselling.

The vast majority of patients who seek chiropractic care do so for complaints of the musculoskeletal system, most often for conditions affecting the spine. Scientific studies of spinal adjustments have demonstrated that chiropractic treatment improves function and is effective for common conditions such as headache, neck and back pain. In addition to spinal complaints, chiropractic training today equips the practitioner with skills in examination, diagnosis, and physical treatment of many non-spinal complaints such as shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee and ankle dysfunction and pain. If your complaint is not something that would respond favourably to chiropractic care, a referral will be made to the appropriate health care practitioner.

In many cases, such as acute lower back pain, chiropractic care may be the primary method of treatment. Where other medical conditions exist, chiropractic care may complement or support medical treatment by relieving the musculoskeletal aspects of discomfort associated with the condition. Chiropractic care may also be palliative, providing symptomatic relief to patients with chronic pain conditions.