Chiropractic care has a generally vague definition. If you have been to more than one chiropractor in your life you will understand this. To make matters worse, the legal definition of a chiropractor varies widely state by state. I think, however, for the scope of this discussion we are going to talk about Chiropractic as it is licensed in the great state of Texas.

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Texas Occupations Code

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A person practices chiropractic under this chapter if the person:

(1) uses objective or subjective means to diagnose, analyze, examine, or evaluate the biomechanical condition of the spine and musculoskeletal system of the human body;

(2) performs nonsurgical, nonincisive procedures, including adjustment and manipulation, to improve the subluxation complex or the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system;

(3) represents to the public that the person is a chiropractor; or

(4) uses the term “chiropractor,” “chiropractic,” “doctor of chiropractic,” “D.C.,” or any derivative of those terms or initials in connection with the person’s name.

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As with most legal definitions, the Texas Occupations Code is vague with a lot of room for interpretation. With that said, you may encounter other chiropractors in Texas that interpret our scope of practice differently. A good example would be concussion. Can Texas chiropractors treat concussions? Should they be treating concussions? I would say no, concussion does not fall within our scope of practice and therefore chiropractors should not be diagnosing and treating concussions. However, a google search would produce ample evidence to the contrary.

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Let me briefly comment on a few conditions that Texas chiropractors often claim to diagnose and treat despite being outside their legal scope of practice. Perhaps the most egregious area of overreach within the chiropractic profession is in pediatrics. I have seen anything from tongue tie to bed wetting to autism being advertised by chiropractors as treatable with chiropractic care. It is important to note that to treat a medical condition you have to first have diagnosed said medical condition. I think a lot of chiropractors are skirting the rules on this by telling patients one thing then making sure to chart another to keep any review from showing any misdeed. However, it is well within the chiropractor's scope to treat the many MSK symptoms that often accompany these diseases and a referral from a qualified practitioner is generally sufficient to keep practice on the up and up.

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Finally, I would like to discuss what chiropractic is to me. I diagnose and treat most musculoskeletal (MSK) diseases and some mechanically produced peripheral nerve diseases like carpal tunnel or sciatica to name a few. To further elaborate on my practice, I am a general practice chiropractor and I primarily diagnose and treat spinal conditions. I also diagnose and treat some types of headache, MSK diseases of the extremities including shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, hips, knees, ankles and feet. The tricky thing about providers that the public can see at will, without a referral, is that people often show up with conditions outside of my scope of practice and need to be sent to a more appropriate provider. You can't expect that everybody will self diagnose accurately or know which type of provider will be best for them. I recognize that certain conditions are best treated by specific professionals. Whats that mean? If I find you are suffering from a condition where I am not the best provider, I will make a referral to a better suited provider.

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See you soon,

~Dr Malone