I personally refer patients to chiropractors all the time and usually it’s for one of the following two reasons:
They come in with a clear structural issue. Patients who come in presenting with scoliosis, or acute trauma to their neck, back, or other spinus process are getting a pass from me and a direct hand-off to a chiropractor. Although chiropractors successfully manage all manner of disease, backs and necks are their bread and butter. Chiropractors know the spine like Eddie Bravo knows the rubber guard. If you fall and tweak your back, feel something go out during a heavy lift, or wake up with acute neck pain, a chiropractor may be a lifesaver.
Soft tissue injuries, limb numbness and/or tingling, are resolving themselves and then returning in a similar pattern. If I’m treating a patient for neck pain, shoulder pain, scapular area spasms or anything similar and they leave my office without pain and/or spasm, only to return two days later (without additional trauma to the area – like seven minutes of burpees) with the exact same presentation, then I need to look further into whether the root cause of the issue is structural. If this happens again, they’re going to see a chiropractor.
After a car accident in high school (not my fault, I’m from the east coast and therefore know how to drive) followed by two incidents of much larger, beginner Brazilian jiu-jitsu players trying to twist my head off, I’m left with a compression fracture in my neck. Through regular chiropractic visits however, I’m able to keep the issue at bay and am thankful for the results.