Physiotherapy has been a part of chiropractic care since its early days in the 1880s. Chiropractic founder D.D. Palmer taught a type of massage with “magnetic manipulation” that applied physiological therapeutics to chiropractic care. Today’s Chiropractic Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation (DACRB) Specialist is a chiropractor who, as the title suggests, has had extensive postgraduate training in physiologic therapeutics and rehabilitation to better treat injuries that may have resulted from auto-, workplace- or sports-related injuries.
A DACRB practitioner uses a combination of active and passive therapies that involve not only chiropractic adjustments, but coping strategies patients can use to lessen the fear of pain, and reduce anxiety and depression. After an accident or injury, a patient is likely to have musculoskeletal imbalances, even after healing is pretty much complete. The goal of a DACRB specialist is to restore balance, strength and muscle tone to the musculoskeletal system through therapies and targeted exercises to ensure stability and help prevent a reoccurrence of the problem. This is particularly important for athletes, who need to know the correct way to stretch and strengthen their muscles to avoid injury and improve performance.
A program of chiropractic rehabilitation is particularly useful if you have had an accident or suffer from chronic back pain. These types of cases require extra effort to address the strength and range of motion that has been lost, which is what usually contributes to the development of muscle imbalances and subsequently causes pain. A DACRB provides not only physical therapy, but patient education so that the effectiveness of chiropractic treatments will last longer and your recovery time from injury will be shorter.
To receive DACRB certification, a Doctor of Chiropractic has to complete a three-year program involving 300 hours of postgraduate training in physiotherapy and rehabilitation, after which he or she is given an oral and practical exam. There is also a written requirement that must be completed, which involves presenting a case study that must be accepted for publication by a peer reviewed journal.
A DACRB specialist will design a structured rehabilitation program to improve your particular condition. In many cases, this will include specific sets of exercises you can do at home. You will also be taught the correct way to stretch so that you can avoid further injury to your soft tissues. These will help to restore coordination, balance and posture, will speed healing, and will make your future chiropractic adjustments more effective.