Chiropractor: the law and professional requirements today in Italy

The law and the professional requirements of the chiropractor

The reference point for chiropractors in Italy is the Italian Chiropractor Association (AIC) which is the National Organization that represents the Doctors of Chiropractic who practice in Italy.

AIC was founded in 1974 with the aim of regulating and promoting the profession in Italy.

In the absence of a precise law, the Association has the task of:

Hold the functions of protecting the citizen on the work of the profession and certifying that their Members are all regularly graduated from the University Colleges recognized by the World Organization on Chiropractic - World Federation of Chiropratic (WFC) - and, obviously, from the European one - European Council on Chiropractic Education (ECCE);
Hold the function of defense and protection of the chiropractic profession and of its members towards abuses by third parties that could be called chiropractors without being so.

The proposal of the deputy Zacchera (LEGISLATION - XIV Legislature - Draft Law No. 1131) for the recognition of the profession of chiropractor was presented on 29 June 2001 .

In Italy, professionals in other rehabilitation therapies see the chiropractor as the "scroller" and there is widespread skepticism about this profession. In reality, those who write to you have come into contact with this professional figure in America and there things are not exactly like this; there the discipline is truly holistic, it follows the principle of healing through the hands and avoids medicines. It must be said that recently in the States there is a strong push by some chiropractors to abandon this philosophical nature to embrace a more advanced medical orientation, given by a certain anxiety to be recognized and compared to allopathic doctors. This, according to many, is somewhat distorting the practice.

Currently the future doctors of chiropractic are "brains on the run", since they can only be trained at foreign universities (17 Americans, 2 Canadians, 2 Australians, 3 English, 1 Japanese, 1 Danish, 1 French, 1 Swedish, 1 new Zeeland) recognized by the CCE (The Council on Chiropractic Education) to then carry out an internship in specialized clinics. The degree course in chiropractic has an average duration of 5 years and the hours of theory and clinical practice are about 5000.

Origins and description of chiropractic

Chiropractic was born in 1895 in the United States of America by DD Palmer, the first chiropractor of the modern era. A hundred years after its birth, in the USA, there are more than 70, 000 chiropractors. Chiropractic is currently, in the United States and Japan, the most widespread health profession among those who do not use drugs or medicines.

Philosophy, art, science together. Chiropractic is above all a clinical science that deals with the analysis and treatment of imbalances in the structural (skeletal muscle), biochemical, mental and energy system of the organism, which is conceived as a unit in all respects.

What the chiropractor can do

The chiropractor tries to identify and correct the imbalances, above all at the level of the structural system, through specific manual corrections and without having to resort to the use of drugs or medicines, stimulating the body's natural healing abilities. Chiropractic teaches us that the best way to maintain our state of health is to remove, whenever possible, those factors that interfere with the normal functions of the organism and that affect, for example, the onset of one state of structural stress. These factors include, among others: environmental pollution, certain types of drugs, certain chemicals, unnatural foods, anxiety, states of tension and emotional stress.

The chiropractor frequently treats patients suffering from asthma, anxiety, depression, dental malocclusion, pain in the neck, back pain, dizziness, chronic otitis, amenorrhea and menstrual pain ... He can recommend therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, a healthy diet and a healthier lifestyle . The most common therapeutic procedure performed by chiropractors is " spinal manipulation ".