Cervical and Lumbar Specialist - A Look at What They Do

Cervical is a medical term that means anything having to do with the neck. A lumbar is a term that refers to lower back area, in the abdominal region. If someone is having trouble with either of these regions, their neck or lower back, they should seek help from a cervical and lumbar specialist. There are a few different professions that focus on these areas including chiropractors, orthopedists, and orthopedic surgeons. Depending on what it is that is bothering you, one specialist may be able to help more than the others.

A chiropractor is the most basic type of cervical and lumbar specialist you can see. They are not medical doctors, as they cannot write their patients a prescription for any medicine, nor can they perform any type of major surgery. A chiropractor is more or less, a glorified massage therapist. They do have extensive knowledge of all the bones and muscles in the back, and they usually keep up with new massage therapies and techniques. The main thing they are focused on is spine manipulation, or as they put it, spine adjustment. At least 90 percent of all spinal manipulations done in the United States are carried out by licensed chiropractors.

Another type of cervical and lumbar specialist you could see is an orthopedist. An orthopedist deals mostly with the muscular and skeletal systems as a whole, not just the back, but they would be the specialist doctor you would see if you had back trouble. Anything bone or muscle from your head to your feet, they can handle. Due to their focusing mainly on the musculoskeletal system of the body, orthopedic doctors usually handle a lot of cases dealing with athletes and spend a lot of time treating sports related injuries.

Finally there is the orthopedic surgeon. Hopefully your back and neck problems have not gotten so bad that you need to visit an orthopedic surgeon, because they are usually the last resort to fixing bone and muscle issues. This type of cervical and lumbar specialist is trained to handle everything from trauma to the muscle or skeletal system to tumors and infections. Just like orthopedics, the majority of what orthopedic surgeons deal with treating, are sports related injuries. In the United States, the typical orthopedic surgeon will work around 55 hours each week doing clinic duties, surgery, and possibly research or teaching. On average, in 2007, the average orthopedic surgeon earned an annual salary of $388,784.