In 1895, when chiropractic became a profession, the rest of the health care community was none too impressed.
"That's changed a lot over the years," said Dr. Brooks Rohman, a chiropractor new to Dulcimer Medical Center this spring.
"Chiropractic is losing that stigma that we're just wrenching you around, that there's no science behind what we do."
Not all health care providers readily accept chiropractic to this day, but Dulcimer promotes its unique model of patient care.
"We do a functional medicine approach to treating patients," Rohman said, referring to a patient's physical, chemical, emotional and spiritual well-being.
Chiropractic services are another specialty within the clinic, offering patients another method of treatment to co-manage symptoms.
"Being able to see patients and share information without the typical hindrances between providers is really helpful," Rohman said.
There are certain symptoms chiropractors note to themselves when seeing a patient, including pain, limited range of motion, asymetry and tenderness.
"More than two of those things and they, being insurance companies, say there's a problem there," Rohman said. "That's kind of from a legal standpoint."
In chiropractic school, Rohman learned to note subtle changes in a person's muscle tone, detecting weakness or tension. Differences in one side of the body are another good indicator something is wrong, as well as exploring range of motion to see where joints are resistant.
"With time and practice, it's kind of like cracking a safe I would imagine. You get really sensitive in your fingers," he said.
Learning to read the body's signals are how chiropractors find things.
"You have to put a 3D picture in your mind of what's going on underneath."
That's just the diagnosis. Next comes the treatment.
When meeting new patients, Rohman first asks about their history with chiropractic and their preferences.
Methods of manipulating the body can vary greatly from one chiropractor to another - some prefer using a tapping instrument called an activator, while others are more hands on.
"I use portions of about six different techniques," Rohman said. "... I don't ascribe to any one in particular because each patient who comes into your office is different."
How many visits are required also depends on each patient.
"That depends on what you're looking for," he said.
Someone who's suffered an ailment for 20 years will take longer to treat than someone with no obvious issues. Often patients will stop treatment once their immediate pain is remediated, though the underlying problem will likely continue to plague them.
Ideally, Rohman would like to see chiropractic used as a tool to keep the body aligned and smoothly functioning before something goes wrong, so recommends periodic wellness checks.
"The thing about health is it's easier to keep it than get it back once it's gone. It's just like going to the dentist: You don't wait for your teeth to fall out to have something done.
"Preventative medicine is the key."
That's why Rohman also concentrates on nutrition and exercise.
"Nobody leaves my office without getting some sort of homework," he said.
Besides teaching his patients ways they can improve their health, Rohman is continuing his own education. He's in a two-year program that focuses on treating children and pregnant women.
It's a topic that's close to his heart.
The Truman native, his wife, Sarah (Jagodzinske) Rohman, and their infant daughter moved back to the area in April, after a two-year "working holiday, so to speak" in New Zealand.
"It's good to be of service to the community and good to be back too," he said.