Chiropractors in New Jersey are going beyond the back.

Thanks to a measure that passed in both the state Senate and Assembly on Monday, state-licensed chiropractors would be able to treat extremities, prescribe medical tests and give nutritional advice as well as sell nutritional supplements in their offices.

The bill brings New Jersey in line with many other states that have similar regulations.

For example, under New Jersey’s current standards, a chiropractor can treat problems in the extremities such as hands and feet only if they directly relate to problems in the spine, according to Dr. James P. Farrell, a chiropractic physician at Farrell Chiropractic and Rehabilitation in Cape May Court House.

“If someone came into my office with carpal tunnel syndrome, I would have to relate it to the spine or I couldn’t treat it,” Farrell said.

Farrell explained that patients such as athletes, who might need immediate treatment, would be in a difficult position if the injury they sustained wasn’t along the spine.

“There’s only so much time in the day to be writing notes to the insurance companies,” Farrell said.

Farrell said today’s chiropractors are trained to treat beyond the spine, and that includes giving nutrition advice to their patients.

“It brings us into the 21st century,” said Dr. Robert Olivieri, a chiropractic orthopedist at Olivieri Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Center in Rio Grande.

Olivieri said chiropractors are trained to consult patients about nutrition — for example, skeletal pain might not be the result of an injury; it could be related to a vitamin D deficiency, which can lead to bone problems such as rickets and osteomalacia.

Under the new legislation, chiropractors still would not be able to write prescriptions for medications, but they would be able to recommend them.

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