What is
chiropractic? Chiropractic is the science, art, and philosophy of the effects
of the vertebral subluxation complex on the health of the body. Chiropractic is
based in physical science; there is an art to the actual delivery of the
chiropractic treatment, called an adjustment; and there is an underlying
philosophy about health that is unique to chiropractic.
As a chiropractor, I believe the body is a
self-healing organism designed to be in a state of perfect homeostasis, or
balance. I believe that when the body is in balance, all systems function at
100% of the system’s potential, and the body is healthy. When the body is not
in balance, when systems function at less than 100% of their potential, then
health is lost and disease takes over.
According
to Gray’s Anatomy, the nervous system controls and coordinates all of
the functions in the body. Chiropractic is based on this fact. We recognize
that a nerve must transmit a message from the brain to the organ, tissue, or
cell in the body so that the organ, tissue, or cell knows how to function in a
healthy manner. If this transmission of messages is disrupted, health is
disrupted.
Chiropractic
recognizes the relationship between a healthy spine and a healthy nervous
system. Because of the position of the peripheral nerves, which exit the spinal
cord through openings between the spinal bones, the health of the spine can
affect the health of the nervous system. In a spine that has the vertebral
subluxation complex, there will be a lack of proper function, causing
interference with the nerves that can and will affect the body’s ability to
transmit messages through the nerves. When nerve transmission is disrupted or
lost, organs malfunction, muscles weaken, symptoms of disease and decay occur.
As a chiropractor, my job is to make sure that your
body is free of subluxations, and free of nervous-system malfunctions that can
cause pain and disease.
Many
people seek chiropractic care to be free from the pain of headaches, backaches,
and other musculoskeletal problems without the use of drugs or surgery. Many
patients, when freed from spinal subluxations, also report an increase in
overall health and vitality, as well as a lessening of symptoms of conditions
that are not musculoskeletal, such as asthma, allergies, and earaches.
Can you imagine what a change it would be to be
without pain, without suffering, without drugs? Chiropractic care is suitable
for anyone who has spinal subluxations and
would like
to be free from them. Chiropractic is appropriate for anyone of any age, from
the youngest baby to the most elderly person who wants to change their health.
Chiropractic is very safe, very effective, and cost-effective.
How does
one become subluxated? There are many ways, from birth trauma and falls as a
child, to auto accidents, sports injuries, or accidents around the house.
Subluxations can be caused by years of poor posture, or from stress. Think
about it—do you remember any falls from your childhood? Most of us have at
least one story of a childhood injury to relate. Maybe you fell down the
stairs, off a bike, out of a tree, or off the monkey bars. Many patients I see
recall injuries from high school sports.
Most of us have experienced a fender-bender or two,
if not some more serious vehicle accident. (It’s hard to total a car without
doing some kind of damage to your body. Just because nothing was broken doesn’t
mean nothing was hurt.) Maybe you became subluxated when you moved or picked up
something heavy, and now, every once in a while, your back “goes out on you.” A
back that “goes out” now and then is almost a sure sign of subluxation.
If, years later, you can remember a fall, injury, or
accident, it probably hurt, and it probably seriously jolted your body. You are
probably subluxated. You may wonder why
you don’t feel
subluxated. Here are some clues as to what being subluxated feels like: Are you
stiff in the morning or after working? Do you notice a general lack of
flexibility in your body? Rather than just easily turning your head, do you
have to turn your shoulders to look behind you when you put the car in reverse?
Do you have headaches? (Many patients who are subluxated report an initial
symptom of headaches.)
Does your body feel as if it’s getting old? Do you
have numbness or tingling in your hands or feet? Perhaps you thought it was a
lack of blood flow, your hands or feet going to sleep. This can be a very
common sign of spinal subluxations. Do you have leg pain that has been
diagnosed as sciatica? Sciatica is another common sign of spinal subluxation.
These are some of the more common symptoms that can
point to spinal subluxations. If you have one or more or all of these, then you
may also have some other health problems. You probably aren’t as healthy as
you’d like to be, and you probably don’t do all the things you’d like to do.
Some patients attribute the above symptoms to “just getting older.” You don’t
have to accept the outdated mode of thinking that says that you lose your
health as you age. If your doctor has ever attributed your health problems to
the fact that you’re getting older, I recommend that you change doctors.
So now you may have a better idea of what chiropractic
is, and how you might feel if you’re subluxated. Now what do you do about it?
First, call a chiropractor and make an appointment. Don’t worry, all
chiropractors are very well educated and must pass rigorous national and state
requirements to practice.
Licensing requirements weed out those that are truly
not qualified to practice. The rest is up to you. Any time you choose a doctor,
you should look at their ability to communicate with you as a priority, as well
as their ability to listen. Ask questions and see how they respond. If the
doctor’s office is professionally run and you’re comfortable with the doctor,
then you’re probably in the right place. Most insurance covers some
chiropractic, so check out the doctors on your plan. Remember, insurance
policies cover a certain number of visits per year for each policyholder. But
the number of visits you may require might differ from the number of visits
your insurance company will cover. This is very common.
Most patients receive a complete examination,
including x-rays. Chiropractors are well trained to palpate the body—that is,
to make muscle and bone diagnoses by touching the body—but nothing gives the
full picture like a picture. I know the cost of x-rays is a concern for many
patients, but what is your health worth? Another common concern is x-ray
exposure. I definitely think you should keep your x-ray exposure to a minimum.
Talk to your doctor about the minimum required to
get the maximum information. A picture of your bones could save your life if
you happen to have pain because of a serious disease process that has yet to be
seen.
After the exam and the x-rays, the doctor will tell
you what type of treatment is appropriate for your condition. When you get
adjusted, you lie on a table fully clothed, and the doctor literally moves your
bones by pushing them in specific directions with a specific amount of force.
Don’t try this at home; adjustments are safe only when done by a well-trained,
highly skilled professional. After the adjustment, which takes only a few
minutes, you can get right up and go on about your life; in most cases, no
recovery time is needed.
You’ve probably heard stories about people who went to
a chiropractor and felt worse after the adjustment then they did before. That
happened to me—after injuring my neck in an automobile accident, I found that,
for a few weeks after the accident, my regular adjustment appointments left me
sore. Had I not been a chiropractor and not understood why that was happening,
I might not have gone back.
Yes,
sometimes people do feel more sore after their first few adjustments. But
notice that I say after their first few adjustments—not after every
adjustment. In the beginning of the process, there is often a small
inflammation reaction in the adjusted joints. That means they’re going to be
sore. This doesn’t happen in every case—in fact, it doesn’t happen in most
cases—but when it does, it’s just a part of the healing process. After a few
adjustments, the discomfort should go away for the most part, and future
treatments should be painless.
Usually, a series of spinal adjustments is needed to
correct subluxations. Although a single adjustment might relieve the pain, it
won’t permanently cure the problem—repeated adjustments are necessary to get
rid of the subluxation. Each adjustment builds on the previous one retraining
the muscles to support the vertebrae in their “new,” restored, healthy
positions, which they may not have held in years. Most patients continue with
some sort of preventive care, to maintain their health and to prevent
subluxations from becoming reestablished in their spines.
Most people find that an adjustment once a month keeps
them healthy, and counters the effects of the stressful, active lifestyles most
of us live. If you want to be healthy throughout your lifetime, chiropractic
adjustments are a necessity.
Further
Reading
Healing
Hands, by Joseph Maynard, D.C., Ph.C.
Chiropractic
First, by Terry A. Rondberg, D.C.
Introduction
to Chiropractic, by Louis Sportelli
The
Chiropractic Way, by Michael Lenarz, D. C.
Chiropractic
Compassion and Expectation, by Terry A. Rondberg, D.C. and Timothy J. Feuling
