What Is Chiropractic?
Welcome new, veteran and prospective chiropractic patients!
Thank you in advance for taking the time to learn more about chiropractic care and its ability to optimize health.
Each
year more than 15 million Americans choose chiropractic care for safe,
natural and effective relief from back pain, neck pain, sports injuries, headaches,
extremity pain, poor overall health, low energy levels and much more.
What is Chiropractic?
According
to The Association of Chiropractic Colleges, "Chiropractic is a health
care discipline which emphasizes the inherent recuperative power of the
body to heal itself without the use of drugs and surgery. The practice
of chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure
(primarily the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous
system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and
restoration of health."
The Goal of Chiropractic
Because
chiropractic treatments are primarily applied to the spinal region,
many individuals incorrectly assume that chiropractors treat only back
and neck ailments. While we do quickly and effectively eliminate back
and neck pain, it's not the only goal. The objective is to restore and
optimize human health. In fact, according to a statement from The
Association of Chiropractic Colleges, "The purpose of chiropractic is
to optimize health."
How Chiropractic Works
You
may be wondering... how can the same chiropractic treatment which
effectively treats my back pain also optimize my health? The answer can
be found by looking into the relationship between the spine and the
nervous system.
As you may already know, the nervous system
is the master controller of all living cells, tissues and organs;
orchestrating and coordinating all cellular functions. The spinal
column encases the nervous system (spinal cord and nerve roots) and is
responsible for its protection.
Because of this intimate
relationship, biomechanical and structural problems in the spinal
column can irritate parts of the enclosed nervous system. This
irritation can result from noxious inflammatory biochemicals released
during tissue injury or may result from direct mechanical pressure. In
either case, the functioning of the nervous system is negatively
influenced as is the functioning of the cells, tissues and organs which
are supplied by the affected nerve(s).
The resulting ailment(s) depends on the cells, tissues and organs affected as well as the extent of nervous system compromise.
What Chiropractors Do
Practically speaking, chiropractors are primarily concerned with locating and treating biomechanical dysfunction.
Biomechanical dysfunction can be defined as an imbalance within the
musculoskeletal system which results in faulty movement patterns. This
dysfunction typically includes a joint component and muscle component.
Using
a number of unique and highly refined skills, the chiropractor checks
the region of complaint for any misalignments, fixations, muscle imbalances or other
abnormalities. If dysfunction is detected, the chiropractor may
use several specialized techniques to correct them and optimize function and overall health. In addition to spinal
adjustive techniques, soft tissue techniques such as massage, stretching, dietary
and nutritional counseling, physical therapies, and lifestyle
modification programs are commonly employed.
How Chiropractic Differs
There is a significant and very important difference between the way chiropractors and medical doctors approach health ailments.
When
evaluating and treating patients, chiropractors take a holistic
approach which includes identifying and correcting the cause(s) of the
patient's health ailment. In contrast, the medical approach tends to
focus more on the treating the symptoms of a condition rather than
focusing primarily on the actual cause(s).
Chiropractors
believe that correcting the cause of the problem provides significant
long-term benefits over only treating the symptoms.
The Benefits of Chiropractic
Short-term and regular chiropractic care have a number of benefits including:
- spinal and extremity pain relief
- headache relief
- increased mobility and range of motion
- decreased stiffness and muscular spasms
- arthritic joint pain relief
- increased joint health
- increased athletic performance and energy
- increased sense of well being and relaxation
- increased balance and coordination
- reduced degeneration and risk of injury
- enhanced tissue healing
- decreased tissue inflammation
