How does chiropractic work?
Chiropractic works because your bodily systems are controlled by your nervous system. Instructions flow from your brain, down your spinal cord to every organ and tissue. Your body sends signals back to the brain to communicate information about how the body is working. Improper positioning of the bones of the spine, which a chiropractor calls a subluxation, can interfere with this exchange of information. This can affect the function of organs and tissues throughout the body. Specific spinal adjustments can remove the interference. This often leads to improved health due to improved nervous system control of the body.
How do you get subluxations?
Stress! There are three types of stress that can cause a subluxation - chemical, emotional, and physical. Chemical stress could include alcohol, drugs, pollution, and poor diet. Emotions like grief, anger, and fear create stress. Physical causes may include slips, falls, accidents, and repetitive motions.
How do I know if I have a subluxation?
You may have a subluxation and not even know. Symptoms are often the last thing to show up, even when a disease process has been around for a long time. A spinal check-up by a chiropractor is the only way to truly tell if you have a subluxation.
Do I have a slipped disc?
This is a term commonly used to refer to a variety of disc problems. However, a disc can not slip because of the way it attaches to the spinal bones. A disc can bulge, herniate, tear, thin, dry out, and collapse, but it can not slip.
Do I have a pinched nerve?
The word pinched is often used because it is so descriptive. When a vertebrae is misaligned, the nerves may be irritated, compressed, or stretched. These would be more accurate terms, even though it can really feel like something is being pinched in there! These misaligned vertebrae can then interfere in the messages being sent back and forth between your brain and body.
What is an adjustment?
A chiropractic adjustment is a quick thrust to a specific bone in a specific direction for the purpose of removing nerve interference. This adjustment is done by a doctor's hands, an instrument, or a special table.
Are chiropractic adjustments safe?
Chiropractic is a very conservative healthcare choice. We don't put anything into the body and we don't take anything out of your body. Studies show that adjustments are about 100 times safer than an over-the-counter pain reliever.
What makes the sound during an adjustment?
Fluid and air can build up in the joint spaces of a misaligned joint. When the joint is moved during an adjustment, a sound is sometimes produced as the fluid and air shift. The sound is not an indication of the quality or value of the adjustments.
Can I adjust myself?
No. Your joints may pop but this is not an adjustment. Adjustments are very specific movements to specific bones and it takes years to master the art of performing.
How many adjustments will I need?
The number varies with each patient and their own personal health goals. Visits are usually more frequent in the beginning of care and become less often as your spine stabilizes.
How long until I'll feel better?
Sometimes relief is almost instant. For others, it can take weeks or months. Many things affect the healing process. How long have you had the problem? Are you keeping your appointments? Do you smoke? Are you in otherwise good condition? Within a short per of time, most patients begin to notice progress.
How long will I need chiropractic care?
This depends on what you want from your care. Some patients choose short-term relief care just until their symptoms subside. Other patients understand the value of continuing their care with periodic adjustments to maintain their health. These periodic visits may help detect and resolve new problems before they become serious. We offer the best care to everyone and you choose how much of it you want.
Can I have chiropractic care after back surgery?
Yes. The doctor may have to avoid the areas you have had surgery on, but surgery can affect mobility and stability in areas above and below the involved level. These would be the areas of focus for your chiropractic care.
Can patients with osteoporosis get chiropractic care?
Yes. The doctor takes the unique circumstances of each patient into consideration when developing your care plan. There are many ways to adjust the spine and the doctor can chose the best method for your particular condition.
Will I receive any medications for my pain?
No. Chiropractors do not dispense drugs. We rely on natural methods for healing and pain relief.
What if chiropractic care doesn't work?
If we are not able to find and correct the cause of your health problem, we will refer you to a specialist who may be able to help you. Your health is our primary goal.
Is chiropractic effective?
Chiropractic helps to remove postural imbalances and structural misalignments that can accumulate in our bodies over time. Chiropractic works by restoring your own inborn ability to be healthy. For your body to remain healthy, your nervous system must function well. For your nervous system to function well it must be free of interference. By restoring spinal function with Chiropractic adjustments, nerve interference by misaligned vertebrae is removed, thus allowing optimal nervous system function and improved health.
Why should I see a Chiropractor?
Seeing a chiropractor is not only for back pain and neck pain. Chiropractic care is an excellent way to keep your body at its peak performance through nutrition, adjustment and overall wellness. In addition, chiropractic care has been known to help a wide range of conditions from fibromyalgia to diabetes.
What is Subluxation?
When a vertebrae becomes misaligned or moves out of its normal position, this is referred to in the chiropractic profession as a subluxation. Subluxations can be caused by a wide range of issues ranging from a minor slip or bump to a car accident or any sudden trauma. When a vertebrae is subluxated, it begins to put pressure on nerves, blood vessels and everything around it. This pressure comes with a price. The subluxation interrupts the natural pathways that the messages sent from the brain need to be clear in order to be completed properly.
How does chiropractic care work?
Chiropractic is an overall way of looking at the human body. It's based on the idea that the body is self-sustaining and self-healing. The body is in essence completely controlled by the brain through its connection via the spinal cord and the vast networks of nerves that make up the body. When this system is not functioning at its peak, the overall performance of the human body is lacking.
In the chiropractic world, drugs and medicine are not utilized as a form of treating a patient. While supplementation and nutrition are almost always a part of the bigger picture, drugs and prescriptions can be viewed as band-aids to treat symptoms rather than going to the source and treating the real problem.
While it's often perceived that the chiropractor is solely here to treat back and neck pain, this is simply a small piece of what the profession really is capable of handling. Chiropractors not only treat soft and hard tissue problems such as sciatica and joint pain, but are largely called on to deal with more significant issues. Some of these issues include fibromyalgia, allergies, insomnia, headaches and many more.
What is a chiropractic adjustment? Is it safe?
Adjustments, or manipulation as they're sometimes referred to is the minor movement of vertebrae in the spine. The objective of this movement is to realign vertebrae that have moved out of place for a number of reasons ranging from normal daily activity to trauma such as a car accident.
When these vertebrae are out of place, it has an overall systemic effect from muscular to the central nervous system. Without proper alignment and flow of all nerves and systems in the body from the brain, we can't function at our peak.
An adjustment is often a pressure from the chiropractor utilizing the hands or an instrument to move a vertebrae back into place. This happens with a quick movement and is often without discomfort. You may hear a noise that sounds like you're cracking your knuckles referred to as joint cavitation. It is the release of gases such as oxygen and nitrogen from the joint.
What can I expect from my visit to a chiropractor?
Going to the Chiropractor is a new experience for many of us. Maybe we've heard through a friend or have done some research online. It's possible that you are just fed up with living in pain and it's time to do something about it. In either case, your first visit to the chiropractor will really be about getting to know the chiropractor and discussing your history, current condition and goals.
What results can I expect from treatment?
Chiropractic is based on the idea of removing imbalances both structural and postural in an effort to allow our body to heal itself. For this to happen the network of nerves and signals from your brain, down your spinal cord, to the network of nerves must be allowed to flow freely without any interruption. Chiropractors have the ability and skill to remove these interruptions or misalignments and allow the body to perform as it was meant to.
If you've ever been in a car accident, played a sport, fell down or just bumped into something too hard, it's very possible that you are not functioning at your best due to a misalignment. While there are many potential mechanical or structural causes for misalignment, there are also chemical reasons. For instance, if you smoke or drink excessively or even just have a poor diet, the chemical issues in your body can eventually cause underlying conditions and disease to appear.
Allowing a chiropractor to get you back on track both chemically and structurally will bring your body back to the proper state it should be in to perform at its peak.