What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic returns the body to balance through adjustments of the spine and joints, reducing nerve interference, relieving stress and restoring normal body function. Whenever there is a system containing many moveable parts, a complex balance is necessary between those parts. Chiropractic's influence the body's nervous system and natural defense mechanisms in order to alleviate pain and improve quality of health.
From The American Chiropractic Association:
Chiropractic, is a health care profession focusing on disorders of the musculoskeletal system, the nervous system, and the effects of these disorders on general health. Chiropractic care is used most often to treat neuromusculoskeletal complaints, including but not limited to back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, and headaches.
Doctors of Chiropractic - often referred to as chiropractors - practice a drug-free, hands-on approach to health care that includes patient examination, diagnosis and treatment. Chiropractors have broad diagnostic skills and are also trained to recommend therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, as well as to provide nutritional, dietary and lifestyle counseling.
The most common therapeutic procedure performed by doctors of chiropractic is known as "spinal manipulation," also called "chiropractic adjustment." The purpose of manipulation is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile - or restricted in their movement - as a result of a tissue injury. Tissue injury can be caused by a single traumatic event, such as improper lifting of a heavy object, or through repetitive stresses, such as sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture for an extended period of time. In either case, injured tissues undergo physical and chemical changes that can cause inflammation, pain, and diminished function for the sufferer. Manipulation, or adjustment of the affected joint and tissues, restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, and allowing tissues to heal.
Chiropractic adjustment rarely causes discomfort. However, patients may sometimes experience mild soreness or aching following treatment (as with some forms of exercise) that usually resolves within 12 to 48 hours. In many cases, such as lower back pain, chiropractic care may be the primary method of treatment. When other medical conditions exist, chiropractic care may complement or support medical treatment by relieving the musculoskeletal aspects associated with the condition.
A chiropractic adjustment, also known as chiropractic manipulation, manual manipulation, or spinal manipulation, is the primary chiropractic treatment method for back pain.
Spinal manipulation relieves pressure on joints, reduces inflammation, and improves nerve function. It has been a trusted form of treatment since the ancient Greek Hippocrates documented manipulative techniques in his writings back in 1500 B.C. Today, spinal manipulation is used to treat conditions such as allergies, menstrual cramps and headaches.
How Does Spinal Manipulation Work?
There are well over 100 types of adjustment techniques used by chiropractors throughout the world. Some practitioners may use force and twisting, while other techniques are more gentle. Regardless of how they are performed, these techniques are intended to restore or enhance joint function with the objectives of reducing pain and resolving joint inflammation.
When vertebrae shift out of place, there is an overall systemic response from the muscular system to the central nervous system. Without proper alignment and flow, our nerves, our immune system, and our minds cannot function at their highest peak.
Overall, spinal adjustments and manipulations are an excellent way to keep the body functioning at its highest level without any discomfort. When the body is adequately aligned, it becomes able to respond and perform as it was built to do.