What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic focuses on the relationship between the spinal column and the nervous system, as well as the role of the spinal column in biomechanics and movement. Chiropractic is an important part of the holistic trend in health care. A holistic approach to health care looks at all of the external and internal influences on the body in the study of health and disease. Holistic therapies, such as chiropractic, are designed to work with the person’s inborn ability to heal itself, which is called innate intelligence. Innate intelligence not only allows the body to heal itself, but it is also how the body is able to regulate its systems and function properly as a whole. This approach differs from purely allopathic approaches that often treat only symptoms instead of the person as a whole. The role of the chiropractor is greater than simply treating conditions. Instead, by reducing subluxations, the innate intelligence of the body can best express itself and thereby heal itself. This will then enable that person to reach more of his or her full potential in every area of life.
The proper functioning of the nervous system is of utmost concern to the chiropractor. The nervous system is an information superhighway that links the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. Information from the brain travels down through the spinal cord and out to the rest of the body through the spinal nerves, which are located at the level of each vertebrae. If there is a problem with this system the brain and body may not be able to communicate properly and therefore the body is unable to function properly as a whole. The basic function of the vertebrae of the spine is to protect the spinal cord, provide stability to the body, and provide attachment for major trunk muscles. Therefore, subluxations can not only lead to altered biomechanics of the body but they can also lead to muscle spasm and interfere with the proper functioning of the nervous system.
What do chiropractors do?
Chiropractors diagnose and treat vertebral subluxation complexes as well as subluxation complexes of the extremities. Subluxations are identified by the chiropractor through palpation of the spine and extremities. A subluxation is any joint that is restricted in its normal movement. Subluxations cause alterations in biomechanics and disturbances in the nervous system. Subluxations occur for many reasons and include physical, mental, and chemical stressors. Subluxations can occur and at all ages. Performance injuries, stress, poor nutrition, fatigue, and even the birth process are among some of the most common causes of subluxations.
Subluxations can become problematic for a number of different reasons. If a vertebra shifts out of proper positioning it may then press on and irritate the spinal nerves and therefore create nerve interference. Subluxations causing nerve compression can then cause the nerve to become facilitated and therefore hypersensitive. Subluxations may also cause pain, a change in movement, and a change in the tension of the muscles. Subluxations can cause alterations in blood flow, affect the viscera, and even cause a decrease in the immunity.
At what age can a person start getting adjusted?
A person can be adjusted as soon as they are born. Actually, even before they are born. A mother who receives adjustments during her pregnancy is not only benefiting her health and birth experience, but also the developing fetus inside. Special evaluation and techniques are used to modify the adjustments for newborns.
Children who receive adjustments starting at a young age are more resilient, have stronger immune systems, and are overall better adapted. They can bounce back faster from all the traumas of learning life’s lessons.
I’ve heard that once you get adjusted, you have to keep getting adjusted. Is that true?
Some people choose to use chiropractic as a way to “get out of pain faster” and others choose to have regular spinal checks to help ensure optimal functioning of the body. People have found that efforts put into wellness and prevention carry you further in life’s experience than dealing with sickness as it arises. By receiving regular chiropractic adjustments, people find that they have more energy and motivation, handle stress better, perform better, and sleep better. Each person has a choice in the type of care they want. It is the individual's responsibility as to how they are going to live. Just as people visit a dentist and other health care professionals for regular checks, regular spinal checks by your chiropractor ensure a properly functioning nervous system.
What sort of things do chiropractors address?
Chiropractors address everything that is associated with the nervous system. All functions, whether conscious or not, are controlled by the nervous system. Messages from the brain determine how we will react to a situation physically and emotionally, when and how our heart beats, when and how we digest, breath, eat, move, sleep and so on. Any deviation or interference to that communication channel creates an imbalance in these functions.
Can a person benefit from an adjustment even if they don’t have pain?
When a person is pain free, they think they are disease free. It’s the old theory of “If it isn’t broken, why fix it?” Unfortunately, pain is usually the last thing to present in illness and the first thing to go away in an incomplete healing process. People of all ages, from the very young to the very wise, whether in pain or not, can receive benefit from getting adjusted.
