- Chiropractic Questions and Answers -
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is a way of looking at the human body as a whole. It's based on the idea that the body is selfsustaining and self-healing.
You know that your body is controlled by your brain, but the spinal cord and vast network of nerves that carry its messages are just as important. When this system is not functioning at its peak, your body's overall performance suffers.
In the chiropractic world, we don't use drugs to treat our patients. While supplementation and nutrition are almost always a part of the bigger picture, drugs and prescriptions can be viewed as bandaids to treat symptoms rather than treating the source of the problem. Chiropractic treats the problem naturally and, in turn, prompts the body to heal itself.
While it's often perceived that the chiropractor solely treats back and neck pain, this is a small piece of what the profession 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 many different health issues. Some of these issues include fibromyalgia, allergies, insomnia, and headaches, among many more.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 vertebra 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 vertebra 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.
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 the 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 vertebra 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.