A Quick Guide to Chiropractic

Chiropractic is a health care lifestyle which boosts your immune system, corrects and empowers your nervous system, re-trains your muscular skeletal and neurological memory. When two bones that are connected (a joint) are not in optimal alignment, (mis-alignment) this is what chiropractors call a Subluxation or a Segmental Dysfunction. A Subluxation causes your bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons to pull in opposing directions. This in turn causes muscle problems (sprain/strain), ligament and tendon pain (eg: tendonitits) and pinching of nerves (eg: tingling in hands, sciatica). Sometimes this can be instant pain or a slow progressing pain!

Chiropractors fix these subluxations by re-aligning the joint. There are a lot of different techniques chiropractors use today. Some are hands-on where you feel the joint move and hear the “crack”. Other technicques may not create an audible and/or use an instrument to re-align the joint and spine.

Side Note: Recently, medical radiologists have started using the terminolgy Subluxation in their radiology reports. Their definition of a subluxation is a partial dislocation. I’m telling you this because when I read a medical radiology report and it states there are no subluxations, I know they do not mean a chiropractic subluxation.

Are You A Candidate for Chiropractic?

Who needs Chiropractic? Everyone. If you’re a living breathing body and have muscles and bones, then you create stress/ wear and tear on your body. So YES, you need chiropractic care. Humans, dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, etc…all benefit with chiropractic care too!

Who is not a Chiropractic candidate?

This question gets a bit tricky. There are two conditions that I can think of at the moment that I would be hesitant or refuse to treat. First, is if a moderate or severe disc protusion was pushing onto the spinal cord then I would want to see the MRI films. But I would continue to treat adjoining spinal/joint areas. Secondly, Spinal Stenosis in laymans terms is bone spurs or arthritis of a specific area of bone that protects a nerve (eg: chronic sciatica). Depending on each specific case, sometimes I can use a very gentle technique that is beneficial. Each case is very individualized so there is not a clear yes or no answer to this question. A comprehensive consultation (usually free) can determine if you are a chiropractic candidate or not.

Side Note: Chiropractors do not prescribe medications or do any procedures that require a needle or knife. No injections or surgeries. Although, some chiropractors have dual licensing. For example, acupuncture, nurse, medical doctors.