What is Chiropractic?

Simply put, “Chiro” means Hand and “Practic”means To Do.  Therefore, the healing art of Chiropractic is performed by laying hands on the body, concentrating on the spine, and applying gentle forces into areas that are not moving in their correct movement pattern.

Chiropractic is a natural, conservative, medicine-free and non-surgical form of healthcare.  Although some principles common to chiropractic have been dated back to Hippocrates (460 B.C.), its place in modern health care is largely attributed to Dr. Daniel David Palmer the founder of the first chiropractic college in 1895.

Doctors of chiropractic refer patients to and receive referrals from medical practitioners, and in many instances chiropractic can provide a viable alternative to drugs and surgery.  Chiropractic principles are applicable to a wide variety of conditions, including low back pain, neck pain and headaches, just to mention a few.

Chiropractic functions on the premise that the body achieves and maintains health through a natural capacity, provided the body receives the necessary ingredients, including adequate nutrition, hydration, rest, exercise, and a properly functioning nervous system.

The chiropractic approach to wellness typifies a changing attitude toward health care in the world.

 

What is a Subluxation?

Simply, Subluxation is a word describing the condition of the body where it’s functioning and thriving at less than optimum.  It is also described as a state in which there is an imbalance or blocked energy.  A body that is subluxated is similar to a plant that is receiving only partial amounts of the water, sunshine, and nutrients that it needs.  It may be alive but not thriving.

Subluxations occur for numerous reasons- physical, mental and chemical traumas- and at all ages.  Sporting injuries, falls/accidents, poor posture, stress, finances, junk food, drugs (prescription and non-prescription), even the birth process are among some of the most common causes of subluxation.

 

What is a Chiropractic Adjustment?

A gentle, specific force ranging in application from as little pressure as you place on your eyeball to slightly more pressure that produces a noise similar to cracking your knuckles.  The adjustment restores balance to the body and allows optimal healing and function to continue.

 

Does an Adjustment hurt?

The adjustment is always very gentle, safe and a force is not delivered unless the body is ready to accept it.  The chiropractor will take special measures to make sure that you are comfortable and at ease through the whole process.

There are times when people come to see their chiropractor when they are in great pain, either from an injury or accident, and still find the adjustment to be a great experience.

Adjustments delivered in the proper way are safe and harmless.

 

What should I expect after an adjustment?

Your body, mind and spirit can experience numerous changes once adjusted.  The response of the body is to be open to wholeness, restored function and enhanced growth and development.

Some of those changes you many not necessarily even feel.  The body takes time to process the change and shift its momentum or current state of function.

Other times you may respond pleasantly by feeling relaxed, sleeping better, having more energy, having increased concentration and attention, having better moods, or have symptoms of pain fade.

People also sometimes have unpleasant changes.  Your body may be eliminating toxins that were stored away.  Many times the muscles tighten as they work to restore balance.  You may find yourself requiring more sleep as your body heals.  Emotions may surface as they are clearing and leave you feeling vulnerable.  All of these are positive changes as your body is now feeling what was previously suppressed and shut off.

 

At what age can a person start getting 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.  Many chiropractors have advanced training in pediatrics and are present at the birth with midwives and the families or available immediately after the birth to adjust the newborn and mother and allow for a quick recovery from the birth trauma.  Special evaluation and techniques are used to modify the adjustment 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?

This is only true if you want to utilize the benefits of chiropractic as a lifestyle, similar to an exercise, yoga, or meditation program in contrast to utilizing it as a “get of out pain” service.  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 more sound, amongst many other things.

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 life.  Just as people visit a dentist and other health care providers for regular checks, regular spinal checks by your chiropractor ensure a properly functioning nerve system- the most important system in your body.

 

What do chiropractors address?

Everything that is connected to our nervous system.  Our life is defined by the quality and quantity of information that travels through our nervous system.

All functions, emotions, decisions, animations and memories are carried in our nervous system.  Our own “inner net” if you will- one that is more complex and detailed than man could ever create.  Our “inner net” connects our inner and outer worlds.  Messages from our brain determine how we will react to a situation physically and emotionally, when and how our heart beats, when and how we digest, breathe, eat, cry, move, sleep and so on.  Any deviation or interference to that communication creates an imbalance in these functions.

The chiropractic adjustment helps to restore a full connection to that vital flow of information and therefore bringing back balance and harmony in the body.  The possibilities are infinite.  The human body is the greatest miracle.  As it’s been said, “Nature needs no help, just no interference.”

 

Can a person benefit from an Adjustment even if they don’t have pain?

When a person is pain free, they think they are healthy and without a worry.   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.

Even when pain is not present, many injury cycles are present in the body.  These cycles may begin simply with a sprain/strain of a muscle and surrounding area, but if left untreated may progress to unwanted aliments such as carpal tunnel syndrome or any other cumulative injury.

People of all ages- newborn to newly retired- whether in pain or not, can receive benefit from getting adjusted. Chiropractic philosophy begins with the principle that an individual’s health largely depends on the functioning of their nervous system and that interference with this system impedes normal functions and lowers the body’s resistance to disease. The sole purpose and intention of the chiropractic adjustment is not to diagnose, cure or treat a person’s ailment, but to restore and maintain the nervous system connections to allow the body to heal itself.  Chiropractic is a wonderful way for people to enhance their physical, mental, chemical and spiritual elements.