What
is Chiropractic?
The
Goal of Chiropractic?
How
Chiropractic Works?
What
Chiropractors Do?
How
Chiropractic Differs?
The
Benefits of Chiropractic
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is a health
care discipline that emphasises the inherent recuperative power of the
body to heal itself without the use of drugs and surgery. The practice
of chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (primary
the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how
that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health.
The Goal of Chiropractic
Because chiropractic treatments are primary
applied to the spinal region, many individuals incorrectly assume that
chiropractors treat only back and neck ailments. While we do quickly
and effectively eliminate back and neck pain, it's not the only goal.
The objective is to restore and optimize human health. In fact, according
to a statement from The Association of Chiropractic Colleges, "The
purpose of chiropractic is to optimize health."
How Chiropractic
Works
You may be wondering楹
how can the same chiropractic treatment, which effectively treats my
back pain, also optimize my health? The answer can be found by looking
into the relationship between the spine and the nervous.
As you may already know, the nervous
system is the master controller of all living cells, tissues and organs;
orchestrating and coordinating all cellular functions. The spinal column
encases the nervous system (spinal cord and nerve roots) and is responsible
for its protection.
Because of this intimate relationship,
biomechanical and structural problems in the spinal column can irritate
parts of the enclosed nervous system. This irritation can result from
noxious inflammatory biochemical released during tissue injury or may
result from direct mechanical pressure. In either case, the functioning
of the nervous system is negatively influenced as is the functioning of
the cells, tissues and organs that are supplied by the affected nerve(s).
The result ailment(s) depends on the
cells, tissues and organs affected as well as the extent of nervous
system compromise.
In short, because the body's innate
recuperative powers are affected by and integrated through the nervous
system, correcting spinal abnormalities which irritate the nervous system
can lead to a number of favourable results in patients suffering from
various, seemingly non-spinal health conditions.
What Chiropractic Do?
Practically speaking, chiropractors are
primarily concerned with locating and treating vertebral subluxations.
A vertebral subluxation is a complex
of functional and/or structural and/pr pathological articular (joint)
changes that compromise neural integrity and may influence organ system
function and general health.
Using a number of unique and highly
refined skills, the chiropractor checks the patient's spine for any
misalignments, fixations or other abnormalities (vertebral subluxations).
If subluxations or other abnormalities are detected, the chiropractor
will generally apply a gentle force in a corrective manner to the affected
spinal area.
Chiropractors use many specialized techniques
to identify and treat these spinal abnormalities and optimize overall
health. In addition to spinal adjustive techniques, soft tissue techniques
such as massage, dietary and nutritional counselling, physical therapies,
and lifestyle modification programs are commonly employed.
How Chiropractic
Differs
There is a significant and very important
difference between the way chiropractors and medical doctors approach
health ailments.
When evaluating and treating patients,
chiropractors take a holistic approach which includes identifying and
correcting the cause(s) of the patient's health ailment. In contrast,
the medical approach tends to focus more on the treating the symptoms
of a condition rather than focusing primarily on the actual causes(s).
Chiropractors believe that correcting the
cause of the problem provides significant long-term benefits over only
treating the symptoms.
The Benefits of
Chiropractic
- Short-term and regular chiropractic care has a number of benefits
including: Spinal and extremity pain relief
- Headache relief
- Increased mobility and range of motion
- Decreased stiffness and muscular spasms
- Arthritic joint pain relief
- Increased joint health
- Increased performance and energy
- Increased sense of well being and relaxation
- Increased balance and coordination
- Reduced degeneration and risk of injury
- Enhanced tissue healing
- Decreased tissue inflammation
