|
Welcome new, veteran and prospective chiropractic
patients!
Thank
you, in advance, for taking the time to discover chiropractic
and its powerful effects on human health.
Each
year more than 15 million Americans choose chiropractic
for safe, natural and effective relief from back pain,
neck pain, headaches, extremity pain, poor overall health,
low energy levels and much more.
What
is Chiropractic?
The
Goal of Chiropractic
How
Chiropractic Works
How
Chiropractic Differs
The
Benefits of Chiropractic
What
is Chiropractic?
According to The Assocation of Chiropractic
Colleges, "Chiropractic is a health care discipline
which emphasizes 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 (primarily 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 primarily
applied to the spinal region, many individuals incorrectly
assume that chiropractors treat only back and nect 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 Assocation of Chiropractic
Colleges, "The purpose of chiropractic is to
optimize health."
How
Chiropractic Works:
You may be wondering... 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 system.
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 biochemicals released during tissue
injury or may result from direct mechnical pressure. In
either case, the functioning of the nervous system is
negatively influenced as is the functioning of the cells,
tissues and organs which are supplied by the affected
nerve(s).
The
resulting ailment(s) depends on the cells, tissues and
organs effected 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 favorable results in patients
suffering from various seemingly non-spinal health conditions.
What
Chiropractors 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/or 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 normalities (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 counseling,
physical therapies and lifestyle modification programs
are commonly employed.
How
Chiropractic Differs:
There is a signficant 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 the condition rather than focusing primarily
on the actual cause(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 have
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 health
- 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 inflamation
| 
