What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is a health care discipline, which emphasizes the inherent recuperative power of the body to heal itself without the use of drugs or 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. In addition, Doctors of Chiropractic recognize the value and responsibility of working in cooperation with other health care practitioners when in the best interest of the patient.
What is our Purpose?
The purpose of chiropractic is to optimize health without the use of drugs or surgery.
What is the Chiropractic Principle?
The body’s innate recuperative power is affected by and integrated through the nervous system.
What is Subluxation?
Chiropractic is concerned with the preservation and restoration of health and focuses particular attention on the subluxation. A subluxation is a complex of functional and/or structural and/or pathological joint changes that compromise neural (nervous system) integrity and may influence organ system function and general health. A subluxation is evaluated, diagnosed, and managed through the use of chiropractic procedures based on the best available rational and empirical evidence.
In simplified terms, a subluxation is a misaligned spinal bone that has caused irritation to (or interference of) a spinal nerve resulting in a malfunction in the end organ (pain, numbness, tingling, spasm, weakness, abnormal function).
What is an Adjustment?
It is a specific skilled procedure that a chiropractor uses in order to correct the subluxation. Adjustment techniques vary depending on the patient’s condition and the methods that the chiropractor was trained to perform. In some instances the thrust of the Doctor’s hand may produce a harmless audible release (like the noise from cracking your knuckles) or no noise may be produced at all. Some adjustments may also employ the use of mechanical devices or specialized tables.
No matter what type of adjustment you receive the goal is to remove the subluxation complex thereby relieving the nerve irritation allowing your body to rebuild and heal itself.
How Should I Feel After an Adjustment?
Some patients report feeling relaxed, content with a feeling of warmth radiating to the affected area. Others feel energized and more flexible. Every person is unique and will respond in their own way.
Occasionally, patients have reported that they have felt no difference after the adjustment. This does not mean that they haven’t benefited from the adjustment only that they are not as tuned into the internal reaction. With each successive adjustment, improvements are sure to be noticed.
On rare occasions, a feeling of discomfort or muscle soreness may occur. This is more evident in patients who come in with acute conditions.