Chiropractic. What is it? Why does it work so well?  Tweet

Chiropractic (chi-ro-prac-tic), a greek word meaning simply "movement," is a health care profession focusing on disorders of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems.

In addition to relieving pain, correction made to the spine can affect overall health and mitigate the progression of arthritis and other disorders.

Chiropractic care is used most often to treat neuro-musculoskeletal complaints, including but not limited to back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, numbness and headaches.

Doctors of Chiropractic – often referred to as chiropractors or chiropractic physicians – practice a drug-free, hands-on approach to health care that includes patient examination, diagnosis and treatment. Chiropractors have broad diagnostic skills and are also trained to recommend therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises.  Some receive additional advanced training  and certification in nutrition, MUA (manipulation under anesthesia), neurology and other adjunct therapies.

The most common therapeutic procedure performed by doctors of chiropractic is known as “spinal manipulation,” also called “chiropractic adjustment.”   The purpose of manipulation is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile (restricted in their movement) as a result of tissue injury. Tissue injury can be caused by a single traumatic event, such as improper lifting of a heavy object, or through repetitive stress, such as sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture for an extended period of time. In either case, injured tissues undergo physical and chemical changes that can cause inflammation, pain and diminished function for the sufferer. Manipulation or adjustment of the affected joints and tissues restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness and allowing tissues to heal.

Chiropractic adjustment rarely causes discomfort. However, patients may sometimes experience mild soreness or aching following treatment (as with some forms of exercise), which usually resolves within 12 to 48 hours.

Chiropractic focuses on maintaining optimal health naturally in two main ways:

1. Specific spinal adjustments remove neurological obstructions, allowing the body to become more resistant to disease. 

2. Chiropractic adjustment increases joint mobility in the spine and allows for normal body function and greater capacity for health. 

Chiropractic care focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily of the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health.

The objective is to restore and optimize human health.

Many people incorrectly assume that chiropractors treat only back and neck ailments because adjustments are applied primarily to spinal regions. While we do quickly and effectively eliminate back and neck pain, that's not the only goal.

How chiropractic treatment works

You may be wondering: How can the same chiropractic treatment effectively treat my back pain and also optimize my health? The answer can be found in the relationship between the spine and the nervous system. 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.

Given 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 mechanical pressure. In either case, the nervous system's functions are negatively affected, as are the functions of the cells, tissues and organs that are supplied by the affected nerves. Symptoms vary depending on the particular cells, tissues and organs affected, as well as the extent of nervous-system compromise.

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