What Is Chiropractic?
Welcome new, current 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 North Americans choose chiropractic for safe, natural and effective relief from back pain, neck pain, headaches, leg or shoulder pain, poor overall health, low energy levels and much more.
- What is Chiropractic?
- The Goal of Chiropractic
- What Chiropractors Do
- How Chiropractic Differs
- The Benefits of Chiropractic
What is Chiropractic?
According to The Association 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 neck ailments. While we do effectively eliminate back and neck pain, it is 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."
What Chiropractors Do
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 nerve 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 called an "adjustment" or " spinal manipulation".
Chiropractors use many specialized tests to identify and treat these spinal abnormalities and optimize overall health. In addition to spinal adjustive techniques, heat therapy, interferenial muscle stimulation, kinesiotaping, nutritional and herbal remedies; and exercise are commonly used. Massage Thereapy by our licensed massage therapist is often recommended to decrease muscle tension.
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 problem. In contrast, the medical approach tends to focus more on treating the symptoms of a 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 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
