What is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic Cure-All
Chiropractic is often mistakenly called a cure-all for any and all diseases. This is simply not true. Surprisingly, however, a recent medial study showed that patients under regular chiropractic care are 400 times less likely to become sick than patients not being adjusted. The chiropractic adjustment removes blockages in your spine, which prevent your body from staying well in the first place. Better health and freedom from symptoms are within your  reach  -- right now. Chiropractic removes the block in the road on your way to better health.

What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic, which means treatment by hand, is the third largest primary health care profession. It is a health system dealing with wellness, prevention and the treatment of ongoing acute conditions without the use of drugs or surgery. It's a method of diagnosis that deals with the relationship of the spinal cord to the muscles, joints, discs and nerves and restoring them to normal function. Eighty percent of the population has spinal problems at some time in their lives. Thirty percent of the population has back pain every day. Most chiropractors concentrate on mechanical conditions of the spine, such as back aches, disc pains and whiplash. Other disorders including those of the organs and glands, may also respond to chiropractic adjustments. Chiropractors believe that the joints may even become ‘stuck’ or displaced beyond their normal ranges of movement. This produces various changes, not only of that site but also in the lymph tissues and nerves. We believe that poor posture also contributes to an increase in symptoms. Structural misalignments of the vertebrae can be corrected by chiropractic adjustment or manipulation resulting in restoration of the nerve flow, i.e. the patients get better.  Chiropractic is based on years of medical research and clinical application. Disturbances of the nervous system may cause or aggravate disease in various parts or functions in the body.  In summary, chiropractic is based on the reality that good health relies on a normally functioning nervous system.
 

Independent Studies
For the past century, doctors of chiropractic have offered patients relief from numerous types of health problems, the source of which originated in the back and spine. Chiropractic has often been successful where medicine has failed. The effectiveness of chiropractic has been confirmed by an exhaustive amount of empirical evidence and clinical experiences. In recent years, numerous scientific studies throughout the world have supported the effectiveness of chiropractic care – including research by non-chiropractic professionals.

Chiropractic is Better and Safer
The Manga Report, commissioned by the Ministry of Health in Ontario, Canada and carried out by leading, independent health economists, at the University of Ottawa and headed by Fran Manga, PhD, reviewed all of the international evidence on the management of low back pain. It concluded: There would be highly significant cost savings if more management of low back pain was transferred from physicians to chiropractors. There should be a "shift in policy to encourage and prefer chiropractic services for most patients with low back pain", and chiropractic should "be fully insured (and) fully integrated" into the Ontario health care system. The overwhelming body of evidence shows that chiropractic management of low back pain is more cost effective than medical management, and that many medical therapies are of questionable validity or are clearly inadequate. It also stated that chiropractic manipulation is safer than medical management of low back pain. Chiropractic management is greatly superior to medical management in terms of scientific validity, safety, cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction.

Chiropractic is Less Costly
Miron Stando, PhD, Oakland University, conducted a study comparing the health care costs for chiropractic and medical patients. The database he used came from the records of MEDSTAT Systems, Inc., a health benefits management consulting firm which processes insurance claims for many of the country’s largest corporations. The database was comprised of 395,641 patients -- 42,215 of which were Michigan patients. After reviewing claims paid over a two-year period, he concluded: Patients who receive chiropractic care, either solely or in conjunction with medical care, experienced significantly lower health care costs ----- on the order of $1,000 each over the two-year period, than those who received only medical care. Specifically, total insurance payments were $1,138 (30%) higher for those who elected medical care only. The lower costs for chiropractic patients were attributed both to lower inpatient and outpatient costs, and indicated that chiropractic treatment substitutes for other forms of outpatient care.

History
In 1859, Daniel David Palmer delivered the first chiropractic adjustment to Harvey Lillard, a janitor in his office. Harvey had been deaf since his childhood when he hurt his back. Harvey had a full recovery including the restoration of his hearing after only that one adjustment. Although this may seem like an extreme example, it clearly illustrates the potential that chiropractic has in healing. On the surface it may seem that chiropractic is limited to helping the spine, muscles and joints, this however is not the full reality. It must be remembered that the spine’s function is to provide protection to the spinal cord (a direct extension of the brain), while allowing for extremely versatile bending twisting. If you’ve ever seen a professional gymnast perform, you can see that the degree of flexibility of the vertebra and spinal cord can be extensive.

The Brain
When people think of the brain, they picture only part of the brain. That is, they only picture the part that is contained within the skull. It is more accurate to picture the brain as the part in the skull with a tail. The brain is complex, delicate and responsible for running and maintaining all the systems and functions of the body. This includes the "tail" part, which is the spinal cord. Although one may think of the spinal cord as the wires that enables the brain to communicate with all parts of the body, this is only the partial picture. The spinal cord has certain functions within itself that do not rely on the brain. Reflexes are an example of a function that occurs entirely in the spinal cord and does not involve the brain itself. While the brain is encased in the skull, the spinal "casing" needs to allow for a great deal of motion. Nature’s answer to this challenge is the 24 movable bones called the vertebrae. The vertebrae afford protection to the delicate spinal cord, while allowing for a full range of motion of the trunk of the body.

Balance and Subluxation
The spinal column is a system containing many moveable bones. A complex balance is necessary for these vertebrae to function properly. This is further complicated by the fact that between each vertebrae there are not just one, but several joints. In order to maintain balance, each one of these joints must be moving properly. If even one of the joints is not moving properly, it disrupts the balance. When a vertebral joint is not moving properly and this imbalance impedes the nervous system, it is called a SUBLUXATION. This will result in organ dysfunction, muscular imbalance and, finally, pain.

Control
The brain is the command center for the entire body. It controls every cell by way of the spinal cord and peripheral nerves. This includes your ability to move, hear, see, smell and touch. It also includes the body’s ability to maintain itself; keep you breathing properly, keep the heart beating properly, control the flow of blood through the blood vessels, control proper digestion and control the body’s immune system. Are you beginning to see the importance of good spinal health?

Pain
Although pain is often a result of disturbed spinal balance, it is usually the last symptom to appear and the first one to go. When a person gets pain they make the mistake of thinking that they just became sick, or that something has just now happened. This is not accurate. As we stated, pain is the last thing to come. When the body finally gets to the point that it is in pain, it is now to the point where the problem is so bad that it can no longer be ignored. Pain is the body’s way of saying, "I can no longer function, I am in trouble, HELP!". .Pain also keeps us from hurting ourselves further. It hinders our movement to protect our tissues. This is the body saying, "until the subluxation is corrected and the balance is restored, it is harmful to move in this way. Here is a stimulus (pain) that will make sure that you don’t move in this way." Pain tries to make sure that you don’t make the problem worse.

Maintenance
Pain is not a necessary stage of healing. If the spinal balance is restored and then maintained, pain can be avoided all together. A chiropractor is trained to correct subluxation of the spine through a process known as the chiropractic ADJUSTMENT. Significant relief is often experienced after just one adjustment. However, if the underlying imbalance has been there for a long time, it may take a series of adjustments to completely correct the problem. The question arises, "Why, once I’m adjusted, do I have to keep getting adjusted?". To answer this, here is an analogy: When a person’s teeth are crooked they get braces. After the teeth have straightened out, the orthodontist puts in a retainer. The reason that the retainer is used when the teeth are already straight is because the canals that surround the teeth are still crooked. It takes time for these retaining elements (the tooth canals) to straighten out. The spine also has retaining elements. In the spine however, these are not canals but are muscles, ligaments and tendons. When proper mobility and balance is restored to the vertebrae, it must be retained so that the muscles, ligaments and tendons can compensate themselves back to normal. Because of incorrect posture and uneven muscle use, these retaining elements are usually also out of balance and may take longer than the vertebral joints to return to normal. Often after spinal balance has been maintained for long enough, a Doctor of Chiropractic will give certain exercises to help to maintain the balance of the retaining elements. It makes good sense to keep the spine maintained instead of allowing it to degenerate to the point of being painful. It’s even more fun to get adjusted when you are not in pain.

Chiropractors

Chiropractic Physicians are the only ones that are specifically trained to restore spinal balance. Chiropractors correct subluxation. No other doctor or profession makes this claim. Chiropractors are extensively trained to accomplish these ends. It is important to note the emphasis of chiropractic. That is, that the body heals itself - it’s never the Band-Aid that heals the cut, it’s never the pill that cures the cold.

Basic Science Comparisons*

*The class hours for basic science comparisons were compiled and averaged following a review of curricula of 18 chiropractic colleges and 22 medical schools, based on the 1988-89 Association of American Medical Colleges Curriculum Directory (AAMC) Vickie Ahari, Editor and the Chiropractic College Admissions and Curriculum Directory 1988-89, K. Magarian and K. McNamee, Editors.
 
What are the Essentials of Health?
To understand the essentials of health, we need to understand the essentials of life. In terms of basic physiological essentials for survival, we can name four: food, water, oxygen and nerve impulse. What makes these essential is that if any of them were to stop, you would die. If any of them were interfered with, your health would not be at its optimum potential. Most people overlook nerve impulse as being essential to life. Nerve impulse is an electro-chemical charge transmitted by the brain through the nervous system to the body.  All body function is dependent on this impulse. If your brain stopped generating these impulses, you would die. If fact, to be legally dead, brain impulse must stop. If you severed the nerve to your heart, lung, stomach or any other organ or tissue, what would happen to it? What if you just interfere with the normal nerve transmission? Would these organs and tissues function at their optimum potential? One of the major causes for such nerve interference is a misalignment of the spine, commonly termed by chiropractors as a subluxation. Subluxation can interfere with nerve pathways and result in abnormal function and lowered health potential. The chiropractor’s primary role is to locate and correct subluxation, thus removing nerve interference and allowing the body to restore its normal function. It is not a treatment for symptoms or a cure for disease, but merely a way of improving the body’s optimum health potential, through proper nerve integrity. When the body is functioning optimally, symptoms usually go away and the person feels better.

What are Spinal Subluxations

Chiropractors work on primarily one thing - the vertebral subluxation. Subluxation is a vertebrae that is out of alignment with the vertebrae above and below resulting in nerve pressure and interference of the mental impulse from the brain to the tissue cell. This interference of mental impulse causes a breakdown of the normal tissue cells until enough abnormal tissue cells have been formed to cause disease. The chiropractor’s job is to remove the subluxation allowing the mental impulse to return to the tissue cells so that the body has a greater potential to heal and stay healthy. Any physical, chemical or emotional stress, which is greater than the body’s internal resistance, can cause subluxation. Physical stress can range from whiplash trauma to sitting at your desk day after day with your head turned to the same side. Chemical stress is everything from eating too much sugar and preservatives to breathing environmental pollutants. Mental stress is something everyone has experienced in either tense or emotional situations, or in everyday living.

Health Conditions Treated

Chiropractors have been known solely for treating back pain because of their success of this particular condition. But, chiropractors'' potential for health care goes far beyond that. Chiropractic works with many conditions and symptoms including whiplash, leg pain, headaches, shoulder and arm pain, back pain and a whole host of other conditions that you may have never realized. Chiropractic deals with the treatment of the cause of disease rather than the symptoms themselves, thus causing many people to experience relief of their pain and increased health potential.

Facts About Chiropractic

Here are some facts about chiropractic:

• The chiropractic profession was established in 1895.
• All fifty states have statutes recognizing and regulating the practice of chiropractic as an independent health service.
• Chiropractic benefits are provided for in health insurance policies of virtually every major insurance carrier and state workers compensation.
• The doctor of chiropractic training requires over eight years of college, with four years of that spent in college of chiropractic. Areas of study include anatomy, pathology, physiology, biochemistry, x-ray, nutrition, spinal adjusting, and many other related subjects.
• Chiropractic is a non-drug, and non-surgical health profession that maintains a high standard of professional ethics.
• The first chiropractic patient didn’t have back pain, but had hearing loss which was restored, thus leading to the discovery of chiropractic by a man named D. D. Palmer in 1895.
• Chiropractic is safe and works with the body’s own healing potential to restore health and relieve symptoms.