Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts which is based upon the understanding that good health depends, in part, upon a normally functioning nervous system (especially the spine, and the nerves extending from the spine to all parts of the body). "Chiropractic" comes from the Greek word Chiropraktikos, meaning "effective treatment by hand." Chiropractic stresses the idea that the cause of many disease processes begins with the body's inability to adapt to its environment.
It looks to address these diseases not by the use of drugs and chemicals, but by locating and adjusting a musculoskeletal area of the body which is functioning improperly.
The conditions which doctors of chiropractic address are as varied and as vast as the nervous system itself. All chiropractors use a standard procedure of examination to diagnose a patient's condition and arrive at a course of treatment. Doctors of chiropractic use the same time-honored methods of consultation, case history, physical examination, laboratory analysis and x-ray examination as any other doctor. In addition, they provide a careful chiropractic structural examination, paying particular attention to the spine.
The examination of the spine to evaluate structure and function is what makes chiropractic different from other health care procedures. Your spinal column is a series of movable bones which begin at the base of your skull and end in the center of your hips. Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves extend down the spine from the brain and exit through a series of openings. The nerves leave the spine and form a complicated network which influences every living tissue in your body.
Accidents, falls, stress, tension, overexertion, and countless other factors can result in a displacements or derangements of the spinal column, causing irritation to spinal nerve roots. These irritations are often what cause malfunctions in the human body. Chiropractic teaches that reducing or eliminating this irritation to spinal nerves can cause your body to operate more efficiently and more comfortably. To find out more about the benefits of Chiropractic care, check here. The benefits of massage can be enhanced when combined with Chiropractic care. To find out more, check here
Chiropractic also places an emphasis on nutritional and exercise programs, wellness and lifestyle modifications for promoting physical and mental health. While chiropractors make no use of drugs or surgery, Doctors of chiropractic do refer patients for medical care when those interventions are indicated. In fact, chiropractors, medical doctors, physical therapists and other health care professionals now work as partners in occupational health, sports medicine, and a wide variety of other rehabilitation practices.
Symptom or pain-relief chiropractic care: In this plan, attention is focused on relieving the patients from acute aches and pains related to misalignment of the spine. This is a relatively short-term relief providing treatment that concentrates on helping the patient overcome pain. Here, chiropractors use various other treatment modalities like electro stimulation, TENS units, acupuncture, and laser to provide pain relief.
Traditional or corrective chiropractic care: Here, a lot of emphasis is given to correcting or fixing the misalignment or subluxation of the spine in an attempt to provide relief from pain. The belief here is, once the spine is structurally aligned to its normal position and stops compressing the nerve or nerve root arising from that location in the spine, the pain and other associated symptoms will cease.
Like a piano tuner, your chiropractor has become a master at tuning the way your spine works. Spinal joints that are "locked up," or fixated and not moving right can affect your health by choking or irritating nearby nerve tissue. Chiropractic adjustment add motion to these areas. This helps restore nervous system integrity and can improve the healing process.
There are many ways to adjust the spine. Sometimes the doctor's hands deliver a quick highly accurate thrust, or an instrument directs a repeatable force to a fixated spinal joint. Other times, a slow constant pressure is used. Some chiropractic doctors use special tables with moving sections. Several areas of the spine may be adjusted, or just one.
The is to use the precise amount of energy. At the right spot. In the right direction. At just the right time, to get spinal joints moving again. Chiropractic is truly an art. Your chiropractic doctor has become a master of one or more adjusting techniques.
Our Chiropractors are not employees of Sister Rosalind Gefre Massage and Wellness Centers and operate under their own buisness and separate tax identification number.
