What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic operates on the premise that the bones of the spine, called vertebrae, can become misaligned and cause interference to the nervous system. Chiropractors term misalignments of the spine subluxations, and they can be caused by things such as trauma (car accidents, falls, sports injuries, bumps to the head, lifting injuries, poor posture, traumatic births, etc.) stress, or even illness. These subluxations are often painful because they cause irritation to the nerve, joint, or muscles in close proximity.
Chiropractors, therefore, seek to correct these subluxations by restoring proper alignment to the spine. This correction is most often done by a short, quick thrust to the spine, called an adjustment. The adjustment pushes the bone that is out of alignment, back to its proper place, thus relieving the irritation to the nerve, joint, and surrounding muscles.
What can chiropractic help?
Chiropractic can help many different conditions of which the most common are:
- Neck pain
- Back pain
- Sciatica and leg pain
- Upper back and shoulder pain
- Headaches/migraines
- Whiplash/auto accidents
- And much more!
How are adjustments performed
There are different ways to adjust the spine back into alignment. Chiropractors use the word “techniques” to describe the different ways of correcting subluxations. In our office, we utilize the following techniques:
- Activator – a low force adjusting tool
- Atlas Orthogonal – an upper cervical specific technique that focuses on aligning the atlas (first cervical bone) using a precise adjustment delivered by a specialize table.
- Diversified/Gonstead – manual manipulation technique
- Drop piece (Thompson) – manual adjustment utilizing a special table outfitted with break-away pieces
- Flexion-distraction (Cox) – a traction technique using a specialized table to help decompress the back and discs
