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."

You are certainly entitled to ask your MD’s opinion on chiropractic, but be aware that some general practitioners may still have limited knowledge on chiropractic manipulative therapies.  Chiropractors are trained to recognize disorders beyond a chiropractic scope of practice and when to refer a patient to the appropriate medical specialist.

Once I am adjusted by a Doctor of Chiropractic, do I have to keep seeing a chiropractor forever?

NO! We care for problems in one of 3 phases of care. Patients always choose the level of care they desire.

1. AcuteCare Goal - Relieve Pain.
Most patients show improvement within the first 2 to 5 visits. Initial treatment usually works best when a person is seen frequently for a short period of time.
2. RehabCare Goal — Correct Bio-Mechanical Problems
Chiropractors restore pain-free motion and improve strength with continued joint mobilization, muscle therapy and posture exercises. Learning new body motion patterns helps change how you move so you can feel good and be well.
3. WellnessCare Goal - Prevention & Performance
Regular therapy and intelligent LifeHabits help people keep moving, stay active and maximize their HealthSpan.

What is the typical chiropractic treatment?

First, the cause of your problem is determined with a complete examination including physical, orthopedic, neurological, and chiropractic tests. X-rays are taken if necessary.

The doctor will then explain your problem, tell you whether or not he/she feels chiropractic care is indicated, and an appropriate treatment plan will be recommended.

Then, gentle manipulation (or adjustments) to spinal or extremity joints are performed. Physio-therapy such as Ultrasound, Electrical Muscle Stimulation, Cryotherapy, Hydrocollator, and/or Intersegmental mobilization may also be used. In addition, massage can stretch tight muscles and personalized postural exercises retrain poor patterns of body motion.

If you are involved in an auto accident it is important to be evaluated to determine if there is a soft tissue injury.  Chiropractors focus on proper function of posture and the spine, nerves, muscles and ligaments, so the first thing evaluated is evidence of serious trauma such as fractures, etc.  Because the symptoms from a soft tissue injury may not show up until 3-7 days after the trauma, a thorough chiropractic examination is very important. Pain changes how a body moves, therefore after the initial pain improves, the body may adapt to moving differently.  Pain medication and muscle relaxers can mask the pain, but unless normal motion is restored, body motion will be unbalanced. Left untreated, the body adapts to the unbalanced pattern of motion, creating a chronic problem.

Many people are surprised to learn that chiropractors extensive education requirements include over 4000 hours of anatomy, pathology and clinical skills.  Prior to attending a chiropractic college, two to three undergraduate years with an emphasis in biological sciences is required. A typical Chiropractic college requires a minimum of four to five academic years of professional resident study involving not less than 4000 hours.

What is a disc?

The spine, or backbone, is made of the vertebrae separated by the discs (IVD’s, or intervertebral discs).  A disc is a round pillow of cartilage between the vertebrae. The disc has a leathery outside and jelly in the center. It is the part of the spinal joint which cushions the motion between each pair of vertebrae.

They are all the same thing. A herniated, slipped or bulging disc is like a bubble in the sidewall of a car tire. The jelly in the center of the disc pushes the weakened part of the disc outwards creating a bulge. This bulge can press on a nerve or other delicate spinal structures.

Most likely yes. Recovery time is often directly related to the amount of effort a patient puts into recovery and rehab.  Sticking with your treatment plan and doing your home exercise helps you move, feel and be well faster.

Occasionally, yes. Frequently, the relief is only temporary. Unless the cause of the injury is treated, the masking effects of the anti-inflammatory medication provide short term relief at the cost of continued tissue damage and adaptive patterns of motion.

Chiropractic is effective in releasing tension from the low back, neck, shoulders, hips, groin and legs, areas which frequently trouble golfers.  An unbalanced swing causes reduced clubhead speed. Unlocking body motion to improve flexibility and then
improving body balance teaches golfers to move with more fluid movement. Increasing flexibility and range of motion reduces the chance of injury, maximizes performance and makes golf more fun.

You can reduce spinal stress by decreasing back swing and follow through. By reducing the “X-factor” in their swing(the opposite twisting motion between the hips and shoulders) most golfers can reduce spinal stress.  Golfers using special techniques can learn to utilize gravity to achieve the same if not more power through their swing.  Find a golf instructor who will work with you to make changes in your golf swing and motion patterns.

Just like a fever is the result of an infection and not the cause of the illness, back spasms are a symptom, not the cause of a back problem.  The spasm is caused by irritation of nerves controlling the spinal joints and discs. These are the same nerves which control muscle contraction in the back. If the nerves are irritated, they produce pain and reflex spasm. A spasm is the body's way of stopping motion to protect an injured joint.  The body can sustain a spinal injury from one big trauma (such as an auto accident) or by the buildup of many small traumas (such as long term unbalanced posture from working on a computer, lifting, or other activity).  Restoring normal motion and allowing the body to first heal, and then move differently, is the most effective treatment.

Sciatic is pain in the back which runs down the back of the leg. It is caused from irritation of the sciatic nerve itself or from pinching of the spinal nerves which form the sciatic nerve.  Chiropractic care is a logical conservative approach to this condition. Reducing the irritation of the nerve by realigning the vertebrae helps many sciatic patients. Surgery is recommended when necessary, but can usually be prevented.

Short-term and regular chiropractic care have a number of benefits including:

The “pop” sometimes heard is caused by gas bubbles which form and pop as the joint moves fully during the adjustment.

Adjusting helps correct vertebral subluxations. Correcting subluxations reduces pain and inflammation, reduces muscle spasm and tension, normalizes spinal biomechanics and more importantly, can remove nerve irritation and interference which can improve overall health and wellness of the individual. Chiropractic adjustments are the only way to eliminate vertebral subluxations and only the chiropractor is trained to detect subluxations and deliver the chiropractic spinal adjustment to correct subluxations.

Chiropractic has helped millions of people worldwide suffering from all types of problems and not just back and neck ailments. Chiropractic works with the spinal column and it's intimate relationship with the nervous system - the major controller of all bodily functions. By optimizing spinal column structure and biomechanics, irritation and stress are removed and health can once again be achieved.  You may be surprised to learn that research studies have provided scientific evidence showing chiropractic care is not only effective in the treatment of back and neck ailments, but can also provide effective relief with children suffering from ear infections, women suffering from dysmenorrhea (painful menses), and a number of other seemingly "non-spinal" conditions. While it's not prudent to guarantee relief from such conditions or claim to "treat" these conditions, chiropractic has successfully helped millions of individuals with all sorts of health conditions by positively affecting the nervous system.