WHY CHIROPRACTIC ?
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is based on the scientific fact that your body is a self-regulating, self-healing organism.
These important functions are mainly controlled by the brain, spinal cord, and all the nerves of the body.
The skull protects the delicate tissues of the brain. The moving bones of the spine protect the vulnerable communication pathways of the spinal cord and nerve roots.
If the nervous system is impaired, it can cause malfunction of the tissue and organs throughout the body.
When there is a change in the movement pattern of the joints of the body, in particular the spinal column, the nervous system can become irritated impairing the function of the tissues and organs supplied by the affected nerve/s.
Chiropractic is the science of locating the offending biomechanical aberrations, the art of reducing their impact to the nervous system, and a philosophy of natural health care based on your inborn potential to be healthy.
How Does Chiropractic Work?
Chiropractic works by restoring your own inborn ability to be healthy. When under the proper control of your nervous system, all the cells, tissue, and organs of your body are designed to resist disease and ill health. The chiropractic approach to better health is to locate and help remove interferences to your natural state of being healthy.
Since the spinal cord travels directly through the spinal column, a common interference to the nervous system is the 24 moving bones that make up the spinal column. A loss of normal motion or position of these bones can irritate or impair the function of the nervous system which in turn impairs the function of the organs and tissues supplied by the affected nerves.
Sometimes the irritation may be because a spinal segment is moving too much in one direction and not in another. Specialised receptors, called proprioceptors, sense the aberration in normal functioning of the affected spinal segment and ‘alert’ the brain. One of the main defence mechanisms the brain uses in this case is to set up a protective involuntary muscular spasm around the affected segment and the area becomes restricted in it’s motion, which in most cases sets up a vicious cycle: once the muscular spasm is activated, vertebral segments above and below the affected joint have to work harder to compensate for the lack of motion.
Because we have to move from somewhere, the brain cannot set up a muscular spasm for every compensating spinal segment, so the compensating segments become inflamed from over-use.
Your Chiropractor finds the aberrations in the body, mainly in (but not limited to) the spinal column and pelvis.
Restoring normal function to the area helps to restore normal health, not only to the area but also removes interfaces to the normal functioning of the nerves so that they can restore normal health to the organs and tissues that they supply.
What Type Of Education Do Chiropractic Doctors Get?
Today’s chiropractor is a highly educated professional. Chiropractic training in
These courses are of similar length and depth as a general medical practitioner’s course (GP), focusing on promoting better health via better body function, rather than on medicine’s drugs and surgery. Accordingly, chiropractic education involves s a special emphasis on anatomy, physiology, pathology, neurology, biomechanics, X-ray, spinal adjusting techniques and related subjects.
A chiropractor’s education never ends. After entering practice, most doctors complete continuing professional development courses and seminars to upgrade and improve their skills and to stay current on the latest scientific research.
What Is An Adjustment?
A Chiropractic adjustment is the art of using a specific force in a precise direction, applied to a joint that is fixated, “locked up”, or not moving properly. This adds motion to the joint, helping the bones gradually return to a more normal position and motion. The purpose of this safe and natural procedure is to permit improved spinal function, improved nervous system function, and improved health.
Some adjusting methods are quick, whereas others require a slow and constant pressure.
After years of training and clinical experience, each chiropractic doctor becomes highly skilled in the delivery of a variety of adjusting approaches.
Are All Patients Adjusted The Same Way?
The doctor evaluates each patient’s problem and develops an individual course of care. The resulting recommendations are based upon years of training and experience.
Some patients who complain of headaches, may actually have a lower back problem that is causing a compensation reaction at the base of the skull. Other patients may be experiencing numbness and tingling in their fingers, when the actual problem is in the neck. Every patient presents a uniquely different spinal pattern.
Patients notice that their chiropractic care is delivered with confidence and precision. Each visit builds on the one before. And while visits may seem similar, each patient’s care is uniquely different from every other patient and progression is made over time.
How Long Will It Take Before I Am Better and Can I Speed Up The Healing Process?
More often than not, many people don’t realise that they have a problem with their normal functioning until your body reaches a point where it can no longer cope with it’s decreasing level of health and sends out a strong signal for you to seek help.
If you are not ‘body aware’ this may take some time before you ‘listen’ to your body and respond by seeking help.
Other times people do realise that they have a problem but choose to ignore it because they feel that ‘it will go away in time’.
Both scenarios only prolong the healing process and are more costly to the patient since other compensatory patterns may have set in by then.
How longs it takes before you feel better depends upon at least the following factors:
- the nature of the problem;
- the extent of the problem;
- your response to treatment;
- your compliance to maintaining your treatment schedule; &
- your compliance to the advice given in terms of exercise, stretching, rest, lifestyle changes, etc.
While there aren’t any shortcuts to speed your body’s natural healing process, there’s a lot you can do to give yourself the best chance of a quick recovery.
SYMPTOMS CAN BE MISLEADING!
They are often like the tip of an iceberg...
CHIROPRACTORS FIND THE DEEPER CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM
How Long Will I Need Chiropractic Care?
Spinal problems, neglected since early childhood, may require ongoing supportive care for optimum spinal function. These long-standing problems are often associated with muscle weakness, soft tissue damage, and degenerative changes to the spine.
Most patients find that periodic chiropractic checkups help keep them in tip-top shape. Those who are active, have stressful jobs, or want to be their very best, find that a schedule of preventative visits are helpful in the maintenance of good health.
Some patients seek chiropractic care only when their ache or pain becomes unbearable. While this style of “crisis management” is usually more costly and time consuming.
Regular maintenance checkups are the key to better biomechanical and overall health.
Is Chiropractic Care Safe?
In the words of the
Chiropractic has an excellent safety record.
Chiropractic has officially been around since 1895. Over the following 100 years (1895 – 1995) approximately 1.3 billion adjustments have been given by Chiropractors. 107 cases of stroke following a cervical manipulation have been reported in this time. This means that the chance of you having a serious adverse reaction, such as a stroke following a cervical manipulation is ~0.0000008%.
Given that in the general population of Australia 205 strokes are reported EVERY DAY, without ever involving Chiropractic treatment and the fact that indemnity insurance premiums for Chiropractors are significantly lower than medical doctor premiums due to the low number of claims, Chiropractic care is extremely safe.
This clinic uses adjusting techniques that keep in mind your safety at all times.
A thorough case history and examination help reveal areas of the spine that may be causing nervous system malfunction. This information will be used to determine the best course of care for each patient.
What Should I Feel After A Treatment?
It is quite common to feel at least a little bit better after each treatment but obviously if a Chiropractor works on an area that is already tender you may still feel sore after the initial treatment.
Does this mean that the treatment didn’t work?
Not at all. The body is a dynamic living organism and changes may not occur as quick as we expect them to. In time, the body will respond. Please be patient. We only have one body and we sometimes expect too much from it too soon.
It is natural to feel a little ‘tender’ to touch the day after the treatment. Many people do not get this reaction. It all depends on your body type and your levels of sensitivity. Everybody is different. That’s what makes us all individual.
Your Chiropractor will monitor your response to treatment each he / she sees you.
Why Do Children Need Chiropractic Care?
Since significant spinal trauma can occur at birth, many parents have their newborns checked by a Chiropractor for spinal aberrations.
Later, learning to walk, ride a bicycle, and other childhood activities can cause spinal problems. While a bandage and some comforting words can help a skinned knee, the unseen damage to the child’s spine is the unique domain of a chiropractic doctor.
Many childhood health complaints that are brushed off as “growing pains” can often be traced to the spine.
Regular chiropractic checkups can identify these problems and help avoid many of the health complaints seen later in adults.
Naturally, chiropractic adjusting procedures are modified to a child’s spine, particularly babies’.
Adults often ‘grow up’ with their spinal aberrations intact because they were not corrected when they were younger.
We personally wouldn’t allow our children to grow up without keeping their biomechanics in their best interest.
If we can prevent adult spinal problems from eventuating then we should make the effort to help them when they are young.
Is Chiropractic Safe For Children?
In a literature research study conducted by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) the risk of injury as a result of chiropractic adjustments was shown to be extremely low for adults and even smaller for the pediatric patient. In reviewing 31 years of medical literature the ICPA found only one questionable report of injury to a child following chiropractic care of a child. This ICPA concluded:
"the potential risk to children is so low it can not be accurately estimated".
Am I Too Old For Chiropractic?
Short Answer: No, you are never too old to have Chiropractic care.
Basically if you have a body we want to at least evaluate you and tell you if we think we can help you.
All Chiropractors have a senior patient clientele base who experience excellent results from Chiropractic care.
We are always happy to help you, regardless of age or disability.
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