Chiropractic Explained

 

If you could create the most satisfying healing system imaginable, what would you recommend?  Most of us would want a natural method, one that utilizes the body's own abilities to promote internal healing and on-going wellness.  Dangerous drugs would not be used and frightening surgeries would not be performed.

If it sounds like such a system is too good to be true, you are in for a pleasant suprise.  There is such a system of healing.  While the roots of manipulation are in antiquity, true chiropractic began in 1895.  Chiropractic is the largest natural primary health care profession in the world.  It's one of the most praised yet misunderstood of all the health care disciplines, despite the fact that more than twenty-five million Americans utilize it each year.  It's practiced by 50,000 doctors around the world and is licensed in every state in the Union.  It is taught in accredited colleges in America, Japan, England, Australia, Canada, France and Sounth Africa more than 7,500 students are studying this discipline. 

The professional practice objective of chiropractic is to correct vertebral subluxations also referred to as nerve interference, in a safe and effective manner.  The correction of nerve interference is not considered to be a specific cure for any particular symptom or disease. It is applicable to any patient who exhibits nerve interference regardless of the presence or absence of symptoms or disease. 

Nerve interference promotes sickness and disease.  It robs our vitality and weakens our immune system.  When present the flow of messages from the brain to all the other cells in the body is distorted.  This type of nerve interference creates dis-organ-ization of the bodily processes and dis-ease.  Nerve interference can often exist undetected and slowly undermine one's health. 

The word "disease", is a combination of "dis" and "ease".  Dis is a prefix meaning "apart from" and ease meaning a "state of balance".  It follows then that dis-ease is a lack of comfort, a loss of harmony in the system.  When there is a lack of harmony in music, the musician adjusts the notes to complement one another and "work well together."  That's exactly what an adjustment to correct or reduce nerve interference can do- restore body harmony.  Unlike music, where discord is immediately apparent, damage from nerve interference is not so obvious at first.

The causes of nerve interference are numerous and often, unavoidable.  They can be caused during the normal birth process but, especially if the delivery is difficult or requires the use of forceps, vacuum extraction or delivery by cesarean section.  Many births result in subluxations.  Children, during the critical growing years, fall while learning to walk.  In later years, they engage in activities such as playing on monkey bars, riding bicycles or skate boarding and many other kinds of sports which can cause subluxations.  Other spinal problems can be caused by a junk food diet or having poor sleeping positions.  Many seemingly harmless activities can disturb the integrity of the nerve system. 

As adults, many things can weaken the spine, and cause nerve interference.  This list includes: sports injuries, automobile collisions, falls at home or work, poor posture habits, emotional stress, dental problems, pushing ourselves past our limits, alcohol and drug abuse or even carrying heavy breifcases and handbags on a daily basis.  We have reached a point where nerve interference is epidemic in our population.  To ignore it and not have your spine checked regularly by a chiropractor is to invite disease to overwhelm your body and impair the quality of your life.  

Resource: Chiropractic First by Dr. Terry A. Rondberg, D.C. 


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While chiropractic is different, it certainly is NOT a religion that you have to “believe in” for it to work. Chiropractic is a natural system of health care that avoids drugs and surgeries. Chiropractic results are produced by detecting and correcting biomechanical aberrations within the spinal column.

The nervous system controls every cell of our bodies. Nerve impulses travel from the brain, down the spinal cord and out to every organ and tissue. Tissues sent back to the brain confirm that the body is working as it should. The subluxed movement of the spine can cause interference with the exchange of impulses by irritating adjacent nerves. Ill health can result from distorted and compromised nervous system control of the body.

Chiropractic care helps restore the integrity of the nervous system by reducing interferences caused by the spine.

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When Should I Go to a Chiropractor?

There are many reasons that one would choose to go to a chiropractor...with the biggest reason being PAIN. When people think of chiropractors they think of doctors that fix neck and back pain, headaches, leg pain, and numbness. What people don't think of is that chiropractic care is based on healing patients of their conditions by removing the internal interference to their nervous system, thus allowing the body to heal itself. What this means is that chiropractic care can help a person with a variety of health conditions by working with the body to heal the body. In other words, you don't have to be in pain to go to your chiropractor. You have to be willing to explore other health options outside the medical model in order to work with your body to help keep it running smoothly.

So, when should you go to the chiropractor? Like I stated earlier, if you are in pain then chiropractic can indeed help remove the interference causing that pain. If you are not in pain but simply want increased vitality and health, then you could choose a different approach to your overall healthcare. You can choose to go to your chiropractor to have regular chiropractic check-ups just like you would the dentist, the eye doctor, and your medical doctor. By keeping your spine aligned, you help your body stay on track. Your body is governed by your nervous system-all organs, muscles, immune systems, and bodily functions rely on your nerves and brain to communicate. Keeping your spine aligned allows the nerves and the body to stay in check and communicate efficiently...keeping you well.

Most people go when they are feeling discomfort and follow the designated period of care the doctor recommends until they are "out of pain." Others choose to schedule appointments monthly, quarterly, or every six months in order to stay aligned and feeling great. Chiropractic care helps you stay healthy-reducing stress, increasing energy, preventing arthritic degeneration, increasing range of motion and mobility, and most of all, it keeps your body functioning at its optimal potential.

You go to the dentist to prevent tooth decay...you go to the eye doctor so your eyes don't get worse...you have regular medical check-ups to make sure your organs are functioning properly...why not go to the chiropractor to prevent spinal degeneration and improve your overall well-being...Naturally? Any questions or comments can be sent to drheather@mccarterchiropractic.com or sherry@awomansviews.com.

by Dr. Heather McCarter