Chiropractic utilizes the patient’s own body to help healing happen naturally. The important functions of the body are controlled by the brain, spinal cord and the spinal nerves. Our muscles and joints are controlled and monitored by this system thus any abnormalities found here can cause the brain to receive incorrect information. Chiropractors are expertly trained in assessing, diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal conditions to influence this healing.
A chiropractor’s main modality is an adjustment to the spine or other joints to increase mobility and function. Since the spine acts to protect the delicate nerves as they pass from the brain and spinal cord through the spinal openings to the rest of our body, any interference with this pathway can impair the function of your nervous system. Loss of motion or sense of position at any level of your spine can impair how your body receives and sends information to the brain. For example, that stiff midback you have been dealing with might have started to decrease optimal function of muscles and joints around the area which does not send the proper information back to the brain about positioning or proper posture. Over time, this can build up problems within the body. Chiropractors help to introduce input back into the area by adjusting the affected vertebrae which increases the mobility and function.
A great analogy for a restricted vertebra or joint is comparing it to a kink in a hose where the water is not exiting out and by removing the kink the water starts to flow. As you move around, the hose can be caught on corners or twist up, which can stop the flow again requiring you to unkink it for yet another time. Like a restricted vertebra or malfunctioning muscle, it can stop the correct flow of information to the brain. Once you apply an adjustment to the area, the brain picks up this flow again through the proprioceptors in our joints. As we move around or we go back to work, things can get “stuck” again, which may require an “unkinking” of the joint or in other terms an adjustment to restore the mobility and information going to the brain.
Chiropractors utilize many other modalities like muscle release, shockwave therapy, cold laser therapy, exercises and others to free up movement of muscles and joints, helping the body to function optimally. An optimally functioning body means the body can heal itself with more ease. Our job is not simply to have you be pain free, but it is to help you to stay pain free and begin to implement strategies for reaching your utmost potential. We are like life coaches for your health and wellness.
Chiropractors do not prescribe medications or perform surgeries but are informed of when a patient requires a referral to another professional to aid in the healing process. Chiropractic is safe for people of all ages and chiropractors are highly trained to detect situations where it may not be safe for a patient to receive Chiropractic treatment. No medical referral is necessary for chiropractic care.
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