What is Chiropractic

Chiropractic massage from back pain, manual therapy concept. Manual therapist professionally treats human spine as if playing piano

What is Chiropractic?

Taking A Natural Systemic Approach to Healing

Chiropractic is an overall way of looking at the human body. It’s based on the idea that the body is self-sustaining and self-healing. The body is in essence completely controlled by the brain through its connection via the spinal cord and the vast networks of nerves that make up the body. When this system is not functioning at its peak, the overall performance of the human body is lacking.

While it’s often perceived that the chiropractor is solely here to treat back and neck pain, this is simply a small piece of what the profession really is capable of handling. Chiropractors not only treat soft and hard tissue problems such as sciatica and joint pain, but are largely called on to deal with more significant issues. Some of these issues include fibromyalgia, allergies, insomnia, headaches and many more.

First Visit Expectations

Going to the Chiropractor is a new experience for many of us. Maybe we’ve heard through a friend or have done some research online. It’s possible that you are just fed up with living in pain, and it’s time to do something about it. In either case, your first visit to the chiropractor will really be about getting to know the chiropractor and discussing your history, current condition and goals.

As with any doctor’s visit, you’ll start by finishing some new patient paperwork. Upon meeting with the doctor, you’ll discuss your concerns and expectations, as well as have the chance to ask any questions you may have. We will perform a physical examination and most likely take a few x-rays to see what your current state is. Once this is complete, we’ll take a look at the overall results of our conversation and the exams. Together, we’ll come up with a plan of action, which will begin when you are completely satisfied and ready to move forward.

Person receiving shoulder physiotherapy in clinic.

Four Stages of Care

Relieve Your Pain

Takes between 8–12 treatments, depending on the severity of your condition.

Change Bad Habits

Most problems arise from a lifetime of bad habits (i.e. sleeping on your stomach, slouching posture, bad work ergonomics, etc.) Our goal is to make you aware of these habits and correct them.

Rehabilitate Areas of Instability

Involves a program of stretching and strengthening exercises for your muscles, which will ultimately stabilize the injured area.

Keeping You Healthy

Accomplished through chiropractic adjustments to keep you feeling better and pain free.

How Does it Work?

Chiropractic is based on the idea of removing imbalances both structural and postural in an effort to allow our body to heal itself. For this to happen the network of nerves and signals from your brain, down your spinal cord, to the network of nerves must be allowed to flow freely without any interruption. Chiropractors have the ability and skill to remove these interruptions or misalignments and allow the body to perform as it was meant to.

If you’ve ever been in a car accident, played a sport, fell down or just bumped into something too hard, it’s very possible that you are not functioning at your best due to a misalignment. While there are many potential mechanical or structural causes for misalignment, there are also chemical reasons. For instance, if you smoke or drink excessively or even just have a poor diet, the chemical issues in your body can eventually cause underlying conditions and disease to appear.

Allowing a chiropractor to get you back on track both chemically and structurally will bring your body back to the proper state it should be in to perform at it’s peak.

Wellness Tips

These simple movements or daily routines can end up hurting you if you’re not careful. Make sure to do these simple activities the right way as outlined below:

Standing

Posture. Posture. Posture. Make sure that you keep your chin up and don’t slouch. If you know that you are going to be standing for a long period of time, make sure that you wear comfortable shoes.

Working at a Desk

Make sure that you are getting up every 20 minutes to stretch. The type of chair you have is extremely important. It should fit you correctly so that your back touches the chair and your feet are on the floor with knees at a 90-degree angle. Try to avoid looking down at your computer screen. It should be at eye level.

Sitting

Make sure you have a chair that is supportive. When you are forced to sit for a long period of time, for instance at a desk job, make sure to get up and stretch every 20 minutes. Sit with your back against the chair, feet firmly on the floor. Do not cross your legs.

Lifting

Lifting objects is one of the most common ways to injure yourself. Even if it is a light object, twisting or pulling in the wrong direction when you’re not stretched out can have a damaging effect on muscles and the spine. You always want to bend at the knees and avoid lifting anything you know is too heavy.

Overall Physical Activity

If you know that you are going to be working or playing for a while, make sure that you are adequately stretched out and warmed up. Even if it’s something light like gardening or just pushing your child on a bike, it’s easy to pull something if you’re not warmed up.

Talking on the Telephone

If you’re forced to use the telephone for a long period of time, a speaker or a headset is a must. By all means, try to avoid cradling the phone between your neck and your shoulder as this could cause you to damage the muscles or vertebrae in that area.

Resting or Sleeping

Straining your neck or back while you’re sleeping is a very common occurrence. We often fall asleep in strange positions where we are not supported properly, or our necks are at an odd angle. Make sure that if you are going to nap or watch TV in bed, that you are in a supportive position.