Could you benefit from chiropractic care?

What to look for when choosing a chiropractor:

In my over 30 years chiropractic experience I have often been asked, “how do I choose a chiropractor for me?” The following are my thought s and guidelines for myself and my family, and what I tell others if they are looking for a chiropractor.

Could you benefit from chiropractic care?

A chiropractor, in a nutshell, is a licensed healthcare practitioner whose focus is the detection and correction of vertebral subluxation. The International Chiropractors Association (ICA) defines a vertebral subluxation as a "potentially reversible or preventable alteration of spinal motion segments from normal alignment or function associated with adverse neurophysiological activity that can be connected to whole person health".  In other words, a vertebral subluxation is a bone of the spine that has lost its normal position, is not articulating properly, and is causing an irritation to the nervous system. Vertebral subluxation is detected through specific chiropractic tests to evaluate motion and the vertebral joints, changes in neural function, changes in soft tissue such as muscle tone and swelling, and even temperature differences from one side of the spine to the other. The correction of the vertebral subluxation is usually accomplished with a dynamic trust. The dynamic trust does not have to be forceful or hard. Some chiropractors use light pressure. Some chiropractors use an instrument to assist the adjustment.

The vertebral subluxation has been shown to cause different symptoms from pain in the subluxated area, to muscle spasm and swelling, all the way to neurologic dysfunction of the brain and spinal cord, causing a myriad of other health problems. When the disfunction of the articulating spinal joint is detected will try to “fix” it. If the body cannot fix the problem, a subluxation exists. A subluxation is the presence of the spinal articulation dysfunction causing neurological interference which the body cannot correct on its own. Not being able to self-correct the subluxation, the body will compensate in other areas of the spine to change its posture and/or muscle tone to take the pressure off the vertebral subluxated area. This can may take the pain away but will also cause other issues due to other areas of the body now compensated and not functioning as normal. So not only is one left with dealing with the initial effects of nerve irritation from the primary (or first) spinal subluxation, but also different side effects that happen as the body tries to fix what is wrong, causing secondary subluxations. Causing further pain and other symptoms down the road. These secondary subluxation symptoms may not be noticed for days to years after the primary subluxation has occurred.

The longer and the more chronic this subluxation complex persists, the more problems the body is likely to have. Research by Haavik and others have demonstrated neuroplastic changes in the central nervous system due to the subluxation. These changes are very similar to what happens in the brain during a concussion. This also explains how I was able to treat low back and sciatic pain by adjusting the top neck bone. The Primary subluxation was in the neck. Over time the body compensated and weakened the low back. By detecting and correcting the primary subluxation and restoring normal function to the spine, the low back symptoms were resolved.

A primary subluxation is thought to usually occur with trauma. Some kind of force or “jolt” that injures the spinal joint. Once the joint ligaments have been injured, the joint does not articulate properly and causes irritation to the nervous system. This irritation has been termed a noxious stimulus. Trauma can happen as early as during the birth of a child, any falls, motor vehicle accidents, sports collisions. Once a trauma has occurred to a spinal joint, that joint is weakened. The stabilizing ligaments and joint capsule are damaged. Normal tissue is replaced by scar tissue. This process alone can take months. The scar tissue does not react or respond as well as the original tissue. Thus, the primary injury can cause a cascade of spinal compensation to weaken other spinal joints and expedite the degenerative process of the spine. This process explains how secondary subluxations may occur when “sleeping wrong” or “just bending down to pick up a pen.” Due to the spine being under chronic compensation, movements and activities that have been causing micro-trauma to the spine over periods of time have now weakened the joint and it gives way. The presence of this chronic compensation can explain why an acute back spasm that occurs by “just twisting wrong” may take weeks to resolve even when the spinal subluxation(s) is detected and corrected. The process that caused the pain took a long time to build and may take a time to resolve.