What is Chiropractic Treatment?

Chiropractors use hands-on spinal manipulation and other alternative treatments, the theory being that proper alignment of the body’s musculoskeletal structure, particularly the spine, will enable the body to heal itself without surgery or medication. Chiropractors often use manipulation to restore mobility to joints restricted by tissue injury that was sustain from a traumatic event, such as falling, or repetitive stress, such as sitting without proper back support.

Chiropractic is primarily use as a pain relief alternative as a means of addressing issues that relates to the nerves, muscles, joints, bones, and connective tissue, such as cartilage, ligaments, and tendons. It is sometimes use in conjunction with conventional medical treatment. Chiropractic therapy is also offered for wellness living and prevention of various conditions.

The initial examination is $120 while the subsequent treatments are $55.

Who should see a Chiropractor?

Chiropractors tend to focus on the joints, muscles, and nerves of the body. They specifically focus in the spine as it is the housing center for the peripheral nervous system. What does all of this mean? Different nerves originate from the spine and supply all of the skin, muscles, and joints of the body.

The nerves originating in the neck supply the skin and muscles of the head, shoulders, arms, and hands. The nerves in the midback supply the rib cage, organs (stomach, pancreas, lungs, partial digestive system, heart); while the nerves originating in the lower back supply the reproductive organs, the low back, the buttocks, the legs, and feet.

Research supports that Chiropractic therapy can successfully treat migraines, neck pain, and back pain; however, Chiropractors are also treat many other conditions! Whether you have a sore neck, a shoulder problem or a hip problem. Chiropractic therapy can be of benefit! This makes sense as Chiropractors work with the nervous system to optimize functioning of the body. Therefore they are encouraging self healing.

Let us suppose you have a longstanding shoulder issue but you are not having any neck pain. It is still important for you to see a Chiropractor! Chiropractic therapy will focus on optimizing the function of the nerves that supply the shoulder area, which originate from the neck. This analogy can be of use to different areas.

Chiropractors can treat non-back issues such as asthma, bed wetting, and colick in babies. Again, this is because they are directly working with their patients to optimize the functioning of their nervous system. It is common for parents to seek Chiropractic care for their children, as it is a very safe form of therapy.

Subluxations are the result of irregular motion and/or positioning of the vertebrae. They can be a result of stress, trauma, or repetitive injury.

Subluxations affect the nerve pathways, which allow the brain to communicate with the rest of the body.  Irregular nerve communication can manifest as various health problems beyond back and neck pain.
The nervous system controls all tissues at the cellular level, which is why it is important for it be functioning optimally. Nerve impulses travel through the spine; therefore, we recommend subluxations treatments!

Chiropractors are experts in detecting and treating vertebral subluxations.

Types of subluxation treatments

We primarily treat subluxations through regular adjustments. An adjustment is a gentle force that is applied through the subluxated joint(s) to help reduce the pressure on the adjacent nerves and encourage mobility of misaligned joints.

The purpose of the adjustments are to encourage proper alignment and improve the bodies natural healing abilities.

What is the “cracking” sound?

Sometimes an audible sound is heard after the adjustment. This is a result of the displacement of gases and fluids within the joint spaces. It is similar to the opening of a pop can. An audible sound is not necessary to have a successful adjustment.

What happens after the first adjustment?

Most patients tend to feel better after the initial adjustment.

However, at other times patients can experience soreness . This is similar to when one feels post workout muscle soreness. In these cases we recommend icing the sore muscle.

How many treatments will I need?

This varies on the extent of the spinal misalignment and one’s overall health.

During the initial phases of treatment, the tissues tend to want to go back to their injured states due to tissue memory.

This is the reason why it usually takes 6 to 8 treatments to determine how one is responding to Chiropractic care

But I am not having pain?

Pain is not always bad! It implies that your body is communicating with your brain and vice versa. Obviously pain does not feel good, but most people seem to think they are healthy if they are not in pain. This is a common misconception!

In cases where there is an acute injury such as a sprain or strain, pain is felt quickly. The goal of the initial few Chiropractic treatments are to reduce pain while aiming to restore mobility. The subsequent visits revolve around restoring full mobility. Pain is usually the “last to show and first to go”. Usually pain decrease significantly at this point but that does not necessarily equate to full resolution of the underlying issue(s), therefore it is important to continue care.

Although one may feel better after their initial Chiropractic treatment, they must realize there is a possibility that they can relapse into their injured state. Usually this happens with any form of therapy during the early stages. This is why it is important not to focus on pain primarily. While decreasing the pain intensity is important, other factors need to be considered such as mobility, strength, and orthopedic testing (specific evidence based testing). These factors are assessed by the Chiropractor and do not always correlate with pain levels. Feeling pain is not always bad thing. The fact that your body is responsive and is constantly communicating with your brain is important.

On the other hand, chronic issues occur over a longer period of time. For example, someone who has had a desk job their entire life may never feel pain; however, this does not equate to being healthy! It is very likely they will have poor posture, spinal misalignment, and tight muscles. This person may think they are healthy because they are not feeling pain, but this type of person is the ideal Chiropractic patient! The Chiropractor can work with the patient to re-align the spine and encourage full functioning of the nervous system.

What sort of training do Chiropractors have?

A 7 year minimum education is required for all Chiropractors. Usually Chiropractors have an undergraduate Science degree and later go on to pursue a Doctor of Chiropractic degree.  During the 4 year Chiropractic program, they learn anatomy, radiology (diagnostic imaging) and physical therapy techniques. They are also educated in the following areas: biomechanics, rehabilitation, immunology, toxic pharmacology, physiology, nutrition, and microbiology.

BENEFITS OF CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT

Chiropractors are best known for safely and effectively treating acute back and neck pain, as well as headaches. They are also experts in treating extremities (shoulder pain, hip pain, ankle pain, etc). Whereas a medical doctor might prescribe pain medicine, muscle relaxers or anti-inflammatory drugs, and an orthopedic doctor might suggest surgery, a chiropractor will treat your back problems by hand, through manipulation of the spine.

Chiropractors bring the musculoskeletal structure into proper alignment. Chiropractors change the position of your body and apply pressure to particular points along the spine that are not properly align. This results in a popping noise similar to the ones you hear when you crack your knuckles. The noise comes from the change in pressure in your joints as gas bubbles are released. There is no real “cracking” of any bones or joints.

 Involves no drugs or surgery

A broad range of techniques are used to locate, analyze and gently correct vertebral misalignments (subluxations) in the spine. Chiropractors primarily use spinal manipulation and soft tissue techniques to address misalignments. electrical muscular stimulation, ultrasound or massage. But they never use pharmaceutical drugs or invasive surgery. Chiropractic is a natural method of healing that stimulates the body’s communication system to work more effectively to initiate, control and coordinate the various functions of the cells, organs and systems of the body;therefore anyone can benefit from Chiropractic!

 Triggers your body’s ability to heal

Chiropractors recognize that many factors affect your health, including exercise, nutrition, sleep, environment and heredity. Chiropractic focuses on maintaining your health naturally to help your body resist disease, rather than simply treating the symptoms of disease.

If you have any questions pertaining to Chiropractic, feel free to either give us a call or drop in to speak to Dr. Dhillon.