Patients Frequently asked Questions
Updated 11 January 2011
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is the most popular drug-free, primary contact health care profession in the world and is growing at a rapid rate. Chiropractic is a natural approach to health that is based on the relationship between the nervous system and the function of all the body's tissues, muscles, organs and systems.
It focuses on facilitating the full expression of each individuals inborn genetic potential. It recognises the fact that the human body is a self-healing, self-regulating organism that is inherently designed to be healthy. The nervous system is the body's "master control" system and it holds the key to the body's awesome ability to heal and express itself.
A nervous system free from interference allows the brain to accurately send and receive all the vital messages your body needs to function optimally. Chiropractors understand that the human body is continually striving to achieve a state of balance with its environment.
The body's ability to find this state of balance is challenged by physical, chemical and emotional stressors which may result in interferences to the nervous system. The chiropractor's role is to remove these interferences and restore order, balance and homeostasis.
What is a Subluxation?
A subluxation is when an adjacent spinal segment irritates, stretches or rubs a nerve. These subluxations distort the nerve messages sent between the brain and the body. These subluxations limit your body's ability to heal grow and adapt to its environment and over time this limits your ability to be optimally healthy.
The purpose of Chiropractic is to remove subluxations (or nervous system interferences) using gentle, specific corrective procedures called adjustments. Removing interferences to your nervous system allows the body to heal itself naturally, creating the optimum conditions for health and life.
More than ever before people are now taking control of their health rather than waiting until it is lost - health by choice rather than chance.
Is Chiropractic Safe?
Chiropractic adjustments are remarkably safe! The risk of any complications in adults is extremely low and in children even less. Compare the risk of serious injury between chiropractic adjustments and other common treatments.
The risk of complication with a neck adjustment is 6.39 per 10 million
The risk of complication with low back adjustments is 1 in 100 million
The risk of complication with cervical spine surgery is 15.6 per 1,000 or 156,000 per 10 million
The risk of complication with anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is 3.2 per 1,000 or 32,000 per 10 million
This means that cervical spine surgery is 24,413 times more risky than a chiropractic neck adjustment and that complications with anti-inflammatory drugs is 5,007 times more likely than with a chiropractic neck adjustment!! Something to think twice about next time you reach for the pain-killers!
(Source: Ian Coulter, PhD. "Efficacy and Risks of Chiropractic Manipulation: What Does the Evidence Suggest? Journal of Integrative Medicine, Vol 1, No. 2,pp.61-66)
It is interesting to note that statistics show that stroke due to cervical spine manipulation occurs 6 times more frequently when performed by non-chiropractic physicians. *This is thought to be attributed to the lack of proper examination, diagnostic, and manipulative technique training within other professions. In other words neck adjustments are far safer when performed by a qualified chiropractor.
*Terrett AGJ. Vertebrobasilar Stroke Following Manipulation. West Des Moines (Iowa): National Chiropractic Mutual Insurance Company;1996
These facts do not negate the possibility that drug therapy or surgical intervention may be indicated for particular conditions.
What is an adjustment?
Chiropractic adjustments usually involve a specific, quick and directional input to the spinal segments which in turn affect the nervous system both locally and globally.
Most patients report that even when they come into our office with severe pain, spinal adjustments are not painful. Many patients report that they can feel the pressure lifting from their spine following an adjustment and often experience immediate relief from pain.
Some patients even tell us that they feel a sense of total relaxation after an adjustment. What do spinal joints have to do with my overall health?
Your nervous system controls how you move and how you feel. Your spinal nerves pass through your spinal column, which is comprised of 24 moveable joints.
These spinal joints can become misaligned as a result of daily stress, poor posture, improper lifting, a car accident, or even a vigorous sneeze! Spinal misalignments can cause your spinal nerves to become compressed, stretched, or irritated, interrupting nerve flow to cells, organs, and tissues throughout your body.
Without proper nerve transmission, your body's vital systems can malfunction, including your immune system. By removing nerve interference with gentle adjustments, chiropractic allows you to enjoy optimal health without using drugs or surgery.
What do Chiropractors treat?
Most people will consult a chiropractor because of pains in their back and neck. But poor functioning of the muscles and joints can affect people in many ways.
The nervous system may also be affected and this can cause other symptoms, such as headaches from tension, sciatica and pains in the legs, chest or stomach.
Badly functioning joints and muscles may cause pains in areas other than where the problem is situated. These are called referred pains. The chiropractor also treats referred pain in, for example, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and feet.
Babies who cry a lot may also have problems that can be treated by a chiropractor.