What is a chiropractic adjustment?
Chiropractic adjustment is a procedure in which a chiropractor uses their hands or a small instrument to apply a controlled, sudden force to a spinal joint. The goal of chiropractic adjustment, also known as spinal manipulation, is to correct structural alignment and improve your body's physical function.
Low back pain, neck pain and headache are the most common problems for which people seek a chiropractor to make adjustment.
Chiropractic care is an outgrowth of belief in these concepts:
- Your body has a natural ability to heal itself.
- Your body's structure — nerves, bones, joints and muscles — and capacity for healthy function are closely intertwined.
- Chiropractic treatment helps balance your body's structure and function and promotes self-healing.
How do I prepare for the chiropractor?
No special preparation is required before a visit to the chiropractor.
Chiropractic treatment may require a series of visits to your chiropractor. Ask your chiropractor about the frequency of visits and be prepared to work them into your schedule. It might be a good idea to bring your calendar along or have an idea of when in your schedule you can fit in visits to the chiropractor.
Many health insurance policies cover chiropractic care, but you might want to check to see how many treatments are covered in a given time period.
Can a chiropractor break my neck?
First to alleviate your fear of a chiropractor "breaking your neck". In the 110 years of chiropractic there has NEVER been a broken neck. In order to break your neck, you need to turn your head beyond its normal range of motion. If you rotate your head to the left or right- you will have between 60-90 degreess of motion. It would need to be taken past that point. All Chiropractic neck adjustments happen between 5-40 degrees. It gets nowhere close to going outside your normal range of motion.
Effectiveness of a chiropractor?
The research about chiropractic care is growing. According to the Annals of Internal Medicine, recent studies show that spinal manipulative therapy performed by a chiropractor, along with exercise, relieve neck pain more effectively than medication.
Furthermore, the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reported that an integrated approach to health care -- including chiropractic care -- results in a 51.8 percent reduction in pharmaceutical costs and 43 percent fewer hospital admissions.
You should consider seeing a chiropractor if you experience frequent pain in your back, neck or joints, as well as headaches. This is especially so if intense soreness follows accidents, household chores or prolonged periods of poor posture.
Back and neck pain healed by a chiropractor.
Chiropractors are best known for safely and effectively treating acute back and neck pain, as well as headaches. 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.
