What is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is a philosophy, science and art of things natural; a system of adjusting the spine, for the correction of the cause of disease.

A central premise of chiropractic is that vertebral misalignments or malfunctions occur in the spine and can produce interferences in the function of the nerve system which have remarkable and far-reaching effects by impairing the individual's health and performance. These misalignments are referred to in chiropractic as subluxations, and are corrected with spinal adjustments administered by Doctors of Chiropractic (D.C.'s).

Your nerve system controls and coordinates all the functions of your body. If you interfere with the signals traveling over nerves, parts of your body will not get the proper nerve messages and will not be able to function at 100% of their innate abilities. In other words, some part of your body will not be working properly. It is the responsibility of the Doctor of Chiropractic to locate subluxations, and reduce or correct them. This is done through a series of chiropractic adjustments specifically designed to correct the vertebral subluxations in your spine. Chiropractors are the only professionals who undergo years of training to be the experts at correcting subluxations.

Beyond the back

Many people think that chiropractic is only for your back. This misconception is easily understood. After all, chiropractors do work primarily on your back. However, Chiropractic is about having a healthy spine and nerve system, allowing your body to be as healthy as possible.

Your body is controlled by three distinct nerve systems - the central nerve system, peripheral nerve system and autonomic nerve system (which is further divided into the parasympathetic and sympathetic nerve system). All 3 parts of the nerve system must be balanced so that they can operate in unity and create a truly healthy body.

Spinal joint fixation (subluxation) results in nerve irritation. This nerve irritation (known as facilitation) leads to exaggerated activity of the nerve, resulting in muscular tension, postural asymmetries, and limited and painful motion. Other problems include chronic hyperactivity of the sympathetic nerve system producing a variety of syndromes.

Chiropractic is great for low back pain. It also works great for many 'non back' problems such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, crohn's disease, gall bladder problems, heart problems, asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other lung problems.

This chart illustrates the connection between the spine, nerve system and all the organs of the body.

Chiropractic is the Science, Art and Philosophy that concerns itself
with the restoration of good health by restoring and maintaining a properly functioning nerve system, without the use of drugs or surgery.