Joint popping is not adjustment!

Many people can make make their joints pop, but this is not the same as a chiropractic adjustment. Even worse, such popping can cause further damage by mobilizing a joint with weakened muscles and ligaments.

Remember, you cannot adjust yourself. The adjustments used in chiropractic are specific and take years to master. In fact, your chiropractic doctor must consult a colleague to benefit from chiropractic care.

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Aiding the self-healing process with Chiropractic

Chiropractic care works on the scientific basis that your nervous system controls and coordinates the functions of every cell, tissue, muscle and organ in your body. Your nervous system comprises the brain, spinal cord, and millions of nerves running throughout the body, sending and receiving millions of messages controlling the proper functioning of the body.

At the same time, skeletal structures protect the nervous system. The skull protects the brain from injury, while 24 movable vertebrae surround and support the spinal cord. Improper movements or positioning of the vertebrae, known as subluxations, interfere with the exchange of messages between elements of the nervous system by irritating nerves, which compromises the functioning of affected organs and tissues. Chiropractic involves specific, careful adjustments to the spine, improving brain/body communications.

The nature of subluxation

Remember that the skeletal system comprises more than two hundred bones. Whenever two bones meet at a joint, movement can occur. Joints in the spine are very close to the spinal column and nerve roots, and too much or too little joint motion can have serious effects. Much like the sounding of notes in a musical chord, a subluxation can simultaneously inovlve joints and nerves, as well as muscles, soft tissue, and degenerative changes.

Subluxations generally have three causes:

• Physical causes such as accidents, slips, falls, repetitive motions and improper lifting
• Emotional sources including grief, anger and fear.
• Chemical causes such as alcohol, drugs, pollution, and poor diet.

Overview of chiropractic treatment

Chiropractic care enjoys an excellent track record around the world. A recent New Zealand government study found that adjustments are remarkably safe. In fact, statistics show that adjustments are about 100 times safer than taking over-the-counter pain relievers!

Before Dr. Jen undertakes a program of chiropractic care, she conducts a thorough examination, and comprehensive review of symptoms and diet. The results of the initial exam and analysis indicate a proper course of treatment, and in rare instances, identify a patient for whom chiropractic may be unsuitable.

Treatement lengths vary somewhat from person, but we have identified two basic rules of thumb you can follow. First, new injuries, treated appropriately and immediately, tend to respond to fewer visits (sometimes as few as three or four visits), assuming that major tissue injury has not occurred. Second, conditions that have been present for more than three months and recurring conditions, generally are more difficult to treat and manage, and may require as many as 12 or more treatments. Remember, if you simply wait and hope the problem "will just go away," the more stubborn and serious the condition becomes, and more treatments would be required to resolve it. The only way to determine how long your treatment will take is to schedule a consultation.

The importance of periodic checkups

The notion that once you begin treatment by a chiropractor, you must keep going back is a bit misleading. Chiropractors, like dentists and medical practitioners, understand the importance of prevention as the key to reducing recurring health conditions and minimizing future injuries. In the same way that a periodic dental checkup is essential to good dental health, a periodic spinal checkup makes health sense. After treatment to relieve pain and rehabilitate injured tissues is complete, you can and should maintain a sechedule of less frequent, but periodic spinal checkups. Periodic chiropractic care minimizes spinal and nerve stress, reduces recurrences of old injuries, prevents new injuries from developing and minimizes degenerative processes.

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The spinal cord is protected by 24 moveable vertebrae. Improper movement or positioning causes subluxation, which in turn compromises effective functioning of organs and tissues. Chiropractic adjustment helps relieve subluxations and returns the body to optimal balance.