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Subluxation |
What conditions can chiropractic help?
You probably are under the impression that chiropractic care can help with
back pain, headaches and neck pain. Well, you are right! However,
chiropractic can help with numerous other problems. What exactly are the
other problems chiropractic can help with, is a common question. We'd bet
you probably were unaware of research that supports chiropractic can also
improve the following (see references below):
Ulcers (1)
Athletic/sport performance (2)
Asthma (3-5)
Pulmonary function (6)
Immune function (7, 8)
Chronic pain (9)
Cost-effectiveness (10-13)
Crohn's disease (14)
Whiplash (15-17)
Injuries/Soft Tissue Disorders (18)
Workers compensation injuries (11, 19)
Colic (20)
Ear infections (otitis media) (21)
Vision (22-26)
These are only a few of the studies that relate to things other than what
people normally think of for chiropractic. Of course a lot of research has
been done in the areas of back pain (9, 10, 27-36), neck pain (37-41) and
headaches (41-44).
So is chiropractic a treatment of any one of the above disorders? No.
Chiropractic is not a specific treatment for any of these disorders. Why
not? Well, by looking at the above disorders we can readily see how
different many are from one another. So how can chiropractic help with so
many different things? Chiropractic is about improving the functioning of
the body. The basic principle is that every organ, tissue and cell in your
body is in communication with your brain/spinal cord. This communication is
achieved by means of your nervous system. If the communication is disrupted
somehow then your function will not be 100%. The nervous system is an
incredible collection of nerves, neurotransmitters (chemicals), support
cells, and the like that allows for information to be "processed" so that we
may function well. Your spine houses the spinal cord and from the spinal
cord come spinal nerves that exit between the bones (vertebrae) of your
spine. When spinal nerves become irritated or otherwise disrupted, your body
cannot function at peak efficiency.
Factors that predispose your nervous system to become interfered with
include but are not limited to injury, inflammation and swelling, restricted
movement, spinal degeneration (such as arthritis), disease, musculoskeletal
disorders (such as tight muscles), poor posture, poor diet, low levels of
physical activity and many more. The Doctor of Chiropractic examines your
spine for areas of improper function commonly referred to as vertebral
subluxation (or just subluxation). The subluxation involves vertebrae that
move improperly (usually because of "tight muscles") and interfere with
information processing. Usually subluxations are painful, but in many cases,
they are not. Only a chiropractor will be able to determine if you have
subluxations or not. If you do have subluxations, they can be improved by
means of chiropractic adjustments. Adjustments are achieved by your
chiropractor applying a specific force to your spine.
Now you should be able to understand how chiropractic can improve the many
disorders mentioned above and many more you can think of that are not on the
list. Here is a question for you to test your understanding. Can
chiropractic improve muscular strength and if so how? You should know the
answer by now. The answer is yes chiropractic can improve strength (ref) and
it does so by the same way that chiropractic improves anything. Chiropractic
uses the spinal adjustment to influence the biomechanics of your spine and
allow better function to result. In many cases, various disorders can be
traced back to the spine, particularly where these nerves enter/exit the
spine. This is one of the reasons why chiropractic can help with such
seemingly diverse problems.
For instance your neck or cervical spine contains nerves that supply: the
head and face, neck muscles, glands such as lymph and thyroid, the bones,
joints and muscles of the shoulder, arm, forearm, wrist, hand and fingers.
Your mid-back or thoracic spine contains the nerves that supply: the arms,
wrist, fingers, digestive organs, pancreas, spleen, ovaries, uterus,
kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, breast, and back muscles. Your low back or
lumbar spine contains nerves that supply: the back muscles, large intestine,
uterus, appendix, bladder, sex organs, legs, knees, ankles, feet.
Spinal problems in any of the areas just mentioned could affect the function
of the region(s) supplied by the corresponding nerves. For example, research
has shown that spinal problems in the lower cervical spine can be related to
chest pains.
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