The doctor of chiropractic analyzes your body for vertebral subluxation, a severe form of spine and nerve stress, using his/her hands and other analysis tools, and then corrects or removes any spinal nerve stress using various spinal adjustment techniques.
Subluxations come from stress. It may occur in infancy from a difficult birth or from childhood falls. Later in life, emotional tension or stress can gradually damage your spine or violent injuries from automobile accidents or sports can suddenly knock you “out of whack” .
Nearly everyone eventually gets spinal nerve stress and so is affected by subluxations. It is a “hidden epidemic” and it is for that reason that we all need to have our spines checked for this condition by a doctor of chiropractic every once in a while, just as we get our eyes, teeth and blood pressure checked!
The first chiropractic patient was treated in 1895. Dr. D.D. Palmer performed the first chiropractic” spinal adjustment” on his deaf janitor, Harvey Lillard. Lillard’s hearing returned and Palmer thought he had discovered a cure for deafness. But as patients with digestive troubles, sciatica, menstrual trouble, migraine headaches, epilepsy, heart problems, back pain and many other conditions responded to spinal care, Palmer realized that he had discovered something more far-reaching indeed.
Chiropractors perform treatments by working with the bones and nerves of the spinal column and spinal cord respectively. Chiropractors spend years of highly specialized training in order to locate where misplaced spinal vertebrae are impinging the nerves which travel down the spinal cord and out through the spinal column to the muscles, organs and glands of the body. After locating the vertebrae impinging the nerves (subluxations) the chiropractor, using various highly specialized techniques, is able to replace the misplaced vertebrae and thus release pressure on the nerves. That is called a spinal adjustment.
All kinds of conditions are treated with chiropractic care, such as colds or ear infections, PMS, spinal or disc problems, arthritis, insomnia, stress, vision problems, headaches, allergies, bedwetting, colic, high blood pressure-the list is long! And yet, please remember, the goal of chiropractic treatment is not the treatment of disease but rather the enhancement of health through the reduction of spinal nerve stress (vertebral subluxation complex).
The above list may seem long as though chiropractic were a Panacea. The truth is that most textbooks list over two hundred diseases. Please be mindful of the fact that chiropractic care is not like one drug used for one condition, but on the contrary, it is a complete healing art within itself, concerned with the systems of the body such as nervous, circulatory, digestive, respiratory, eliminatory, reproductive, hormonal, musculoskeletal, etc., and seeks to correct health problems within those systems.
You can receive chiropractic treatments even if under medical care. Having your spinal nerve stress corrected is important no matter what other type of care you’re receiving. You can have your spinal column checked for vertebral subluxations by a doctor of chiropractic and still visit a doctor of homeopathy, naturopathy, osteopathy or medicine. M.D.’s and other healers cannot tell if you’re suffering from spinal nerve stress (vertebral subluxations) and are not trained in correcting it.
In Chiropractic there are other significant factors besides vertebral adjusting, including five laws to obey for those who desire health and longevity:
- Proper nutrition;
- Adequate rest;
- Moderate exercise;
- A positive mental attitude;
- Proper nerve supply.
No matter what disease or condition you have, you can benefit from a healthy spine. Spinal health can be as important for your overall healing as proper nutrition. Are you and your family carrying the silent killer, the vertebral subluxation complex, in your spines? Only a chiropractic spinal checkup can tell.
Among the many things contributing to your health – the quality of the air, food and water you take in; how you handle emotional stress; your inherited weakness and strengths; your use of drugs; exercise; and relaxation – a healthy spine is absolutely essential. In some people it is a major factor and can make the difference between a life of health, strength and vitality or a life of disease, weakness and disability.