FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic focuses on the body’s natural ability to function properly and heal itself. By improving the function of your spine, chiropractors help free the flow of information through your nervous system, helping your body to better coordinate its functions, adapt to stress and heal.
Chiropractic is based on the knowledge that spinal joint dysfunction can interfere with your nervous system which in turn, can dramatically affect the function of your body in many different ways.
Chiropractors are specially trained to restore normal spinal position and motion. Chiropractic adjustments add motion to these fixated areas, and can help restore nervous system integrity, assisting the healing process.
What is an Adjustment?
The simplest description for a chiropractic adjustment is that it is a specific movement of the spine or other area of the body to correct the lost or aberrant movement of vertebrae or a joint. There's really nothing more complicated about an adjustment than this. Of course there are many ways for a chiropractor to effect an adjustment and just as many ways to describe the procedure.
After years of training and clinical experience, your chiropractor is highly skilled in delivering a variety of trusted adjustment methodologies for your health and wellness.
What’s that pop we hear during some chiropractic adjustments?
Knowing what to expect when you visit a chiropractor helps to dissipate any apprehension or even fear you may have beforehand. Being prepared for that rather unnerving 'pop' as your joint or back undergoes an adjustment is half the battle to relaxing and getting better!
It's all a matter of gases – more accurately the sudden release of gases around the joint being adjusted - as simple as that. When the jammed joints are released the fluid between the surfaces is transformed to gas making the pop sound.
What conditions do chiropractors treat?
Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs) care for patients of all ages, with a variety of health conditions. DCs are especially well known for their expertise in caring for patients with back pain, neck pain and headaches...particularly with their highly skilled manipulations or chiropractic adjustments. They also care for patients with a wide range of injuries and disorders of the musculoskeletal system, involving the muscles, ligaments and joints. These painful conditions often involve or impact the nervous system, which can cause referred pain and dysfunction distant to the region of injury. The benefits of chiropractic care extend to general health issues, as well, since our body structure affects our overall function. DCs also counsel patients on exercise, healthy habits, ergonomics and occupational and lifestyle modification.
What happens in a regular consultation?
You will be assessed to gauge your progress. We then seek to help you with your specific complaint through applying massage techniques, electrophysical therapy and spinal adjustments. The home exercises and lifestyle changes will be reviewed and encouraged. This will allow you between 15 and 20 minutes with your chiropractor on each visit, enhancing the speed of your recovery.
Is it Safe?
Yes, chiropractic is safe, possibly safer, than most things. With everything there's a risk of sorts – chiropractic is no different. In the same way "as you risked your neck putting it out, there's a very minimum risk when it goes back in!" Seriously, chiropractic care is very safe, if only for the fact that those who practice the art do so from a highly trained standpoint.
Chiropractors must be registered after completing a Masters degree. During the five year course, emphasis is placed on training in anatomy, physiology, pathology, neurology, biomechanics, X-ray, and spinal adjusting techniques.
A recent study into a comparison of chiropractic care and a course of anti-inflammatory drugs to alleviate the pain of a mis-alignment has demonstrated conclusively that chiropractic is 250 times safer.
How long will I need Chiropractic care?
This is dependent upon the length of time your problem has been present. Long standing, chronic problems cause the body to adapt and produce complex compensatory patterns of dysfunction. Consequently, your care is a process rather than a simple procedure.
Consider this – If you were unfit and went to a gym, you would require a series of workouts over a period of time to gain the level of fitness which you desire. You would then need to maintain this level of fitness with ongoing training sessions. This is how you should view your Chiropractic care.
Retraining supporting muscles and soft tissues takes time as each visit builds on the ones before.
Simply put, each visit builds on the ones before. This consistency creates the momentum necessary to make lasting changes to your spine.
We noticed that by the time many people consult our clinic, they’ve had their spinal problems for some time. This makes it more difficult and time consuming to retrain and strengthen the muscles and ligaments that support the spine.
Healing, like all processes takes time. And everyone recovers at his or her own pace, based on their age, condition and countless lifestyle choices.
Some of the factors that can affect the recovery process include:
- Keeping your appointments Eating healthier foods
- Drinking more water Appropriate exercise
- Being at your proper weight Being mindful of your posture
- Getting sufficient sleep
There are many others, so be sure to ask for specific steps that you can take to enhance the healing process. Chiropractic care is a partnership approach to better spinal health.
Finally, remember that how long you benefit from chiropractic care is always up to you.