Chiropractors Adjust Subluxations (Sub-Lux-Ations) which come from physical chemical and emotional stress and are a complex consisting of a bony misalignment, some degree of muscular spasm, and inflammation, and pressure being placed on 1 or more nerves which over time become further irritated, inflamed, and eventually symptoms (usually pain or an alteration in function) develop.
That being said; I like to tell people that there's 3 Reasons Why We Get Adjusted:
#1) It Feels Good - Misalignments result in pressure being placed on soft structures like nerves, ligaments, and tendons. They also cause muscular spasms which tend to exacerbate the issue and add to the issue. To put it most simply keeping the spine aligned allows the "space" for the parts of the body to exist in comfortably.
#2) When pressure is placed on Nerves the amount of information that nerve can carry is affected. It has been shown that the weight of a quarter on a spinal nerve (which exit the spinal cord and pass through the spine) can cut the amount of information they can carry by up to 80%... That means inaccurate information coming in, and less controlling and coordinating information coming from the brain down and out to every part of the body.
#3) This one involves Posture and Biomechanics. When we're subluxated motion is affected. The malpositioned bone can not maintain normal range of motion, so the surrounding joints tend to become hypermobile in order to compensate. The longer this complex exists the more the musculature becomes involved and posture becomes affected and faulty patterns of biomechanics develop... What happens when someone's in a cast and each step is different for a period of weeks.... What about for a period of months or years? These alterations increase the likely hood of degenerative conditions later on down the road.
Just for fun, place a rubber band snugly on your finger. Over a short period of time the blood flow will become affected, in a little more time the nerve will experience pressure and your finger will get tingly. Eventually, a fairly pervasive symptom of discomfort will cause you to remove the rubber band.... Or not and to continue irritating the situation. The same thing happens in our bodies... However, as Americans I believe that many of us prefer to hide the symptom and keep on indulging in all of the stresses that caused it in the first place.
Health and / or Wellness is about developing strategies to handle the stresses of life. Chiropractic is a great way to maintain a Stress Free Spine - and therefor a Nervous System Free of Interference so the Brain can control and coordinate us to Heal and Grow to the best of our ability!
There are many great and effective practices all of which lead to better health, but sometimes Wellness is greater than the sum of it's parts! I feel that the more pieces of the puzzle that we put together, the greater picture of health we begin to see!
Number 2:
I'm
sorry to hear that you are suffering with very unpleasant symptoms. The
short answer to your question is that I believe Chiropractic can help
any-body, but how much getting adjusted can help is kind of up to you.
Please allow me to explain. I believe that culturally we apply this, "If
it aint broke don't fix it." mentality to our health in many regards.
In reality the development of symptoms usually expresses that the body
has become an environment which favors Degeneration, Inflammation,
Dis-ease, or Infection as opposed to promoting Healing Growth and
Regeneration. Stress, be it from Physical, Chemical, and / or Emotional
sources has the potential to overload any system, and in the same way
that a stick can be bent until it breaks we tend
to continue doing all of the things that we feel we need to accomplish
until we proverbially "Break.” For most of us Stress is no stranger
whether that means sitting slouched in front of a computer all day,
scrubbing floors with bleach, or simply beating ourselves up at the gym
in an attempt to be healthier. For example, a minor Bicep injury greatly
impacts the biomechanics of the arm and shoulder which affects the
range of motion not only in those joints, but also in the Thoracic
Spine, which only causes further changes and compensations. So, most of
the time seemingly small things like the scenario above snowball
overtime into much larger complexes of sub-optimal performance or
dis-function.
So why have I gone into all of this? The answer
is that there are likely one or more underlying causes connected to your
current symptoms and while I believe that getting adjusted will help
you, you’re most profound results will come from doing more than simply
adjusting you once in a while. Creating Wellness as opposed to simply
treating symptoms involves putting together as many pieces as possible
in order to see a more clear - inclusive picture of HEALTH. This may
mean many things, but like anything else your level of involvement is
for you to decide.
I would love the opportunity to help you
actualize your health goals, but bear in mind that much of the work will
be done in the time that we're not together and that we will not
miraculously solve the problems that countless treatments, procedures,
practices, and surgeries have already attempted to simply "fix." If you
would like more information on me, or if you'd like to contact my office
to set up an appointment, my website can be found at http://
I look forward to meeting and working with you soon,
Tyler White DC
I look forward to meeting and working with you soon,
Tyler White DC
