Understanding the Importance of Chiropractic

One of the most important tasks I have as a Chiropractor is explaining what I do to people who either are misinformed or completely uninformed about Chiropractic. To those who do not understand the practice, Chiropractic is often lumped in with Voodoo and mystical energy healing. Throughout my years of practice, my explanation has evolved and continues to evolve, just as Chiropractic has evolved since its conception in the 1890’s.

When I have a new patient in my office, I want to start off on the right foot by ensuring that they have an understanding about what we are trying to accomplish. Without this understanding, the patient’s expectations and the actual results may not be aligned.

Firstly, a Chiropractor’s goal is to identify the source of the problem. Although we do prescribe therapies that help to alleviate symptoms, we are more concerned with treating the cause of said symptoms. Often times, a patient comes in complaining of low back pain. After a detailed history is taken, the Doctor then inspects the patient to find the cause of the pain.

The joints of the spine and hips are designed to move in a normal, healthy range of motion. In many cases of low back pain, it is found upon examination that one or more of those joints have a restricted range of motion or those vertebrae are misaligned. The body is an extremely complex machine and, just like any machine, if one part is not functioning correctly its adjacent parts must over-work to compensate. In the spine, if a vertebral joint is not moving correctly or is mispositioned, the adjacent joints and tissues have to compensate.

The musculoskeletal system’s purpose is to move us through space. The body is made to walk, run, stoop, squat, bend, twist and jump. The joints of the body are made to function in their respective, natural planes of motion and those individual joints work in beautiful concert with the neighboring structures to allow those global movements of walking, running, etc. On any measure, restrict or remove the natural movement and you will eventually cause injury to the body. Restore and maintain movement and the body is allowed to function the way in which it is meant.

Normal, natural movement is a tremendously vital key to health. If you became bedridden, what would eventually happen? Your body in due course would lose muscle tone and strength due to inactivity. You would eventually develop osteopenia, a loss in bone density, because of the lack in weight bearing activity. Fluids would begin to pool in your body causing swelling or edema due to circulation dysfunction. Your organs would cease to function properly, you would develop bed sores, you may gain or lose body fat depending on how your body responded to the lack of activity. Overall, you would become very sick and unhealthy. The body is made to move. Take away movement, and degeneration is inevitable.

In a slightly smaller scale example, if I were to immobilize one joint with a cast, say your elbow, what would happen? You would lose the tone in the muscle responsible for movement at the elbow. Leave the cast on long enough and the muscles would atrophy to a fraction of their original size. The adjacent joints of the wrist and shoulder, not casted, would have to pick up the slack and work harder to make up for the absence of elbow function. Eventually, just by casting your elbow, you would experience wrist and shoulder pain, tendinopathies and probably end up damaging much of the soft tissues around those joints.

Now let’s look at what happens in the spine. If one vertebral joint or a Sacroiliac joint is not allowed to function (move) in the way it is designed, there is a cascading effect of injury to the adjoining structures and tissues. The neighboring joints, muscles and ligaments are now forced to bear the burden of extra physical strain and change the mechanics of the body to compensate. Leave the effected joint untreated long enough and that extra strain will gradually weaken and wear down those tissues being taxed. This is how the process of spinal degeneration propagates into full blown Osteoarthritis of the spine and Degenerative Disc Disease.

To stop spinal degeneration from happening or getting worse, we Chiropractors restore the proper movement in the restricted joints. Restoring the proper joint mobility and position will restore the overall health and function of the spine. Even if you aren’t experiencing symptoms, it is recommended that you have your spine checked by a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic. Many degenerative spinal cases are due to undiagnosed mechanical problems that went unnoticed due to a lack of symptoms. Just as disorders like tooth decay and cancers go unnoticed until the disease processes have progressed, spinal maladies can remain hidden until marked impairment and tissue damage has occurred.