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Chiropractic
What Is It?
How Does It Work?
What Happens During Treatment?
What Is It Used For?
Side Effects/Cautions
Recommended Books
What Is It?
Chiropractic is a therapy involving the manipulation of the spine
and other joints to relieve health problems associated with the
spinal column and nervous system. Chiropractors use their hands
to make "adjustments" to specific vertebrae of the spine
or other joints, which stretch muscles, unlock joints and correct
problems in other parts of the body that have originated from the
spine. This manipulation can relieve pain, help correct postural
problems, and can improve the functioning of nerves, joints, and
muscles.
The practice of spinal manipulation originated more
than 2000 years ago, but it has only developed into
a major system of healing in the last 100 years. The
founder of modern chiropractic was Canadian-born Daniel
David Palmer, who opened the first chiropractic school
in Iowa in 1898, after proving to himself and others
that manipulation of misaligned bones within the spine
could correct a variety of ailments.
How Does It Work?
The spinal cord is a major part of the nervous system, being the
central line of communication between the brain and other parts
of the body. It is protected by the spinal column, which consists
of individual vertebrae separated by cushioning discs. Stress
to the spinal column, caused by an accident, years of poor posture,
or long-term tension, can cause damage or misalignment of vertebrae
which then “pinch” surrounding nerves. The term for
this condition is “subluxation”, and it causes interference
with nerve impulses between the brain and the body. This can
result in symptoms such as backache, tingling in the arms and
legs, headaches, fatigue, improper digestion and other system
dysfunction.
Chiropractic aims to locate subluxations, and through
gentle manipulations and adjustments of the vertebrae
and surrounding muscle, tendons and ligaments, can
restore the normal functioning of the nervous system
and the rest of the body.
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What Happens During
Treatment?
During your first visit your practitioner will take a complete
medical history and perform a physical examination. Your blood
pressure, pulse and respiration will be measured and a blood sample
may be taken to rule out infections. The practitioner will closely
examine the spine, study your posture and search for any damaged
or misaligned joints. X-rays may be taken to locate these damaged
areas.
For treatment, you may be asked to lie on a padded
table or sit on a stool or chair. The chiropractor
applies pressure to the spine, making specific adjustments
to the vertebrae with the hands. You may feel tingling
sensations or hear popping sounds as the adjustments
are made, but the treatment is not normally painful
and some find it relaxing.
Some chiropractors (known as "straight" chiropractors)
use only spinal manipulations to treat problems. Others
(known as "mixers") supplement spinal adjustments
with other therapies such as nutritional counselling,
physiotherapy, massage, heat or ice treatments and
rehabilitative exercises.
Your initial visit will last about an hour, with further
treatments lasting between 10 and 30 minutes. A course
of treatment usually involves three to five sessions
each week for two weeks.
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What Is It Used
For?
Chiropractic is considered particularly useful for relieving acute
lower back pain, and is often used before surgery is considered.
It is also used to treat neck and joint pain, headaches, migraines,
hip and knee problems and arthritis.
Side Effects/Cautions
Chiropractic should be avoided by people who have osteoporosis,
rheumatoid arthritis, bone or joint infections, bone cancer and
diseases of the spinal chord or bone marrow. It should not be
performed on the area around a fracture or dislocation, or where
surgery has been performed on the spine.
References
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Recommended
Books
Prices are in US Dollars
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The Chiropractic Way :
How Chiropractic Care Can Stop Your Pain and
Help You Regain Your Health Without Drugs or
Surgery
Michael Lenarz
Chiropractic has become America’s most
popular form of alternative health care, offering
lasting relief from pain--and many other health
benefits--to more than 25 million patients
annually. Yet many people still wonder exactly
how chiropractic heals, and even experienced
patients may be able to get more from their
treatments. In this accessible and fascinating
book, Dr. Michael Lenarz illuminates the basic
principles of spinal health, showing how the
body naturally lets go of stored pain and disease
once the flow of vital energy has been restored.
He also explains:
• Why adjustments keep the communication flowing clearly, quickly, and
cleanly
• Why the billion-plus nerve pathways carried by the spine can be the key
to a wide range of health problems--from arthritis, headaches, and back and neck
pain to chronic fatigue and digestive ailments
• Why many of the health complaints we associate with aging may in fact
be the result of old injuries and therefore treatable
• The different techniques of chiropractic, and how to choose the best
chiropractor for you.
PLUS--complete chapters on the diet, exercise, and stress-relief
programs that will help you achieve a healthy, vibrant, energized,
and pain-free lifestyle--the chiropractic way.
Learn
more...
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The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook:
Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief,
Second Edition
Clair Davies
Trigger point therapy is one of the most intriguing
and fastest-growing bodywork styles in the
world. Medical doctors, chiropractors, and
alternative health practitioners are all beginning
to use this technique to relieve the pain of
individuals suffering from undiagnosable soft
tissue pain - a condition that studies have
shown to be the cause of nearly 25 percent
of all doctor visits.
The technique involves applying short, repeated massage strokes
to trigger points, places in the muscle tissue where lack
of oxygen causes referred pain. These points are easily located
by general readers and create pain throughout the body in
predictable patterns characteristic to each muscle, producing
discomfort ranging from mild to severe. The stimulation of
the point causes an increase in the oxygen level in the area
and produces often instant relief. The first edition of The
Trigger Point Therapy Workbook has made a huge impact in
the use of this dynamic technique. This is the first major
revision of the overnight classic - a complete update that
includes new information specifically for massage professionals
as well as a detailed discussion of systematic muscle relaxation
techniques that can reinforce the therapeutic power of trigger
point work.
Learn
more...
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Rehabilitation of the Spine: A Practitioner's
Manual
Craig Liebenson
Practical how-to manual for chiropractors
integrates fields of chiropractic, myofascial
therapy, and exercise into a cost-effective
approach for treating spinal disorders. Thoroughly
covers functional assessment, manual resistance
techniques, stabilization exercises, and patient
education. Identifies and discusses psychosocial
factors that might predispose patients to a
disability, chronic pain, and treatment dependency.
Contributors are practitioners from various
disciplines.
Learn
more...
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Chiropractic Books
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