All About Chiropractic

Health — By 88DB Knowledge on May 21, 2012 3:22 pm

Many wouldn’t think of chiropractic as a solution when they face the issue of a recurring headache, or a bad knee. But did you know that chiropractic can help ease such painful ailments, and so much more?

The spine and the nerves connected to it are the main focus when it comes to chiropractic

What is chiropractic?
Chiropractic is the non-surgical treatment of misaligned joints, with a particular focus on the spine.

Why the spine you ask? Because it plays a crucial role in our central nervous system, which consists of the brain, the spinal cord and the retina. The central nervous system controls every tissue, cell and organ, so without this system which connects all parts of our body together, we wouldn’t be able to function at all as humans. Therefore, the central nervous system, especially the spine, should really be kept in tip-top condition.

No drugs are used in the practice of chiropractic and you could say that it’s a form of natural treatment; which is why many would classify it under alternative medicine.

What does a chiropractor do?
So if drugs are not prescribed when you pay a visit to the chiropractor, how does this doctor help you heal?

Well, with the simple use of hands.

Don’t worry if you hear ‘popping’ noises between the joints during an adjustment – this is very normal

The word ‘chiro’ translates to ‘hand’ in Greek. Using their hands, chiropractors look and feel for areas of the spine that are misaligned and “fix” it by using different techniques that require a manual force to be exerted. This is called an adjustment.

To a chiropractor, the goal of an adjustment is to improve your body’s overall wellbeing by gradually correcting the structure of the spine and positively affecting the central nervous system. I use the word gradually because as with all things connected to long-term healing, nothing is immediate.

However, one thing about chiropractic treatment that many patients commonly report is after an adjustment, pain associated with problems like headaches, neck aches or even finger joint problems seem to go away almost instantly. This relief is usually short-term though; sooner or later the joint will move back to its original position since it’s been that way for so long. That’s why adjustments should be done often if you want to see long-term results.

Benefits of chiropractic
You’d be surprised to know how many benefits the “healing hands” of chiropractors can bring just by focusing on the spine and the importance of the central nervous system.

Do you really know how important the spine is and its relation to the central nervous system?

Headache relief
Headaches are always tricky. These buggers are caused by neurological irritation – whether it’s work stress, a hangover, or lack of sleep. Additionally, the nerves in the neck area connect to the brain and everywhere else in the upper half of the body, so when you have a headache it also means that there is a problem of imbalance in the position and structure of the muscles within the neck, as well as the upper back.

In other words, it’s just a bunch of tensed muscles and irritated nerves that are all connected in some complex way. Chiropractic is extremely effective in naturally relieving the pain and taking pressure off the nerves via a simple adjustment.

Decreased stiffness
For most of us, we’re stuck in an MRT train when we travel, we don’t get up much in the office, and we sit around at home watching TV or surfing the Internet when we’re not busy socialising outside. We lead such sedentary lifestyles that naturally, we feel stiff and achy all the time.

X-rays are optional, this helps doctors see if there’s an underlying problem to tackle

Chiropractic deals with the nerves and joints that cause these problems of stiffness. And unlike a normal massage treatment, which only deals with the muscle (think of it as a superficial type of treatment) chiropractic gets to the root of the problem by dealing with the nerves, not so much of the muscle.

Enhanced flexibility
We’re not talking about muscle flexibility here. So don’t be under the impression that you’ll be able to touch your toes after chiropractic treatment. Instead, joint flexibility is the benefit you’ll enjoy. After an adjustment (or a few later), you’ll notice increased joint mobility as well as range of motion, in your spine, your neck, and wherever else that consists of joints!

Arthritic joint pain relief
More often than not, problems are due to repetitive strain or imbalance. If you have a bad left knee, it could actually be due to imbalance – maybe your hips are misaligned that the left knee is holding up too much of your upper body weight. With chiropractic, you can mobilise joints and improve the structure of the spine (which is linked to the hip) to relieve the pain in your knee.

However, chiropractic is not always the solution and even chiropractors themselves recognise that the practice cannot heal every single injury.

“If a joint in a patient’s body is severely injured and the ligaments surrounding it are torn, then I would definitely tell them they require medical attention and other forms of therapy, not chiropractic,” says Dr Aras Ignatavicius of The Chiropractic Clinic.

Hands aside, machines also play a part in chiropractic; the Spinal Decompression Therapy system stretches and relaxes the spine in a pumping motion and helps improve blood circulation

Stronger immune system function
A body’s immune function is controlled by nerve processes, which involve releasing the right hormones and the proper chemicals in order to fight infections and diseases. So if the nerves controlling these processes are irritated due to a central nervous system that isn’t working as well as it should be, then chiropractic treatment would be the way to go to strengthen its function as well as the immune system.

Prevention of bedwetting
If the nerves in the lower back aren’t functioning properly, it causes a weak bladder and inevitably affects bladder control. By correcting the structure of the spine which is linked the lower part of the body, chiropractic allows patients, especially kids, to enjoy this great benefit of preventing or fixing the problem of bedwetting.

Studies have actually shown that scoliosis is more common in Asia

Decrease of scoliosis and good postural development
Scoliosis refers to the abnormal curving of the spine and it’s known to affect teenagers and young adults more than any other age group. It creates postural issues and causes spinal deformation, amongst many other problems. Chiropractors deal with scoliosis and the issues related to it directly by using various treatments such as bracing and physiotherapy programmes.

Increased comfort during pregnancy and improved fertility
During pregnancy, a woman’s body goes through a lot of changes. More weight is placed on the front of the body, and expectant mothers are likely to experience lower back pain. Chiropractic treatments help relief that kind of pain by adjusting the spine to adapt to the best position possible to ensure increased comfort for expectant mothers.

Chiropractic has also been linked to improved fertility.

“When a woman’s eggs are not producing well or at all, that’s because there’s a sort of message interference somewhere between the brain and the ovaries – in other words, there’s something wrong with the central nervous system. Take the spine as a water hose. If the water hose is clogged, the water will not be able to flow through properly. The ovaries may not be functioning at its best because there is some misalignment in the spine, causing a disruption to the pregnancy process,” explains Dr Bryan Chen of The Chiropractic Clinic, who’s been in the industry for about seven years now.

Chiropractors also believe in and offer nutritional advice in addition to adjustments and other physiotherapy programmes

Chiropractic requires long-term commitment if you’re keen on seeing real results. It’s very different from modern medicine which relies heavily on the use of drugs, so the nature of its natural processes also requires support in other aspects of one’s health. These aspects include a healthy diet, plenty of exercise, practicing good posture, and so on.

Also, you need to be aware and know how to tell the difference between a REAL chiropractor and an unqualified one.

Firstly, he or she would need to have the right credentials – this is usually presented in the form of certificates, which many clinics would frame and display on the walls of the treatment room.

Secondly, a qualified chiropractor must have met the requirements of fulfilling a minimum number of years for both studies and clinical work experience before officially entering the practice. The number of years varies across the board, but in the US, undergraduates must meet the requirement of completing four years of studies (postgraduate studies are optional), and one and a half years of clinical work experience.

Last but not least, make sure to take note if your chiropractor begins the treatment by examining your spine (this is called ‘palpation’) after the mandatory consultation session before performing an adjustment. If he or she lays you down and proceeds to do the adjustment right away without completing those steps, don’t hesitate to put a stop to it and voice your concerns. Do not put your health at risk just because you don’t want to “appear rude”.

That being said, there is still a lot more room for recognition for chiropractic, especially here in Singapore, but the relatively young field (only about a 100-years-old!) continues to grow in this part of the world.
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The Chiropractic Clinic
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