Think You Need a Chiropractor?
Let’s talk about what chiropractic treatment is maybe a little about what it’s not. When some folks think of chiropractic, they think of going to a chiropractor for of back pain, neck pain, or sometimes even headaches. Chiropractors treat many other problems, such as heart burn, reflux, indigestion, thyroid issues, and constipation. If you’re curious about what it would be like to go to a chiropractor and some of the procedures that might used for certain problems, feel free to browse some of the information here on Chiropractic & Nutrition Network.
First Things First – Collecting Information
The first thing needed when you come to the chiropractic office, is to take a detailed history. This is very important because the doctor to needs to know what your health issues have been up to this point. Here’s one extreme example, if you fell out of a tree when you were six years old on your head then that’s going to be significant for the chiropractor to know about. Your doctor would also want to know how well your body is functioning overall. So in addition to you telling the doctor about your back pain he may want to know about your digestive health, your heart, any heart issues, your cholesterol and maybe a few other things. Generally speaking, a total picture of your health is required to start.
Next the chiropractor will perform a full exam. Most offices will do a full physical, orthopedic, neurological, and a chiropractic exam. This is very important because the doctor needs to gather all the information possible in order to treat you in the most effective manner. After checking your blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature they would move on to checking your reflexes, biceps, triceps, the Patellar and the Achilles reflexes. Another check that is commonly done is a pin wheel check, it’s done across your hands to make sure all the nerves are active.
Standard orthopedic tests will help us find out if there is any damage to the spine or spinal nerves. Most will also palpate, which is, feel of all the different muscles to find out if there’s any spasms in those areas. That will help to show what’s going on in that area as well. All this is usually followed up with x-rays. These are very, very important because they help the doctor find out what kind of shape the spine is in. Is there a lot of arthritis in the spine? Are there some degenerative problems going on that the doctor needs to know about? Is the spine twisted or contorted in some strange fashion that would lead to problems? Or is there something even more serious, some tumor or cancer that needs to be identified before any treatment is done.
Choosing the Best Treatment
Following the examination, all the information gathered will be analyzed and a plan of action will be set in to motion. After reviewing the x-rays and all the results of the examination you will come back to the office and sit down to discuss your case in detail. You will be shown your x-rays as well. You can see for yourself what the problem is and then the doctor can explain to you how to go about taking care of your particular problem. Each problem is different and each treatment program is different depending upon what is found in the examination.
After we have gone through all of the different findings from your examination it’s time to begin the treatment. The main treatment of a chiropractor is what we call the adjustment. The adjustments actually feel very pleasant. Unless there is an area of severe pain, which can be a little unpleasant, but usually the doctor will not put the patient through any kind of unnecessary pain that the patient cannot handle. The adjustments usually consist of relieving pressure from the spine. When the spinal bones get contorted or out of place, they can generally put pressure on the spinal nerves which can go on to cause muscle spasms, pain and swelling in that area. So the job of a chiropractor is to gently move the vertebra off that nerve. When that happens often times the patient will hear a clicking noise and often times that clicking noise is accompanied by a great relief.
Once the pressure is off the nerve the body can start to heal. The swelling can start to go down. The pain will start to diminish and the person will start to return to health. Sometimes this procedure needs to be repeated several times in order to get the nerve completely in their proper place.
Physical Therapy and Follow Up Healing
One of the other tools that the chiropractor normally uses is physical therapy. This is of a great benefit to the patient because it provides a lot of relief from the pain they are experiencing. We use things like ice, heat and electrical muscle stimulation which help to stimulate the muscles and reduce the spasms in that area. It also helps to bring blood flow to that area which helps to move all the damage tissue out and bring a more rapid healing response. The chiropractor often times uses a roller table also. A roller table goes up and down the spine providing the patient with a lot of relief and actually feels very pleasant as well.
Many patients are often very, very surprised, and pleasantly so that chiropractic can treat such a wide variety of things besides just back pain. And the reason for that is, chiropractic actually works with your nervous system to improve it, taking the excess pressure off restores its normal function. And your nervous system is what controls every single cell, organ and tissue of your body. It often improves the function of the stomach so that digestion is better, and helps the heart is work more efficiently. The function of the whole body can be greatly improved. Patients get a great deal of relief and often are very surprised at the results.