Can I have a vertebral subluxation without any symptoms?
You bet. Just like getting your teeth checked by the dentist to see if you have a cavity, Chiropractors check spines for subluxation. Chiropractors would prefer more people take a proactive attitude to their spine and have it checked periodically for subluxation regardless of how they “feel”. Acute subluxations do occur, but as a rule, by the time you start getting symptoms of ill health, the cause has been there a long time. Get checked regularly.
If I don’t get my subluxations reduced, what happens?
The body is self – regulating and self – healing. It will adapt the best it can to the malposition and poor movement. Usually the process of degeneration is accelerated, kind of like a car’s tire when the wheel is out of alignment. It’s my belief that everyone’s subluxation affects them differently, but it’s always negative.
The damaging effects of subluxations show up sooner or later. When I hear things like “Gee I just don’t understand it… Bob was just 46 years old… no history of heart problems.. .he exercised regularly… .it’s such a shame”… I wonder if Bob’s nerve system was working well. That’s how I think uncorrected subluxations show up. I think uncorrected subluxations show up in the person who just bends over to tie their shoelace and they are immobilized with back pain and pain down their leg because a disc has herniated due to chronic wear and tear of poor mechanics. Did that subluxation just happen? No chance. That instability has been there for a while and the body’s done its best to compensate, but eventually subluxations show up.
Every child falls numerous times before it can walk well. I think it’s reasonable to assume subluxations are caused by some falls and trips. Uncorrected, the body’s adaptation process may produce a “curvy” spine. These curvy spines are sometimes called “scoliosis” if severe enough. I think that “as the twig is bent, so grows the tree”. The alignment of kids’ joints determines how they grow. **OK, so I want to have my spine work better. How long do I have to come to visit the Chiropractor? That depends on your goals, but I’m comfortable giving general guidelines here even though each case differs because everybody’s spine, chronicity of subluxation, postural habits, willingness to do spinal exercises, and nutrition status is different.
In general, patients are seen every other day for a 2 – 4 week period called Initial Intensive Care. As their spine shows improvement in objective signs of subluxation correction, they graduate to more time in-between checkups to analyze the process of stabilization. Generally speaking, I’ll see the typical adult with no complications 2 – 4 times during the next phase (“rehabilitation phase”) wherein the patient is instructed in passive spinal stretches to re-establish global curve normalcy. Finally, the patient sees a lot less of me and does more for their spines themselves. Patients are instructed in indicated strengthening manouevres to rehabilitate the spine to aid in the stabilization of their fully compensated spine. Patients are seen every 4 – 5 weeks in this phase to assess stabilization and I “Mom” them about their spinal manoeuvres.
How often should I get checked for subluxation?
This is a tough one. It seems even Chiropractors have different opinions. In our office, for people that have had an initial intensive care to get stability, with loads of postural advice, passive stretching, active exercises, and knowledge of what factors are risky for them, most patients are stable with checkups at 4-5 weeks apart. Many of our long – term patients are every 6 – 8 weeks between checkups. Some can only hold their adjustment 2 – 3 weeks. It really depends on individual circumstances. Many people have jobs that are significantly “one-sided” which clearly limits their spine’s ability to maintain a compensatory pattern well.
Things are different for kids. In our office, we check kids at milestones… as soon as possible after birth(Mom too!), when they start to hold their head up, when they start to sit, when they start to crawl, when they start to walk, and so on. Generally speaking, kids hold their adjustments better than adults. Kids are usually checked every 2 – 3 months in our clinic for subluxation.
Clearly patients are always welcome to have their spines checked when they feel that they suspect that they might have created a subluxation with a fall, or trauma from sports etc. Many people get checked before significant events for which they want to be optimal. Evander Holyfield, the heavy weight boxer, once drove 2 hours to get adjusted before a fight. Like him, many athletes want to make sure their nerve system is working optimally before an event.
Do kids really need their spines checked?
Absolutely Yes! No ifs ands or buts. Chiropractic care is not a treatment for symptoms. It’s a system of analysis for spinal function and alignment to detect nerve interference. This can start early without any symptoms. 70% of the time when I check a newborn, there’s no subluxation. But in that 30%, I am very happy we checked the spine. That new nervous system is going to direct how the body grows and develops. I don’t want any interference with that system for any of my young kids. The adjustments are really easy and gentle on kids. Subluxations to a child’s developing nervous system have the ability to cause a devastatingly negative effect on that child’s development. Don’t wait! If there’s nothing wrong with your kids spine, believe me, I’ll tell you. If there is, you owe it to them to get it corrected now.
Do spinal adjustments hurt? Usually not. Adjustments feel good. I love getting adjusted. Being a Chiropractor is great because all day I hear “That feels better already, Doc!” or “Wow, that’s just what I needed!” I personally hand it to dentists. They’ve got it tough in my opinion.
The only time I have it tough is when a patient presents to me all bent over in back pain, or their head is off to one side and all movement causes sharp pain. Even then I’m happy because chances are really good I can help them like no other type of doctor can. It should be no surprise that adjusting those tender and inflamed joints will initially be uncomfortable. Although the forces I use to adjust the subluxation will temporarily cause a little more inflammation, I have the chance to reduce the reason for the pain and as long as I’m quick, it usually goes much better than the patient fears. In my experience, it’s just best to work with patients’ tolerance and try not to “change the world in a day”.
To take care of that initial extra swelling in the joint after an adjustment to an inflamed joint, we recommend icing the area or specific anti-inflammatory homeopathic remedies that we carry.
So this clinic does Structural, Biochemical, and Emotional care. How do I know what I need?
That’s kinda my job. Many people come to me with wicked symptoms and health conditions that indicate they are not well. Others are just part of the “walking wounded” feeling lousy but nothing shows up on any tests. They’ve heard that Chiropractic can work wonders and they assume that their spine is way subluxated. There are lots of times that after I examine a patients spine that I tell them that they are pretty good structurally and that their spine is probably not the biggest factor in their poor expression of their health potential. That’s why we look at the big picture and assess biochemistry and emotional factors too.
So can I switch Chiropractors and come to you?
We’d really prefer you didn’t. Every Chiropractor practices differently. If you truly have difficulties that you can’t resolve with your present Chiropractor or their staff and you’d like to start care at our office, we’ll support you in that, but it would be best to try to work things out with your present Chiropractor. After all, if it were me, I’d like the chance to “adjust a little easier” or “give you more exercises”. If you just want to go through our Doc’s Detox program, a Homeopathic Consultation or N.E.T. Consultation, that’s cool. You’ll still be their Chiropractic Patient.
If I see a Chiropractor, doesn’t that mean that I have to go for the rest of my life?
Absolutely not. I depends on your goals. I see scads of people that have a symptom and they just want their symptom to go away without drugs and in a few adjustments, their pain is gone. That’s all they wanted and we part friends until they need me again to help them with their symptom. Not everybody changes their oil in their car frequently. Not everybody flosses their teeth. Not everybody cares what kind of food they regularly eat. These folks are crisis driven/reactive/’don’t fix it if it ain’t broke people’. They’re nice folks for the most part, they just don’t act proactively. I stopped long ago thinking everybody had to be a health nut like me. I’m proactive. My teeth aren’t falling out yet, but I floss regularly. I’ve got too much to do to just have “adequate health”, but I’ve stopped trying to convince people that they should think like me all the time.
I urge people to consider treating Chiropractic like most people view Dentistry. I think people should routinely get their spines checked for life. There I said it. This does not mean that your spine is somehow made dependent on seeing a Chiropractor by getting adjusted. My feeling is that people get that impression because once someone has been exposed to the feeling of having their subluxations reduced, they want to keep that feeling. Checkups are necessary because we all have tendencies which create nerve interference again. Chiropractors work to find a stability of compensation in the spine such that the subluxation does not cause health impairment. That’s why we recommend you get checked for the rest of your life. I want optimal nerve function each day.
Can spines automatically go back in place?
Yes. There are verified instances of blind people regaining their eyesight after a fall, of individuals able to walk again after their wheelchair was thrown, and amnesiacs who remember their past after receiving a trauma. These are “accidental adjustments” where the body used the force to adjust the subluxation interfering with the nerve function. A visit to the chiropractor is relying on a system of analysis to provide specific vectors of force to affect the spine’s function. I think many types of therapies, including massage therapy can reduce muscle stress, sometimes allowing the spine to realign itself as a self-regulating system should.
What’s that joint “popping” anyway, Doc?
This is the coolest thing around. One might think it’s joints grinding on one another, but it’s actually Nitrogen gas escaping the fluid that’s sucked in the joint space when a Chiropractor makes the joints separate causing a vacuum between the joint surfaces. That fluid that rushes between the joint surfaces lubricates the joint and when the joint surfaces realign, ligaments and muscles are re-educated. Adhesions are broken up. Nerve stress is reduced. The list goes on and on. The Chiropractic adjustment is one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard about – let alone have the privilege to know how to do for someone.
Can I adjust myself?
I don’t think people who indiscriminately “pop” their neck or back routinely are adjusting anything. This is what I would term a “manipulation”. It may be a fine line, but specificity is everything. Certainly they are moving joints causing a cavitation, but many times people who feel they need to “crack” their own neck really have problems in their upper back and they are not even addressing the cause of their neck tightness. These manouevres are pretty safe, but anything done without knowledge is risky. Even though these manipulations feel good, people can cause instability because they do it too often. Too much of anything is rarely good – even joint popping.
You refer to a lot of Registered Massage Therapists. Isn’t Massage the same as Chiropractic
Nope. Chiropractic deals with the spinal column, nervous system, meninges and body structure and alignment/movement. Massage care is similar because it’s a hands-on approach. Massage therapists do not adjust the spine. It is a system of normalizing muscle tone, helping lymph system drainage, promoting relaxation and releasing muscular adhesions. Chiropractic and Massage care work well together. They work differently, and on different systems, but both systems have a helpful effect on each other. It’s a very good relationship.