The word “chiropractic” comes from the ancient Greek words 'chiro' (hand), and 'praktikos' ('concerned with action') altogether meaning “done by hand.” Chiropractors are specialists in manual adjustment of the vertebrae of the spine and other joints of the body. Adjustment helps increase circulation and restore proper alignment to the spine and joints; which relieves pain and optimizes all body functions. Chiropractors can diagnose certain conditions, order and interpret X-rays, prescribe therapeutic exercise, provide nutritional and lifestyle counselling, and recommend rehabilitation and injury prevention strategies.
2. Does chiropractic care require a referral from an MD?
Chiropractors are legislated as primary care professionals in every province in Canada, therefore no referral is required. However, chiropractors often work closely with medical doctors, many of whom refer to chiropractors when they believe chiropractic treatment will help alleviate a patient’s condition. Similarly, chiropractors frequently refer to medical doctors when appropriate.
3. What is an adjustment?
Chiropractors are legislated as primary care professionals in every province in Canada, therefore no referral is required. However, chiropractors often work closely with medical doctors, many of whom refer to chiropractors when they believe chiropractic treatment will help alleviate a patient’s condition. Similarly, chiropractors frequently refer to medical doctors when appropriate.
3. What is an adjustment?
Well let's start by saying what it's not: adjustments are not just cracking sounds. That familiar cracking sound is known to chiropractors as a cavitation, meaning the release of gas from a joint as the result of movement. Cavitations happen all the time when we bend and stretch our limbs, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're adjusting our own joints. To paraphrase a quote from the Internal Chiropractors Association: adjustment is the correction of misalignment (subluxation), achieved by applying a very quick and precise thrust to part of the spine (vertebra) while using the surrounding structures of the body for leverage. Restoring spinal or joint alignment in this way often results in cracking noises, but they are only a side effect, not the goal.
The goal is to relieve the pressure caused by the bones which are out of alignment. Wherever two bones meet, there is a joint, which involves a series of stretchy and squishy structures (ligaments, cartilage, discs etc) to keep the bones together during movement. Additionally there are tiny threads running all around the area (nerves) to transport the messages to and from the brain which put the joint into motion. When the bones of a joint are a little bit off in their alignment any of these complex structures can get pinched, and the result can be anything from mild stiffness to severe pain and/or malfunction. All nerves come together on the highway to the brain known as the spine. Thus, when the bones of the spine are out of place, a traffic jam occurs which can cause malfunction anywhere in the body and/or pain through the back.
Many patients have reported relief from muscle pain, digestive complaints, sleep disturbances, allergies and headaches following chiropractic adjustment. Relaxation, ease of breath, and increased mobility typically occur as well. To say that chiropractic adjustment can cure disease would be something of an overstatement; but to deny that many ailments and unpleasant symptoms may result from a misaligned spinal column is nothing short of ignorance. When chiropractors adjust the spine, they are removing the obstacles that prevent the body from healing itself; which is the same principle behind all medical treatment.
4. I knew someone who had chiropractic treatment, and he said it was only effective if he kept returning for frequent treatments; otherwise the pain just came back. Can chiropractic treatment be a permanent solution, or is it just a band-aid treatment?
Chiropractic treatment can have wonderful effects, but your chiropractor can only bring you part of the way to a healthy body. The rest is up to you. When you seek the help of a chiropractor it's important to understand that s/he will ease your muscle tension and adjust your joints, but maintaining relaxed muscles and proper alignment is another matter. Weak and imbalanced muscles are often the source of pain, crooked joints or poor posture. Habits and movement patterns can also be to blame (e.g. carrying a bag on one shoulder, or a child on one hip constantly, slouching in on a couch for prolonged periods) for chronic pain in the body. These problems must be addressed to achieve a long-term solution. Patients who make the time to care for their bodies regularly will see much better results than those who do not. Just as one allots time to shower and brush teeth, so should stretching and basic exercise be part of the weekly or even daily routine.
The team at Community Chiropractic Center always provides our patients with follow-up instructions for their chiropractic treatments. We often recommend the application of heat, ice, or appropriate pain relief balms in the case of injury. Additionally our chiropractors may give specific instructions about activities and movement patterns to avoid, as well as providing a page of instructions for specific exercises. Lastly patients are encouraged report back to our chiropractors about how they're feeling, so we can make any necessary adjustments to the treatment regime. Our chiropractors can prescribe the right "medicine", but it's up to patients to take it!
The team at Community Chiropractic Center always provides our patients with follow-up instructions for their chiropractic treatments. We often recommend the application of heat, ice, or appropriate pain relief balms in the case of injury. Additionally our chiropractors may give specific instructions about activities and movement patterns to avoid, as well as providing a page of instructions for specific exercises. Lastly patients are encouraged report back to our chiropractors about how they're feeling, so we can make any necessary adjustments to the treatment regime. Our chiropractors can prescribe the right "medicine", but it's up to patients to take it!
5. I'm interested in seeing a chiropractor, but I'm nervous about getting injured. Is it really safe?
Chiropractic is widely acknowledged as one of the safest, drug-free, non-invasive therapies available for the treatment of headache, and neck and back pain. It has an excellent safety record. Obviously, no health treatment is completely free of potential adverse effects. Even daily activities carry the risk of injury; and you're probably more likely to be injured in a car accident, or tripping while walking than in a chiropractors office. Some minor aching or radiating pain, or swelling my be experienced after adjustment; but this is typically temporary. Always alert your chiropractor to any symptoms that concern you, so that we can advise and/or treat you accordingly. Our chiropractors are only to happy to address any of your concerns before beginning your treatment plan, and you may stop the session if you're ever uncomfortable. For those who decline adjustments, there are alternative techniques (modalities) available at our clinic, such as: massage, tens, activation, traction, decompression, ultrasound, passive motion and stretch therapies; which can bring effective relief to a sore area of the body. Our practice is 19 years old, and our experienced team of chiropractors are confident in their ability to provide safe treatment for any patient.
6. Can I get paralyzed, or have a stroke from a neck adjustment?
Over the course of history there have been instances of chiropractors unintentionally injuring there patients. That is to say that in the extremely rare event that injury is incurred from an adjustment, the chiropractor in question has preformed the adjustment incorrectly, or failed to accurately assess the risk for the patient in question. No person, or profession is immune to mistakes, including physicians and surgeons; but thus far Community Chiropractic Clinic has an excellent track record.
To address the matter of strokes; it is first important to understand that a stroke describes a loss of blood flow to part of the brain. Even if a neck adjustment caused enough pressure to pinch the artery that feeds the brain, it would only do so for a spilt second; and pressure of this nature is caused all the time by daily movements like shoulder checking in your vehicle, or stargazing at night. To say this sort of pressure can cause a stroke isn't quite accurate; if a stroke occurred it would be the result of existing arterial damage that the pressure of daily activity triggered. If stroke is something that frightens you, you'd be wiser to avoid alcohol, smoking and red meat than chiropractic treatments.
Prior to any treatment, our patients' complete a comprehensive questionnaire, to alert us to any conditions or habits (ie.smoking) that may increase risks associated with spinal adjustments so that we can recommend the safest treatment plan for our patients and they in turn can give informed consent. If you prefer to avoid neck adjustments, or have a condition which makes you a risky candidate, we can certainly accommodate you with other modalities.
A Canadian study, published in 2001 in the medical journal Stroke, also concluded that stroke associated with neck adjustment is so rare that it is difficult to calculate an accurate risk ratio. The study was conducted by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and the authors have stated: “The evidence to date indicates that the risk associated with chiropractic manipulation of the neck is both small and inaccurately estimated. The estimated level of risk is smaller than that associated with many commonly used diagnostic tests or prescription drugs.”
The most recent research into the association between neck adjustment and stroke is biomechanical studies to assess what strain, if any, neck adjustment may place on the vertebral arteries. The preliminary findings of this ongoing work indicate that neck adjustment is done well within the normal range of motion and that neck adjustment is “very unlikely to mechanically disrupt the VA [vertebral artery].”
A Canadian study, published in 2001 in the medical journal Stroke, also concluded that stroke associated with neck adjustment is so rare that it is difficult to calculate an accurate risk ratio. The study was conducted by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and the authors have stated: “The evidence to date indicates that the risk associated with chiropractic manipulation of the neck is both small and inaccurately estimated. The estimated level of risk is smaller than that associated with many commonly used diagnostic tests or prescription drugs.”
The most recent research into the association between neck adjustment and stroke is biomechanical studies to assess what strain, if any, neck adjustment may place on the vertebral arteries. The preliminary findings of this ongoing work indicate that neck adjustment is done well within the normal range of motion and that neck adjustment is “very unlikely to mechanically disrupt the VA [vertebral artery].”
