Chiropractic Therapy

What is it?

You've probably heard of chiropractic if you've ever suffered back pain or a sports injury.

Chiropractic treatment involves manual (hands-on) manipulation of the skeleton and its supporting structures. While the treatment is often confused with osteopathy, there are critical differences between the two modalities. However, they both believe in the power of skilled manipulation of joints.

Chiropractors work with the relationship between the spine and the nervous system. The treatment concept is to re-establish normal spinal mobility, with the knock-on effect of alleviating any irritation to the spinal nerve. 

Practitioners often treat patients to alleviate musculoskeletal and nervous system issues alongside any associated pain. And while the main subject of chiropractic care is the spine, the practitioner will also work on surrounding joints, muscles and nerves.

How does it work?

We can trace manual healing methods back to ancient times,

but the chiropractic profession didn't materialise until the late 19th century. Today, chiropractors make up the third-largest group of primary healthcare professionals in the US, following physicians and dentists. 

Can chiropractic help?

The natural, non-surgical and drugless nature of chiropractic care makes it an appealing first choice for many, and numerous Doctors of chiropractic receive referrals from healthcare professionals.

Daniel David Palmer founded the chiropractic profession over a century ago, and the ideas of Daniel and his son, B.J Palmer, remain the basis of the profession we see today. Chiropractic is an interesting mix of science and pseudoscience, based on the theory that misaligned spinal bones create nerve interference that, in turn, causes disease. Practitioners of chiropractic say that correcting these spinal misalignments, aka "subluxations", can restore and maintain health.

What happens during a treatment?

Many people tense up at the thought of having their spinal joints "cracked" or manipulated, and perhaps this is partly why chiropractors offer an initial consultation to discuss any queries. This meeting is purely to review questions about how the practitioner works and what to expect.

Once treatment begins, there are three stages to the session,

  1. Patient history and symptoms.

  2. The examination.

  3. And any x-rays or further assistance to help with diagnosis.

As a chiropractic patient, you may be asked to sit or lie on a couch, loosely clothed, and the practitioner will use their hands or a small tool to feel, palpate, stretch and adjust the spinal area. Spinal adjustments are usually small, rapid movements which help realign the vertebrae and increase the range of motion. You might also be offered physical therapy during your treatment.

Most chiropractors will begin treatment during the first visit and recommend a treatment plan which could be any number of sessions depending on the needs of the individual.

The treatment plan will include short-term and long-term goals, like pain relief, restoring joint function, improved mobility and enhanced quality of life.

Is this for you?

Chiropractic therapy is focused on your spine, your posture, and how your overall body moves, e.g. is it aligned, and if the right muscles moving / supporting at the right moment.

If you have already tried physiotherapy in all its shapes and formats (more scientifically supported) and you’re still struggling with posture, pain, misalignment and other complaints related to your musculoskeletal system, Chiropractic therapy could be a next step.

Chiropractic therapy addresses structural (think postural) and functional (think movement) aspects of chronic pain and can be helpful when chronic stiffness, compression from injury or surgery, held postures that inhibit fluid motion, or repetitive motion are keeping your pain levels up.

Much like other physical therapies Chiropractic therapy focuses on the physical aspect of the tension, which according to this therapy is often held in the spine, and connects to the nervous system.

If you have a feeling that you’re stuck, cannot move well and this causes for other areas in your body to degrade, it could be interesting to further discuss with a Chiropractic therapist how they think your body could improve.

One note: Chiropractic therapy can be considered as intense as well as a bit invasive, as the adjustments at time can be quite strong.

What is my experience?

Chiropractic therapy has helped me a lot. I had no idea that I was ‘skewed’ and that this could have a lot to do with my pain complaints.

After my first session I was blown away what a couple of ‘cracks’ could do to the strength in my body. I remember getting quite emotional when I felt the difference in my legs before and after the treatment. That for me was enough to push through. In this case it meant to take X-ray’s that would allow the Chiropractor to get a better idea of my posture, as well as what needed to be fixed. The practice where I was had state of the art technology that showed clearly where your spine was off center and exactly how much you were leaning to one side or in other ways not exactly straight.

Again, this doesn’t mean these issues were at the root of my problems, but they were definitely not making it better. I had a bulging disc at the top of my neck and furthermore I was quite left leaning with my upper body. As well, my posture was slumped, with my shoulders too much to the front. The photos after 6 weeks bi-weekly treatment were remarkable. Both posture and head angle changed a lot, and the mobility in my neck had improved a lot. I kept going as there was still some room to improve and finished another 6 weeks.

Did it help for my pain?

Not truly, no. In the sense that Chiropractic therapy did help for pain that I had and wasn’t aware of, but didn’t for the pain I was struggling with.

It did however bring me in ‘top condition’ from yet another specialists point of view, and that was worth the investment.

Because by going through the whole treatment plan I did much approve on all the above described conditions, As well, it strengthened my position with regards to my chronic pain, as I would not longer have to deal with common assumptions I’ve experienced before such as: “oh you have pain, but look at your posture”, or: “yes, your head is slightly tilted, no wonder your muscles on the opposite side are playing up.”

Well-meaning people who see something and then think that they came to the core of my physical issues can be incredibly draining. It comes from a good place, but as you can imagine, these quick, general opinions, assumptions and theories are not helping me in my healing process.

By approaching my pain from the other way, ruling all other conditions out, I feel like I gain control on the narrative of my chronic pain, which strengthens my mental health when I’m not taken serious.

How can I try this?

If you’re interested in this treatment, and you have no one in your network that can recommend you someone, Google is your best friend. With the above key-words and desired area you should get quite a lot of result. Please check out my article on How to book a treatment for the first time here.

Disclaimer:

This blog pro­vides gen­eral infor­ma­tion and dis­cus­sion about health, treatments and related sub­jects. I try to shine light on a vast and often ambiguous arena by sharing my own experiences. The words and other con­tent pro­vided in this blog, as well as any linked mate­ri­als, are not intended and should not be con­strued as med­ical advice. I’m not a medical expert. If the reader or any other per­son has a med­ical con­cern, he or she should con­sult with an appropriately-licensed physi­cian or other health care worker.