Chiropractic Healthcare

What makes chiropractic so successful? It’s simplicity.

From humble beginnings…The “founding father” of chiropractic, Dr. D.D. Palmer, developed a theory that spinal misalignment caused nerve pressure or irritation which in turn caused various ailments. He realized the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and body function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the condition of the body, and the restoration of health.

For over a century, this simple theory has stood the test of time. It continues to heal people, prevent unwanted injury and illness without the use of drugs or surgery.

The Chiropractic Philosophy

Rather than focusing on treating disease, chiropractic healthcare’s emphasis is on creating a foundation for health within the patient. This focus is based on the philosophy that the body has an inherent recuperative power to heal itself as long as there is no stress or interference to the systems of the body. If you cut yourself, the cut will heal without conscious thought. Similarly a mother does not have to concentrate on the baby in her womb as it grows from two cells into a trillion celled, multi-differentiated living organism.

The Nervous System

The nervous system consists of the brain, spinal cord and nerves. This is the control centre of the body. All activities of the body are orchestrated by the brain. Nerve impulses travel from the brain through the spinal cord and nerves to each and every one of the trillion cells that make up the organs, muscles, and skin of the body. When you fall asleep, fight colds, breathe, digest your food, contract your muscles, see, taste, smell, sweat, or go the the toilet, it is all the work of the precise nerve impulses sent by the nervous system to the body.

What Causes Nerve Interference?

The spinal column is made up of 24 movable bones called vertebrae and the skull sits on the first vertebrae or C1 and weighs 8 -12 lbs. Muscles and ligaments attach to the spine and skull to stabilize the movable joints and allow for proper motion. Accidents, injuries, repetititve stress and tension throughout life can compromise these ligaments and muscles causing the spine and the skull to misalign. This may decrease the passageway of the nerves causing pressure and interference to the nerve impulses that communicate with the body. Sometimes this interference is felt as pain but other times the only result is improper body function. For instance interference to the nerves going to the heart can cause irregular heartbeats, or to your stomach can cause acid reflux. Interfence to your nerves can even compromise your ability to fight colds.

Doctors of chiropractic are trained to locate the areas of spinal misalignment and nerve interference and correct it. There are many types of techniques chiropractors utilize to correct the spine.