What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts which is based
upon the understanding that good health depends, in part,
upon a normally functioning nervous system (especially the
spine, and the nerves extending from the spine to all parts
of the body). "Chiropractic" comes from the Greek
word Chiropraktikos, meaning "effective treatment by
hand." Chiropractic stresses the idea that the cause
of many disease processes begins with the body's inability
to adapt to its environment.
It looks to address these diseases
not by the use of drugs and chemicals, but by locating and
adjusting a musculoskeletal area of the body which is functioning
improperly.
The conditions which doctors of chiropractic address are
as varied and as vast as the nervous system itself. All chiropractors
use a standard procedure of examination to diagnose a patient's
condition and arrive at a course of treatment. Doctors of
chiropractic use the same time-honored methods of consultation,
case history, physical examination, laboratory analysis and
x-ray examination as any other doctor. In addition, they provide
a careful chiropractic structural examination, paying particular
attention to the spine.
The examination of the spine to evaluate structure and function
is what makes chiropractic different from other health care
procedures. Your spinal column is a series of movable bones
which begin at the base of your skull and end in the center
of your hips. Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves extend down
the spine from the brain and exit through a series of openings.
The nerves leave the spine and form a complicated network
which influences every living tissue in your body.
Accidents, falls, stress, tension, overexertion, and countless
other factors can result in a displacements or derangements
of the spinal column, causing irritation to spinal nerve roots.
These irritations are often what cause malfunctions in the
human body. Chiropractic teaches that reducing or eliminating
this irritation to spinal nerves can cause your body to operate
more efficiently and more comfortably.
Chiropractic also places an emphasis on nutritional and exercise
programs, wellness and lifestyle modifications for promoting
physical and mental health. While chiropractors make no use
of drugs or surgery, Doctors of chiropractic do refer patients
for medical care when those interventions are indicated. In
fact, chiropractors, medical doctors, physical therapists
and other health care professionals now work as partners in
occupational health, sports medicine, and a wide variety of
other rehabilitation practices.
For more information please visit:
ACC
Chiropractic Paradigm
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