Chiropractic care is for everyone, but every single person is so very different, and as such it is definitely not a one size fits all approach to your health. Your Chiropractor will carefully assess you individually and tailor your care appropriately. By using a range of natural, non-surgical techniques such as spinal adjustments & joint mobilization your Chiropractor will offer you a drug-free approach to your healthcare.
Is it safe?
Chiropractic is very low risk especially when compared with more invasive methods of spinal healthcare. Chiropractors us their skills learned over 5 years of University to assess each person, rule out potential contraindications and will tailor your care accordingly. As everyone is different, where appropriate your Chiropractor will use a range of lower force interventions. But in either case, a very refined skill is used to adjust your spine, not just brute force.
What is a Chiropractic Adjustment?
A Chiropractic adjustment is the skilful application of a very precise force applied in a specific direction designed to change the function of a joint that is either fixated, or just not moving as it should. The aim is to restore a more normal function and motion of the joint to allow the spine to gradually return to a more ideal motion and function and importantly, optimal nerve function.
There are many ways to adjust the spine, and most people will be familiar with the loud popping adjustments they’ve heard about or seen on YouTube performed by the hands of the Chiropractor. However, there are also some lower force techniques that use instruments such as an Activator or the table to to provide the short and accurate thrust to the joint. Some other techniques require a slower and longer application of force or pressure.
However it is performed, restoring your spine's function will help to improve your mobility, endurance and overall well-being.
Does it hurt?
While you can sometimes experience brief discomfort after an adjustment, this is usually short-lived and quite rare, most people experience an almost instant sense of relief and relaxation.
With some Adjustments you may feel or hear a popping sensation, this is not the sound of bone on bone, it is simply the change of pressure within the spinal joints creating a pocket of gas. It's a similar to how the sound is make when you suddenly pull your tongue off the top of your mouth to make a tongue pop. This does not hurt and is a part of the process of changing the motion of that spinal joint. But not all techniques, especially the lower force techniques will create this popping sound, and that doesn’t mean that it has been any less effective.
Is Chiropractic just for back pain?
While a Chiropractor is trained to treat every joint in the body, many will have a focus on the spinal joints because they house the all important nervous system. That being said, even with a focus on the spine, that doesn’t mean that you have to be experiencing pain to come in, in fact pain can often be one of the later symptoms we get after many years of dysfunction. Dysfunction of spinal segments can affect the nerves that come out of the spine that run to all of our body and organs as well as lead to accelerated joint degeneration. Many people choose to see a Chiropractor for prevention, maintenance, and well-being, much like you see a Dentist to help you with maintaining the health of your teeth, even when you brush regularly.
Some people will even experience a relief of conditions other than back pain such as migraines, headaches and many more after seeing a Chiropractor because of the changes to the spine and nerves that run everything. While we see this often, we cannot predict what may happen when you have an optimally functioning spine and nervous system.
How old do you have to be to see a Chiropractor?
There is no age limit on seeing a Chiropractor, in fact Chiropractors can look after people right from birth up until death. The techniques used are modified to suit everyone in every stage of life. In an infant the amount of pressure that is used is about the same amount of pressure you could comfortably put on your eyeball, while in an elderly person we tailor their care to where they are in their life and will again use much lower-force techniques where appropriate. We only get one spine and nervous system, it’s best to look after it over our lifetime.
Will I have to keep going back forever?
There is never any pressure to do anything in life, your Chiropractor can only give you their best and honest recommendations based on the findings from your first visit and experience and best-available research. Whether or not you choose to go forward with your spinal care is always in your hands.
Your Chiropractor will help you to understand the difference between just getting out of pain, verses allowing optimal function to maintain optimal health and well-being.