You may not immediately feel better
(like when you take pain pills)
but you will immediately start healing.
Is chiropractic effective?
Chiropractic helps to remove postural imbalances, fixated joints and structural misalignments that can accumulate in our bodies over time. Chiropractic works by restoring and optimizing your own inborn ability to be healthy. For your body to remain healthy, your nervous system, cardiovascular system (blood flow), digestive system, muscular skeletal system, lymphatic system, your endocrine system, urinary system and even your integumental system (skin) must function well.
For your nervous system to function well it must be free of interference. By restoring spinal function with Chiropractic adjustments, nerve interference by misaligned, stiff vertebrae is removed, thus allowing optimal nervous system function and improved health.
For your blood to flow and your lymph to drain freely, tense muscles need to be loosened. Chiropractors don't just move bones, but stretch and release tight muscles. To learn more about our different techniques,click here.
Our chiropractors also help you with nutrition and may suggest supplements to help support your other systems.
If all your systems are functioning well, you can heal well. This is why when our patients see us, they do not just feel better, but ARE better.
How does chiropractic care work?
Chiropractic is an overall way of looking at the human body. It's based on the idea that the body is self-sustaining and self-healing. The body is in essence completely controlled by the brain through its connection via the spinal cord and the vast networks of nerves that make up the body. When this system is not functioning at its peak, the overall performance of the human body is lacking.
Nerves allow the brain and body to communicate with one another. Nerves affect all the other systems of the body: the digestive system, reproductive system, integument system (skin), urinary system, musculoskeletal system, circulatory system... can you see now how chiropractic helps more than just neck and back pain. This is why when you get an adjustment, side effects may include improved fertility, less skin problems, better digestion, etc.
In the chiropractic world, drugs and medicine are not utilized as a form of treating a patient. While supplementation and nutrition are almost always a part of the bigger picture, drugs and prescriptions can be viewed as band-aids to treat symptoms rather than going to the source and treating the real problem.
While it's often perceived that the chiropractor is solely here to treat back and neck pain, this is simply a small piece of what the profession really is capable of handling. Chiropractors not only treat soft and hard tissue problems such as sciatica and joint pain, but are largely called on to deal with more significant issues. Some of these issues include fibromyalgia, allergies, insomnia, headaches and many more.
What is a chiropractic adjustment?
Adjustments, or manipulation as they're sometimes referred to is the minor movement of vertebrae in the spine. The objective of this movement is to realign vertebrae that are not moving well (restricting nerve impulses, blood flow or lymphatic drainage), or vertebrae have moved out of place for a number of reasons ranging from normal daily activity to trauma such as a car accident.
An adjustment is often a pressure applied by the chiropractor utilizing the hands or an instrument to move a vertebrae either back into place or to improve the mobility of the spine. If you don't use it you loose it. Getting stiff is not your age, it is from not moving well over time.
A spinal manipulation (adjustment) happens with a quick movement and is often without discomfort. You may hear a noise that sounds like you're cracking your knuckles referred to as joint cavitation. It is the release of gases such as oxygen and nitrogen from the joint.
ARE CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS SAFE?
Chiropractic adjustments are super safe, because the movement the manipulation causes to the spine is not outside the normal ranges of motion for the vertebrae. Plus, it is super quick, so any pressure to sensitive structures (like the blood vessels) are very brief. It is more dangerous to have your hair washed at the hairdressers (which involves holding your head back for an extended period, so if you have a blood vessel vulnerability, it may express in this situation).
Dr. Karin Drummond has literally adjusted over 10,000 patients over 20 years, and has not had any serious adverse events. It is possible to become more sore after an adjustment, but again, this is very rare, and often the soreness is like the soreness one experiences when starting to work out. Yes, you are sore, but it is a good sore, a sign that things are improving for the better. I can't say it enough:
You may not immediately feel better
(like when you take pain pills)
but you will immediately start healing.
What are the side effects of chiropractic?
Nerves allow the brain and body to communicate with one another. Nerves affect all the other systems of the body: the digestive system, reproductive system, integument system (skin), urinary system, musculoskeletal system, circulatory system... can you see now how chiropractic helps more than just neck and back pain. This is why when you get an adjustment, side effects may include improved fertility, less skin problems, better digestion, etc.
With that said, you may experience some soreness after your adjustment, just like you can get sore after a work out. It is a good kind of sore. It is a soreness from your body adjusting to better movement and better functioning nerves that are now better able to communicate pain to the brain. This pain is more localized and less sharp.
If you experience sharper pain, pain that radiates further, or any numbness, tingling or weakness, this is NOT a good sign. Tell your chiropractor immediately so they can determine your next course of action. You may just need to take an anti-inflammatory or use some ice, but you also may need to be referred out for imaging. Do not ignore sharp pain, radiating pain or any amount of numbness, tingling or weakness.
WHY SHOULD I SEE A CHIROPRACTOR?
Seeing a chiropractor is not only for back pain and neck pain. Chiropractic care is an excellent way to keep your body at its peak performance through nutrition, home stretching and exercising, adjustments and overall wellness. In addition, chiropractic care has been known to help a wide range of conditions from fibromyalgia to diabetes. To learn more about conditions we can help with, CLICK HERE.
What results can I expect from treatment?
Chiropractic is based on the idea of removing imbalances both structural and postural in an effort to allow our body to heal itself. For this to happen the network of nerves and signals from your brain, down your spinal cord, to the network of nerves must be allowed to flow freely without any interruption. Chiropractors have the ability and skill to remove these interruptions or misalignments and allow the body to perform as it was meant to.
If you've ever been in a car accident, played a sport, fell down or just bumped into something too hard, it's very possible that you are not functioning at your best due to a misalignment. While there are many potential mechanical or structural causes for misalignment, there are also chemical reasons. For instance, if you smoke or drink excessively or even just have a poor diet, the chemical issues in your body can eventually cause underlying conditions and disease to appear. Or maybe your body is deficient in a nutrient from a poor diet or lack of an ability to absorb nutrients from your food.
Allowing a chiropractor to get you back on track both chemically and structurally will bring your body back to the proper state it should be in to perform at its peak.
Are you feeling older than your years? It is NOT your age, but your ailment. Chiropractors loosen up the body and teach you how to feel young and healthy again!
Many feel relief after their first adjustment, but some feel no change and a few may even feel more pain. If you feel more pain, it may be from your nerves being under less pressure, so can communicate the pain better to your brain. How you can tell you are better (and not actually worse) is if the pain is more focused to the area of injury. We call this centralization of pain. If your pain becomes more diffuse, or if you start experiencing more numbness or tingling, this is a sign that you are actually worsening, so tell your chiropractor as soon as possible, so they can help you determine what you need to do moving forward.
What is Subluxation?
The term "Subluxation" is used by chiropractors to explain when a vertebrae becomes misaligned, moves out of its normal position or the vertebrae are not moving well. A subluxation can cause an impairment in information flow between the brain and body, blood flow and lymphatic drainage. Can you see how this can lead to dis-ease?
Subluxations can be caused by a wide range of issues ranging from a minor slip or bump to a car accident or any sudden trauma. When a vertebrae is subluxated, it begins to put pressure on nerves, blood vessels, lymph vessels and everything around it. This pressure comes with a price. The subluxation interrupts the natural pathways needed to be able to heal completely and properly.
Here are some videos that tell you more about how we treat here at Drummond Chiropractic.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT OUR DIFFERENT TREATMENT OPTIONS
CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE DIFFERENT CONDITIONS WE TREAT
Do you have a question for us?
Feel free to call us: 812-336-2423