What is Chiropractic?
A Chiropractic is based on the scientific fact that your body is a self-regulating, self-healing organism. These important functions are controlled by the brain, spinal cord, and all the nerves of the body. The skull protects the delicate tissues of the brain. The moving bones of the spine protect the vulnerable communication pathways of the spinal cord and nerve roots. If the nervous system is impaired, it can cause malfunction of the tissue and organs throughout the body. Chiropractic doctors call this the Vertebral Subluxation Complex. Vertebral, meaning the bones of the spine. Subluxation, meaning the less than a total dislocation, and Complex, meaning consisting of more than one part. Chiropractic is the science of locating offending spinal structures, the art of reducing their impact to the nervous system, and a philosophy of natural health care based on your inborn potential to be healthy.
Chiropractic is the third largest primary health care profession after medicine and dentistry, with approximately 6,000 chiropractors practicing in Canada. The term chiropractic is a Greek word, which means treatment by hand. The main focus of chiropractic practice is the relationship between the function of joints, ligaments, muscles and nervous system, primarily of the spine. The chiropractor uses their hands to treat the patient with an adjustment of a vertebral subluxation.
Chiropractic is one of the western worlds three major healing professions. The other two are medicine and osteopathy. Chiropractors specialize in the neuromusculoskeletal system (nerves, muscles, and bone). Chiropractors identify and correct misalignments of the spine (vertebral subluxations). Subluxations adversely affect the nervous system and cause disease in the body. The word chiropractic is from the Greek: chiros meaning hand and practic meaning practice. Many chiropractic techniques involve the use of the hands in restoring the vertebrae to their proper alignment and motion. Chiropractic is a lifestyle that more and more people are choosing.
Chiropractic is a form of diagnosing and treating illnesses that affect the nerves, muscles, bones, and joints of the body. Daniel David Palmer founded chiropractic in 1895. Palmer was a self-taught healer who was studying spinal structure and manipulative techniques when he cured a man of deafness and acute back pain by realigning a displaced vertebra in his back. This and other successes led Palmer to believe that most diseases were a result of abnormal nerve transmission caused by “vertebral subluxation” (that is, misalignment of the spine). Although most contemporary chiropractic practices have introduced other therapies, spinal manipulation remains the essence of chiropractic. Today, chiropractic is the third largest independent health profession in the Western world, and the United States alone is home to 52,000 licensed chiropractors who together see 20 million patients a year.
The primary focus of Chiropractic is the optimum function of your spine and nerve system. Your nerve system is your master control system, made of a network of fibres, similar to an electrical wiring system. Interference in the spine may alter the transmission of messages between your brain and any of your body’s muscles, organs, and tissues, affecting control and coordination of systems and function throughout your body. Chiropractic involves specialised care focusing on your spine and nerve system, which effects how you perceive the world, helping you to adapt to life and it’s challenging physical, chemical and emotional stresses. Return to top A3.
