About Chiropractic and Holistic Medicine

Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts which concludes that good health is the result of a proper functioning nervous system. In order for the brain to regulate the normal function of organs and tissues, it must have an unabated signal path to the tissues (especially the spine and those nerves extending from the nerve roots. "Chiropractic" comes from the Greek word Chiropractors, meaning "effective treatment by hand." Chiropractic stresses the idea that the cause of many diseases begins with the body's and brain’s inability to adapt to its environment.

Your Chiropractor will look to address diseases and injuries not by the use of drugs and chemicals, but by locating and adjusting a musculoskeletal area of the body which is functioning improperly. The ailments which chiropractor’s address are as varied 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, and x-ray examination as any other doctor. In addition to standard methods, they focus the chiropractic examination to the spine.

It is this examination of the spine to evaluate structure and function, that 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.

Auto accidents, falls, tension, overexertion, stress and countless other factors can result in a displacements or derangements of the spinal column ( subluxation ), causing irritation to spinal nerve roots. These irritations are often what cause malfunctions and pain in the human body. Chiropractic teaches that correcting the displacement will reduce or eliminate this irritation to spinal nerves, allowing your body to operate more efficiently and more comfortably without pain.

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.