Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a useful discipline that professionals employ to help treat a variety of musculoskeletal and other nervous system disorders. With techniques of manual therapy such as spinal manipulation, chiropractors work within a specialist branch of health care trusted by many patients. It is always recommended as a supplement to mainstream treatment. This section introduces you to chiropractic, lets you know the advantages and disadvantages, and provides valuable advice for those considering the treatment.
What is chiropractic used to treat?
Joint, ligament and muscle conditions have all been diagnosed and treated by chiropractors. Particular areas of interest to chiropractors include pain in the back, neck or leg, sciatica, sports injuries, pain provoked by menstruation, and migraines or headaches. The discipline also claims to be able to prevent such conditions in certain cases.
Taking spinal irregularities and misalignments as their starting point, chiropractors seek to restore health to the body by correcting these back problems, most often through techniques of manual realignment via spinal manipulation. They believe that such corrections improve the body”s efficiency and thus allow for better healing in numerous areas. Chiropractic should be used in conjunction with other treatments as advised by your doctor.
Holistic approach
The discipline takes a holistic approach to medicine, meaning that symptoms are not the only factors directly addressed: medical history, lifestyle and other individual aspects are taken into account when prescribing treatment. Holistic treatments usually seek to promote balance and equilibrium in the body and mind, hopefully leaving the patient more rounded and ready to face their medical issues. As such, holistic methods should not be confused with alternatives for conventional medical care but as complementary to traditional treatment.
Chiropractic history and development
The chiropractic discipline was created in its earliest form by D. D. Palmer in the 1890s, with further developments added by his son B. J. Palmer. In this form as a young discipline, chiropractic was somewhat essentialist in that the techniques were thought to help patients in a vacuum, without the requirement of additional care and medicine. This view is now widely disputed by many within the field, who take on board the value of mainstream medicine while maintaining the integrity of chiropractic methods.
Straights and Mixers
So-called “straights” within the field are those chiropractors who uphold the early notions of traditional chiropractic. One of the most important is the idea of “innate intelligence,” which postulates that the body has its own inborn “intelligence” with power over its general health and healing properties. The “straight” chiropractic viewpoint is that vertebral subluxation (misaligned spinal arrangement and its symptoms) interferes with the nervous system, and careful spinal adjustment restores innate intelligence so that disease can be fought and healed.
“Mixers” are still focused on chiropractic techniques of spinal adjustment, but also accept the need for other disciplines and assistance, such as massage, exercise, nutritional supplements, and regular medicine.
More information
All the information you need on chiropractic, including its pros and cons, pricing and availability, can be found here in this one-stop source for your medical facts.