Chiropractic was founded on September 18, 1895, when a gentleman by the name of Daniel David Palmer (commonly referred to as D.D. Palmer) adjusted a single cervical vertebra of a deaf janitor in Davenport, Iowa. The story goes that the janitor’s deafness was cured after that adjustment. Whether or not that has any truth can be discussed in another post. Today we are going to discuss what is chiropractic and why I think you should go see one.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines chiropractic as, “A system of integrative medicine based on the diagnosis and manipulative treatment of misalignments of the joints, especially those of the spinal column, which are held to cause other disorders by affecting the nerves, muscles, and organs.” In a more simplified form, chiropractic addresses joint dysfunction and aims to remove those dysfunctions through manipulations/adjustments. These dysfunctional joints can cause pain, discomfort, decreased range of motion, tightness, swelling of surrounding tissues and more.
What the Heck is an Adjustment?
An Adjustment is a chiropractor’s primary form of treatment for patients. There are many ways to perform an adjustment due to the large variety of techniques that exist, but they all serve a similar means to treat joint dysfunction. I will touch on the most used technique known as “diversified”.
The doctor will place their hands on the area of the body they want to adjust and after some verbal ques to the patient regarding their breathing, the doctor will begin to softly push down into the spot on the body they are contacting. Once they reach the pressure they need, there will be a FAST yet soft thrust that is placed into the contact. Sometimes a CRACK (cavitation) will be heard after the thrust and this is completely normal and often feels incredibly good. This thrust is to create movement at the joint the doctor is trying to treat. There are more affects and intentions with the adjustment but the one mentioned is the core concept.
Last Thoughts
Chiropractic has been around for a very long time and throughout that time it has become quite sophisticated with its treatments and approaches to musculoskeletal system disorders. If you are experiencing any kind of back pain, knee/ankle/shoulder/elbow/wrist pain, headaches, mobility problems, muscle pains, or you simply want to have better health and prevent injury, seek out chiropractic care.
Art of Function Chiropractic offers detailed treatments to address these problems and patient education is at the heart of what we aim to provide.
Article Written by:
Dr. Cavan O’Brien DC
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716373/
https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/210354#:~:text=Most%20sources%20date%20the%20birth,Building%20in%20downtown%20Davenport%2C%20Iowa.
One Response
Very well written article. This is a perfect synopsis to the field, and definitely clears up a few questions I had.