What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is based on the fact that virtually all functions of the human body are controlled and maintained by the nervous system. This includes the brain, spinal cord and all the nerves throughout your body. Our spinal cord is encased in our vertebral column (backbone), with nerve branches exiting through holes between each adjacent vertebra. These go on to control nearly every function of our body. Chiropractic looks to identify and correct any problems within the spine that may be having a negative effect on these nerves, and thus the areas of the body they supply.
At Maintain Health we primarily employ the Gonstead Technique of chiropractic to our assessment and treatment. This is a scientific based technique that strives to accurately diagnose the true underlying cause of your problem, thus allowing it to be corrected in as little time as possible. A more thorough description of this technique for those interested can be found here: https://www.gonstead.com.au/what-chiropractic.
How does it work?
The main focus of the chiropractor is to identify and correct dysfunctional areas of the spine that may be having an adverse affect on a persons health and well-being, due mainly to its influence on the nervous system. Most chiropractors choose to label these dysfunctional spinal segments as 'vertebral subluxations'; however, an easier way to visualise this for someone not familiar with this terminology would be to call it a 'fixation' (i.e. a vertebra that isn't moving properly). These fixations may have a negative effect on the area of the spine in question, a different area of the spine, or an area of the body associated with the nerves that exit the spine at that level. This can manifest as back/neck pain, headaches, sciatica, indigestion etc.
A chiropractor may use a number of methods to determine where these problem areas are including observation, static/motion palpation, thermal instrumentation and X-ray analysis. If a dysfunctional segment is found to be present, the chiropractor will usually use their hands to perform an 'adjustment'; that being, moving the segment in a way that will restore more normal function to the area. This is usually accompanied by a popping of the joint (the crack), which is simply gas escaping from the joint as it is stretched. When these dysfunctional segments are corrected, the body is able to better self regulate, thus helping to prevent disease.
What kinds of problems do we treat?
It is a common misconception that chiropractors only treat back pain. Indeed, this is by far the most common problem we are faced with, however chiropractors are highly trained in the management of musculoskeletal and neurological conditions of the entire body. Some of the more common conditions we treat include:
Is it safe?
Yes! Unfortunately chiropractic has come under fire from various branches of medicine since it's inception some 130 years ago, and attacks continue at periodic intervals to this day. This seems to be particularly prevalent within Australia of late, whereas countries like the United States, Canada and much of Europe have moved past this to create a more integrative healthcare system for their citizens. If we actually choose to look at what science and the literature (research) tells us, whilst ignoring the scaremongering, we find that much of the negative perceptions of chiropractic are simply not true. Chiropractors are trained as primary healthcare practitioners. This means that they are educated in all systems of the human body, thus allowing them to recognise when they're perhaps not the best person for your problem. We readily refer patients to other health practitioners when it's deemed necessary.
Unfortunately, any form of therapy or medical intervention carries with it some risk; whether that be treatment from a chiropractor or taking a panadol, it's impossible to completely eliminate the chance of an adverse reaction. By being as thorough as possible with our history and examination, we can greatly reduce the likelihood of an adverse reaction to treatment.
What about strokes caused by adjusting the neck?
This seems to be the main focus of chiropractic's detractors, that being that adjusting the neck can damage an artery and thus cause a stroke. If we look at some of the scientific evidence for this we find it is simply not true;
(Cassidy et al. Risk of vertebrobasilar stroke and chiropractic care: results of a population-based case-control and case-crossover study; Spine 2008)
(Symons et al. Internal forces sustained by the vertebral artery during spinal manipulative therpy; J.Man.Phys 2002)
(Church et al. Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Chiropractic Care and Cervical Artery Dissection: No Evidence for Causation; Cureus 2016)
So what about the stories? Many people who are unfortunate enough to have a stroke after a vertebral artery dissection suffer severe head and neck pain. A large number of these people will consult their chiropractor for these types of symptoms. If a chiropractor does not diagnose this condition and adjusts a persons neck for their pain, they may be seen as being responsible for causing the already existing stroke. This is likely to explain why you're just as likely to have a stroke after going to your GP, that being that you went there for the symptoms of a stroke that you're already having. It should be emphasized that this is an extremely rare occurrence in and of itself.
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding your treatment from any of our practitioners, please feel free to raise these as we will be more than happy to discuss any queries you have in greater detail with you.
Copyright © 2018 Maintain Health - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy