What Is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is a school of treatment that aims to influence overall health by manipulating the neuromusculoskeletal system. Chiropractors believe that as a lynchpin of the body, the spine is critical to overall wellbeing. They argue that spinal dysfunction interferes with the nervous system, which can lead to a multitude of health problems. Many chiropractors call these spinal nerve interferences subluxations.
The chiropractor applies force along the spine, in a process known as spinal adjustment. Chiropractic treatment is used to alleviate pain, inflammation, and reduced mobility, and to treat headaches, migraines, lower-back pain, ear infections, whiplash, neck pain, bed-wetting, muscle weakness, and chronic fatigue. It is non-invasive and does not require the use of accompanying medication.
Modern chiropractic began in 1895, when its founder D.D. Palmer claimed to restored the hearing of a man who had been deaf for 17 years by adjusting his misaligned vertebrae. Chiropractic patients now include everyone from healthy babies to patients with chronic injuries. In 1994, the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research recommended chiropractic manipulation as a safe initial form of treatment for acute lower back pain in adults, and urged most patients to try treatments like chiropractic before opting for more aggressive measures, such as drugs and surgery.
