CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT
If you’re like many Americans, then you probably deal with some form of back, joint, and muscle pain. It’s no surprise that you’re in pain – most Americans sit at their desks for long periods of time throughout the week, eat poorly, and don’t get the exercise they need. Chronic inflammation and improper alignment is often the root cause of ongoing pain, and at Ozark Holistic Center, we’re committed to helping our patients find relief through chiropractic treatment.
Our chiropractic physicians are certified in applied kinesiology and can utilize a variety of treatments to help you feel your best. You can read more about this form of alternative medicine below, and we invite you to book an appointment when you’ve finished reading. We look forward to speaking with you soon.
Chiropractic Care Is Used In Treatment Plans For:
- Leg pain (sciatica)
- Neck pain
- Repetitive motion strains
- Chronic headaches
- Car accident injuries
- Athletic injuries
What Is Chiropractic Medicine?
At its most basic, chiropractic care is the practice of using a hands-on approach to bring the body into proper alignment. While we won’t get too deep into the specifics, the main idea is that your body’s structure and functionality are deeply intertwined. If your body’s structure is off, then you can expect your mobility to be limited and your day-to-day quality of life to be compromised.
For example, if your spine is out of alignment or fixated due to poor posture or tight muscles, then you might find that you spend more time on the couch due to pain, take more medications to relieve the pain, and generally don’t feel as well as you could. A simple adjustment could be all you need to maintain proper alignment, though you may need to schedule more frequent treatments. Regardless of how extensive your personalized treatment plan is, many of our patients walk out of the clinic feeling significantly better than they did coming in.
While chiropractic treatment predominantly focuses on adjustments or spinal manipulation, there are other therapies and treatments that can be applied in addition to spinal manipulation. Among other treatments, myofascial release, gentle exercises, weight loss, and addressing underlying metabolic issues are some of the most common ways to help a patient treat ongoing pain. Your individual treatment will vary according to your specific needs.
If you’re suffering from ongoing pain, then get in touch with a member of Ozark Holistic Center to learn more about holistic medicine and chiropractic care. We combine the latest in chiropractic care with other forms of alternative medicine to provide our patients with all-encompassing treatment plans for a variety of conditions. Whether your pain is due to a serious injury or chronic inflammation, our certified chiropractors will work to help you feel your best. When applicable, we will also help you address other aspects of your lifestyle that could be contributing to your pain. An undiagnosed gluten intolerance, for instance, compromised Dr. Gabriel Ariciu’s health for years before he found relief.
Stop treating the symptoms of your ailment and begin treating the underlying causes – schedule your appointment with Ozark Holistic Center today.
Chiropractic Treatment
Spinal manipulation has been around for millennia, but its use was not widespread. However, in 1895, Dr. D.D. Palmer discovered what he noted as a bump or hard spot on someone’s back. He push on the spot with the corresponding “pop” or “crack” that is often heard and the patient got better. They were suffering from diminished hearing to the point of being nearly deaf. After the adjustment the patient could hear again and chiropractic was born. It is one of the most commonly use alternative medicine treatments. Herbal medicine remains the most dominant medicine in the world. Allopathic or Western medicine is the next most common.
Chiropractic was born from the adjustment or the manipulation done on the spine. Though it is not the only thing chiropractic physicians do, it is what we are well known for doing. Many theories have been presented on what is going on when the spine is need of an adjustment. Originally, the thought was either a bone was slightly out of place putting pressure on nerves or according to Dr. Andrew Still there was an issue with the arteries. Palmer called the issue a subluxation meaning “less than a dislocation”. Chiropractors have held onto that term for many years. Either way the treatment was relatively the same, the adjustment. Adjustments or spinal manipulation, whatever you want to call it is a fast, low magnitude force put on the area of subluxation. The corresponding pop or crack is from the joint cavitating or the pressure within the joint space releasing air. It doesn’t always have to occur but it often does. Nonetheless, the chiropractic adjustment is powerful!
So what is really going on with a subluxation and how does a chiropractic adjustment help?
Not sure I can do a better job breaking it down than that. But science has come along way since the late 1800s. That doesn’t mean we know for sure, but we got a good idea. What happens is the vertebrae become stuck within their normal range of motion. They do not dislocate, but rather a muscular imbalance occurs in a sense. Some muscles are pulling too tight and others are not pulling enough. What results is a fixated joint. The joint no longer freely moves as well and it can cause pain there or else where due to its lack of movement. Other issues can occur as well but this is not meant to be an exhaustive list of all the issues that can and do occur.
An important fact to understand is our body communicates with itself via the nervous system. There are receptors through out your body that send signals to the brain to give it an update of what is going on. We have specialized receptors called mechanoreceptors that inform the brain on movement. The greatest numbers of these receptors are in the spine, feet, and the muscles. Particularly, the most in the upper spine and the feet. They inform our brain on where our body is in space to help us have proper balance and movement. They are very important. In fact, proper movement and movement in general is crucial to life! The brain craves stimulation and the more sedentary we become the less stimulation the brain receives. Just an interesting tidbit.
Back to the subluxation. When we have a joint that is fixated, the receptors in that joint stop responding properly and we get aberrant information sent to the brain. This decreases all over all sense of space or proprioception and can lead to improper motor function. So what does an adjustment do? The speed is an important aspect. The speed of the adjustment causes a fast stretch in the muscles around the spine increasing the signals to the brain at the fixated joint. This essentially resets the joint and normalizes its motion! It’s pretty powerful stuff.
So why do we get subluxations? Well it could be from lack of motion or improper movement. Our ancestors moved a lot more. A look at African peoples is really fascinating. They have low occurrence of chronic disease and very little back pain. They move constantly throughout the day, often carrying heavy things and bending over for extended periods of time. They have great body mechanics. Outside of that Palmer had a good clue. He attributed subluxations to the three T’s, thoughts, trauma, and toxins. This is still true today. Emotion and stress even spiritual issues can cause a lot of issues. Our physiology responds with tight muscles and common for many people, headaches. Trauma is quite obvious whether it is from an accident or over a period of time due to improper movement. Toxins are a huge group that have a musculoskeletal effect. If we ingest something that is not good for us it can cause muscles to lock up and tighten. Caffeine is a great example as it is often wiring our brain and tightening our muscles. But many things can do this including our food.
This is why we use applied kinesiology along with adjustments so we can figure out and determine what is going on. We hope this helps!
