People are beginning to take more responsibility for their health and are asking better questions. They are far better informed and are demanding more from their doctors than ever before. People have raised the bar: they want more natural and more effective forms of health care for themselves and their loved ones. Today’s health care consumers want to feel healthy and to feel good about themselves in the process. In addition, they are extremely loyal to health care professionals who demonstrate respect, concern, confidence, and compassion, and who deliver consistent, natural results. This trend reflects a growing dissatisfaction with conventional, sickness-based medical services and a dramatic move towards wellness care.

Complementary health care acknowledges the body’s inborn innate intelligence. The term “mind-body connection” is frequently used in the popular press but is seldom defined. In fact, what connects the mind to the body is the nerve system, which medical textbooks refer to as the “master control system”. Breakdown between the brain and body will always be related to a nerve system malfunction. Any interference with the normal function of the nerve system will negatively affect an individual’s health and well-being. Conversely, anything that removes or reduces interference to the nerve system will help to improve an individual’s health and quality of life.Intro to Chiropractic

Alignment first and foremost refers to living in alignment with your core values and life’s purpose. Stress and the impact stress has on allowing for disease to manifest in your body often results from living with actions that are out of alignment with your values. Wellness expert, Dr. Patrick Gentempo teaches that living in contradiction always leads to destruction. It is vital to our health, well-being, and quality of life to create a lifestyle that is in alignment with what’s most important to you in life. If your health is a priority for you and you do not live a lifestyle in alignment with your values, it will lead to health problems over time. If your marriage is of value and you don’t live in alignment with the values of your marriage, it will lead to destruction over time. If you value your family and you do not live in alignment with the responsibilities of your role in your family, it will also lead to destruction. It is a natural law of life that your actions must be consistent or in alignment with your values to experience success in life.

The most vital structure of the body in maintaining proper alignment is the spine. When you look at the skeleton, it is the spine that is the centre or mainframe of the body. Your head sits on it, your arms and legs extend from it. It is also the main protector of your spinal cord, known as the tail of the brain. Therefore, if there is misalignment of the spine, it can and will negatively affect the structure and function of other parts of your body.

The word “subluxation” comes from the Latin words meaning “to dislocate” (luxure) and “somewhat” or “slightly” (sub). So the term “vertebral subluxation” literally means a slight dislocation (misalignment) of the bones in the spine. Another way of understanding the word subluxation is to recognize the word-roots “sub”, meaning “below” (just as sub-marine means below the water), and “lux”, meaning light, which is the physiological expression of life. Life is light or electricity going through the nervous system animating our bodies, keeping us alive. Dr. Arno Burnier teaches that a subluxation can also be thought of as a condition of less light or of less life.

Either way you choose to think of the word subluxation, today’s research has evolved our understanding of what a subluxation is. It includes a complex of neurological, structural, and functional changes that occur when a bone is misaligned. For this reason, chiropractors usually refer to a subluxation of the spine as a Vertebral Subluxation Complex, or VSC. There are several models that doctors use to determine whether a person has one or several VSC. One of the more popular models includes the following five components that contribute to the Vertebral Subluxation Complex:

1) The bone component occurs where the vertebra is either out of position, not moving properly, or is undergoing degeneration. This frequently leads to a narrowing of the spaces between the bones through which the nerves pass, often resulting in compression of the discs and irritation or impingement of the nerve itself. Think of a bicycle chain that has two links rusting together. It will certainly affect the function of the rest of the chain and will likely cause it to wear out much faster. Patients may notice a clicking or cracking sound or feel extra movement in the neck.

2) The neurological component is the disruption of the normal flow of energy along the nerve fibers, causing the messages traveling along the nerves to become distorted. The result is that all of the tissues fed by those nerves receive distorted signals from the brain and, consequently, are not able to function normally. Over time, this can lead to a whole host of conditions, such as peptic ulcers, constipation, and other organ system dysfunction. You could think of this as the organs of your body receiving poor cell phone reception from the brain and then functioning improperly because they can’t accurately understand what the brain is telling them to do. You can imagine the brain asking the organs of your body “can you hear me now?”

3) The muscular component. Since the nerves control the muscles that help hold the vertebrae in place, muscles have to be considered an integral part of the vertebral subluxation complex. In fact, muscles both effect and are affected by the VSC. A subluxation irritates a nerve and the irritated nerve causes a muscle to spasm. The muscle in spasm then pulls the attached vertebrae further out of place, which further irritates the nerve and replays the cycle. In addition, as the muscles around a subluxation become inflamed and spasm, trigger points develop. Most people confuse subluxations with a pulled or strained muscle, because the muscles are the body part in which people experience pain most. People don’t feel their bones misaligned; they feel the pain in their muscles.

4) The soft tissue component. The vertebral subluxation complex (VSC) will also affect the surrounding tendons, ligaments, blood supply, and other tissues as the misaligned vertebrae tug and squeeze the connective tissue with tremendous force. Over time, the soft tissues can become stretched or scarred, leaving the spine with either permanent instability or restriction. This is one of the components of the subluxation that take the longest to heal. That is why you may hear a chiropractor recommending restoration care, which goes beyond just the temporary relief of pain. Research has shown that it can take months, and in some cases years for the soft tissue component of a subluxation to heal correctly.

5) The degeneration component (technically known as pathophysiology). This describes the degeneration and decay that occurs to the spine due to the above four components. Some doctors mistakenly refer to process as “normal” or “aging” because it is so common, but if you were to see degeneration on your spinal x-ray, you might ask yourself why the other vertebrae of your spine are not degenerating, since obviously they are all the same age. Early spinal decay is often a result of poor spinal alignment that is left uncorrected over time. This is an important fact to keep in mind when considering whether to maintain your spinal alignment even when you are asymptomatic. Like heart disease and cancer, spinal degeneration is a silent process that does not announce itself until it has already developed. An x-ray of your spine can be incredibly valuable here: you can differentiate a short-term misalignment from a long-term misalignment and care for it accordingly. Spinal degeneration is a progressive condition that continues to get worse over time if not properly cared for, leading to chronic pain, inflammation arthritis, muscle trigger points, the formation of bone spurs, loss of movement, as well as muscle weakness and spasm.

The human body is an amazingly complex system of bones, joints, muscles, and nerves, designed to work together to accomplish one thing: motion. Remember that motion is life. Everything about the human body is designed with motion in mind: nerve fibers stimulate the muscles to contract, muscles contract to move the bones, bones move around joints, and the nerve system controls it all.

As a matter of fact, research has shown that motion is so critical to our body’s health that a lack of motion has a detrimental effect on everything from digestion to our emotional state, immune function, our ability to concentrate, how well we sleep and event to how long we live! If your lifestyle does not include enough motion, your body cannot function efficiently. First, you will not be as physically healthy and will suffer from a wide variety of physical ailments, ranging from headaches to high blood pressure. Second, you will not be as productive in your life because of reduced energy levels and the lack of ability to mentally focus. Third, because you have less energy, your activity level will tend to drop off even further over time, creating a downward spiral of reduced energy and less activity until you get to a point where even the demands of a sedentary job leave you physically exhausted at the end of the day.

Pillar One: Posture
The ancient Japanese art form of growing Bonsai trees is fascinating. Bonsai trees are essentially normal shrubs that have been consistently stressed in a particular way for a long time to create a posture which would never bee found in nature. Depending on how the tree is stressed while it grows, it may end up looking like a miniature version of a full-sized tree, or it may end up looking like a wild tangle of branches with twists and loops.

To most people, “good posture” simply means sitting and standing up straight. Few of us realize the importance of posture to our health and performance. The human body craves alignment. When we are properly aligned, our bones, not our muscles, support our weight, reducing effort and strain. The big payoff with proper posture is that we feel healthier, have more energy, and move gracefully. So while the word “posture” may conjure up images of book-balancing charm-school girls, it is not just about standing up straight, It’s about being aware of and connected to every part of your self.

Posture ranks right up there at the top of the list when you are talking about good health. It is as important as eating right, exercising, getting proper rest and avoiding potentially harmful substances like alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. Good posture is a way of doing things with more energy, less stress and fatigue. Without good posture, you cannot really be physically fit. Without good posture, you can actually damage your spine every time you exercise.

Ideally, our bones stack up one upon the other: the head directly rests on the top of the spine, which sits directly over the pelvis, which sits directly over the knees and ankles. But if you spend hours every day sitting in a chair, if you hunch forward or balance your weight primarily on one leg, the muscles of your neck and back have to carry the weight of the body rather that it being supported by the spine. The resulting tension and joint pressure can affect you not only physically, but emotionally too—from the predictable shoulder and back pain to headaches, short attention span, and depression.

Poor posture distorts the alignment of bones, chronically tenses muscles, and contributes to stressful conditions such as loss of vital lung capacity, increased fatigue, reduced blood and oxygen to the brain, limited range of motion, stiffness of joints, pain syndromes, reduced mental alertness, and decreased productivity at work. According to the Nobel Laureate Dr. Roger Sperry, “the more mechanically distorted a person is, the less energy is available for thinking, metabolism, and healing”.

The most immediate problem with poor posture is that it creates a lot of chronic muscle tension as the weight of the head and upper body must be supported by the muscles instead of the bones. This effect becomes more pronounced the further your posture deviates from your body’s centre of balance.

To illustrate this idea further, think about carrying a briefcase. If you had to carry a briefcase with your arms outstretched in front of you, it would be completely exhausted. This is because carrying the briefcase far away from your centre of balance places undue stress on your shoulder muscles. If you held the same briefcase down at your side, your muscles would not fatigue as quickly, because the briefcase is closer to your centre of balance and therefore the weight is supported by the bones of the skeleton, rather than the muscles.

In some parts of the world, women can carry big pots full of water from distant water sources back to their homes. They are able to carry these heavy pots a long distance without significant effort because they balance them on the top of their heads, thereby carrying them at their centre of balance and allowing the strength of their skeleton to bear the weight, rather than their muscles.

Correcting bad posture and the physical problems that result can be accomplished in two ways. The first is by eliminating as much “bad” stress from your body as possible. Bad stress includes all of the factors, habits, or stressors that cause your body to deviate from your structural centre. Bad stress can result from a poorly adjusted workstation at work, from not having your seat adjusted correctly in your car, or even from carrying too much weight around in a heavy purse or backpack.

The second is by applying “good” stress on the body in an effort to move your posture back toward your centre of balance. This is accomplished through a series of exercises, stretches, adjustments, and changes to your physical environment, all designed to help correct your posture. Getting your body back to its centre of balance by improving your posture is critically important to improving how you feel.

Pillar Two: MovementImagine waking up one morning with a frozen shoulder where you couldn’t move your upper arm more than a couple of inches in any direction. How much would that impact your ability to do your job? How much would that affect your ability to drive your car or even to dress yourself? How much would that affect your ability to concentrate on anything other than your shoulder? Obviously, if your shoulder did not move correctly, it would have a dramatic impact on your life. Well, the same is true with movement in every part of your body. If things aren’t moving the way they are supposed to move, it will have a negative impact on your ability to function at work, take care of the demands of everyday life, and even your ability to concentrate.

Many patients with severe low back pain report that their pain came on suddenly when they did something as simple as bending down to pet their cat, put on their socks, or pick up the newspaper. Just about everyone would agree that a person’s body should be able to handle such simple movements. So what has happened?

In every one of these cases, the joints of the patient’s body were “all locked up”—they were barely moving at all. When the joints in one area of the body do not move the way they should, other areas of the body are forced to move more in order to compensate. This creates a significant stress on those areas that have to pick up the slack, and it soon leads to pain and inflammation. At the same time, the areas that don’t have normal movement will slowly worsen as the muscles continue to tighten, the joints stick together, and the ligaments and tendons shorten, This leaves the body in a very unstable condition; if left unchecked, this process will continue until the body can hardly move at all. That is how a person comes to suffer flare-ups of pain at the slightest provocation.

Most of us have seen people who have lost most of their normal mobility: they look like bodies have been starched stiff whenever they try to move around. This is especially prevalent among the elderly. Contrary to popular belief, however, this is not an inevitable effect of aging, rather it is the inevitable effect of not maintaining the body’s mobility through exercise, healthy alignment, and body mechanics. There are people in their 60’s, 70’s, or even older who are stronger and more flexible than the average person in their 30’s, simply because they keep themselves exercising. Maintaining mobility is critical in order to live free from pain and disability. Maintaining good mobility is not difficult, but it does not happen on its own. Just as in developing a good posture, it is necessary that you perform specific exercises and stretches to keep your muscles, ligaments, and tendons flexible and healthy. In addition, it is necessary that all of the joints in your body are kept moving correctly as well. Although this can be achieved to a great degree through stretches, most people also find routine chiropractic adjustments to be very beneficial.

Pillar Three: Strength
Strong muscles keep your body upright and allow you to move. Good muscle strength and balance are critical to maintain proper posture and minimize muscle tension. Your muscles function much like the wires that hold up a tall radio or television antenna. If the wires are equally strong on all sides, the antenna will stand up straight. If one of the wires becomes weak or breaks, the antenna will either lean to the side or collapse. The same is true with your body. If the muscles on all sides of your spine are balanced and strong, your body will stand up straight and strong. Unfortunately, most people don’t have balanced and strong muscles – due, once again, to lack of exercise and to misalignments of the spine.

Muscles are very efficient at getting stronger or weaker in response to the demands placed on them. Since most of us sit at a desk, drive a car, and sit on the sofa at home, many of our muscles are not challenged. Consequently, they become weak. At the same time, the muscles that are constantly used throughout the day become strong. This imbalance of muscle strength contributes to poor posture and chronic muscle tension. Left unchecked, muscle imbalances tend to get worse, not better, because of a phenomenon called “reciprocal inhibition”.

Reciprocal inhibition literally means “shutting down the opposite”. For all of the muscles that move the body in the opposite direction, there are opposing muscles that move the body in the opposite direction. In order to keep these muscles from working against one another, when the body contracts one muscle group, it forces the opposing group to relax – it shuts down the opposite muscles. When consistently only one set of muscles is used, the opposing group, from being continuously shut-down, is liable to atrophy.

This phenomenon is especially important to people who work at a desk, because all day long the same muscles in the upper back and chest area of the body are used. This means that all day long the body is essentially shutting down the opposite muscles in the middle back. Over time, the muscles in the middle back become very weak because they are not being worked like the muscles in the front. This contributes to poor posture and chronic muscle spasms and pain.

The easiest way to correct this imbalance is to do specific exercises which will increase the strength of the back muscles, along with manual therapy and chiropractic care. Once the muscles in you middle back are strong, the tightness and poor posture simply disappear.

Pillar Four: Balance
John was a powerlifter who was suffering from shoulder pain. He had x-rays and all of the normal tests in an attempt to figure out what was wrong with his shoulders, but everything turned up normal. He was young and healthy, had incredible strength, great flexibility, hand no specific injury to the shoulders. However, since the shoulder is a very mobile and unstable joint, if all of its muscles are not contracting in the correct order or with the right amount of tension, the result can be increased mechanical stress of the shoulder joint, ultimately resulting in pain.

John’s chiropractor recommended a series of very simple, lightweight exercises for John to do on a daily basis for the purpose of re-establishing normal shoulder coordination. John also received adjustments to improve the alignment and restrictions in his neck. The adjustments decreased the stress on the nerves affecting his shoulder muscles. The results were immediate and profound. Not only did John’s pain completely disappear, but his ability to bench press improved. It turned out that John’s only problem was that his muscles were not coordinating correctly. Although posture, joint mobility and muscle strength are all important, they are not the whole story. We also must have coordinated control over our muscles and joints if we want to enjoy good body mechanics.

Healthy coordination is simply the result of using the body in the manner in which it was designed. Exercises such as walking, swimming, yoga, Pilates, bicycling, martial arts and bodybuilding all help to improve muscle coordination, whereas working at desk, reading, and watching television do the opposite. Without realizing it,most people are in a dramatic state of muscle incoordination. This occurs simply because they sit for many hours every day and do not perform regular exercises that will work to keep all of the muscles in their body properly coordinated. This muscular incoordination contributes to muscle tightness, restricted movement, and joint pain.

Ancient writings from China and Greece dating between 2700 BC and 1500 BC mention spinal manipulation and the maneuvering of the lower extremities to ease low back pain. Hippocrates, the famous Greek physician who lived from 460 BC to 357 BC, published a text detailing the importance of manual manipulation. In one of his writings he declares, “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases”.Evidence of manual manipulation of the body has been found among the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Babylon, Syria, Japan, the Incas, Mayans, and Native Americans. The understanding of the human frame or structure and its relationship to human function or health has been around since ancient times and is best described by the famous Thomas Edison quote: “The doctor of the future will give no medicine ,but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet,and in the cause and prevention of disease”.

The word “chiropractic” comes from the Greek words “cheir” (hand) and “praxis” (action) and literally means “done by hand”. The official beginning of the chiropractic profession is dated to 1895 when Daniel David Palmer discovered the benefits of manually adjusting the spine. Two years later, in 1897, Dr. Palmer founded the Palmer School of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, which continues to train doctors of chiropractic to this day.

Like conventional medicine, chiropractic is based upon scientific principles of (1) diagnosis through testing and observation and (2) providing care based upon the practitioner’s rigorous training and clinical experience. Unlike conventional medicine however, which focuses on attempting to treat disease once it occurs, chiropractic emphasizes improving the health of the individual on order to reduce the risk of pain and illness in the first place. Most people would rather be healthy and avoid illness, if they could – this is one of the main reasons for the surge in popularity of chiropractic care. People are recognizing the benefit of seeking a wellness chiropractor who will help them achieve and maintain optimal health proactively.

Chiropractors recognize that one of the main causes of pain and dis-ease is the misalignment and abnormal motion of the vertebrae in the spinal column called a subluxation. Chiropractic works by adjusting the effects of these subluxations in the spine, thereby relieving pressure and irritation on the nerves, restoring joint mobility, and returning the body back to a sense of normal function.

More and more scientific research is demonstrating the tremendous detrimental effect that subluxations have on the health of the body. In order to be truly healthy, it is vital that your nerve system be functioning free of interference from subluxations. Just like a dentist is the specialist trained to care for your teeth or an optometrist is the specialist trained to care for your eyes, chiropractors are the specialists trained to care for your spine and nervous system, which influences all of the other systems of your body.

According to one study by researchers in Chiropractic Patient Satisfaction and Utilization, people receiving long-term chiropractic care have taken less medication 71% of the time, have had an overall improvement in health 87% of the time, are living a healthier lifestyle 92% of the time, and have a decrease in pain 99% of the time. These are powerful statistics that demonstrate why chiropractic care continues to be embraced by Canadians.

Chiropractic patients enjoy increased flexibility, improved posture, improved or eliminated pain, a more relaxed and calm state, and an enhanced energy level – in short, an improved overall quality of life.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that chiropractic care is one of the most effective ways to help the body heal from back pain, neck pain, headaches, whiplash, sports injuries, and many other types of musculoskeletal problems. It has even been shown to be effective in reducing high blood pressure, decreasing the frequency of childhood ear infections (otitis media), and improving the symptoms of asthma.

Throughout the twentieth century, in spite of many years of prejudice, the profession of chiropractic has gained considerable recognition and scientific support. Research studies have clearly demonstrated the value of chiropractic care in reducing health care costs, improving recovery rates, and increasing patient satisfaction. In fact, a major study conducted in Calgary, the 1993 Magna Report, concluded that chiropractic care would save hundreds of millions of dollars annually in work disability payments and direct health care costs. Several major studies conducted by the U.S. Government, the Rand Corporation, and others have all demonstrated the incredible value of chiropractic care.

The chiropractic approach to health care is holistic, meaning that it addresses your overall health. The holistic approach considers the many lifestyle factors, such as exercise, diet, relaxation, rest, and your environment, that affect your health.For this reason, a wellness lifestyle – being mindful of your diet, exercise, relaxation, and sleeping habits – works hand in hand with chiropractic care. Unfortunately, there are still many people who have never been to a chiropractor and don’t understand what we do.

Spinal adjustments to correct subluxations are what make doctors of chiropractic unique in comparison with any other type of health care professional. The term “adjustment” refers to the specific force chiropractors apply to vertebrae that have abnormal movement patterns or fail to function normally. The objective of the chiropractic adjustment is to reduce the subluxation, which results in an increased range of motion, reduced nerve irritability, reduced muscle spasm, reduced pain and improved function.

The chiropractic adjustment is a quick thrust applied to a vertebra for the purpose of correcting its position, movement or both. Adjustments are often accompanied by an audible release of gas in the spinal joints that sounds like a “crack”. The sound sometimes surprises people the first time they get adjusted, but the sensation is usually relieving. Occasionally, minor discomfort is experienced, especially if the surrounding muscles are in spasm or the person tenses up during the chiropractic procedure. There are times when the audible “cracking” does not occur. This is often due to either significant muscle tightness or the person having a hard time relaxing during their adjustments. Some adjusting techniques are designed to move the spine in a way that does not produce the audible sound at all.

Chiropractic is so much more than simply a means of relieving pain. Ultimately, the goal of receiving adjustments should be to restore the body to its natural state of optimal health. In order to accomplish this, chiropractors can use and recommend a variety of natural healing methods, including adjustments, massage, trigger point therapy, nutrition, exercise rehabilitation, and counseling on lifestyle issue that impact your health. The primary focus is simply to remove those things which interfere with the body’s natural normal healing ability.

The adjustment of the spine is the primary objective of a chiropractor. There are some chiropractors who also adjust the extremities and use other forms of physiological therapies. Increasingly, chiropractors’ offices are becoming full service wellness centers providing a variety of wellness services.

A new trend that chiropractic wellness centers offer is wellness coaching. Some programs offer coaching at the wellness centre, while others offer wellness coaching via telephone, email, or online instant messenger in an effort to make it more convenient. Chiropractic wellness centres may offer seminars in a variety of subjects such as spinal alignment, improved posture and ergonomics, as well as programs on weight management, relaxation, smoking cessation, nutrition, and exercise. Some even offer pre- and post-natal healthy baby programs. The increasing number of chiropractic centres providing extensive wellness programs makes it convenient and affordable for just about anyone to adopt a wellness lifestyle.

Chiropractors are doctors who understand that within each of us is an innate wisdom or healthy energy that will express itself as perfect health and well-being if we allow it to.Therefore, the focus of chiropractic care is to remove any physiological blocks to the proper expression of the body’s innate wisdom. Once these interferences are reduced, improved health is the natural consequence. Who wouldn’t want that?

Chiropractic care is like building a house: certain things have to happen in a particular order in order for everything to stand strong and work correctly. When building a house, if you tried to put up your walls before you had a solid foundation, your walls would be weak and eventually collapse. If you tried to put on your roof before the walls were ready, you would run into the same problem. The same is true for your body. Your body has to go through a particular plan of care in order to repair itself correctly and fully. There are three general phases of chiropractic care: 1) relief care, 2) corrective/restorative care, and 3) wellness care.

Phase One- Relief Care
Some people first go to a chiropractor because they are in pain. In this first phase of care, the main goal is to reduce the symptoms. Sometimes this will require daily visits, or two to three visits per week for an initial series of visits.

Most people are under the assumption that if they don’t feel any pain, then there is nothing wrong with them. Unfortunately, pain is a very poor indicator of health. In fact, pain and other symptoms frequently only appear after a disease or condition has become advanced. Consider a cavity in your tooth. Does it hurt when it first develops or only after it has become serious? When you begin chiropractic care, pain is also the first symptom to disappear, even though much of the underlying condition remains.

Phase Two- Corrective/Restorative Care
Most chiropractors regard the elimination of symptoms as the easiest part of a person’s care. If all that the chiropractor does is to reduce the pain and stop there, the chances of the condition recurring are much greater. In order to prevent a rapid recurrence of symptoms, it is necessary to continue care after the symptoms are gone.
During the correction/restoration, phase of care, you will not have to receive adjustments as often as during the first phase of care; and, depending on your particular circumstances, you may begin doing exercises and stretches either at the center or at home to help accelerate your healing. Do not be discouraged if you have mild flare-ups in your symptoms on occasion. This is normal. Flare-ups are bound to occur during this phase because the body has not yet fully healed. Depending on the severity of your injury or condition and how long you have been suffering from it, this phase of your care may last from a few months to a couple of years.

Phase Three- Wellness Care
Once your body has healed, routine chiropractic checkups can help ensure that your physical problems do not return and can help keep your body in optimal condition. Just like continuing an exercise program in order to sustain the benefits, it is necessary to continue chiropractic care to maintain and continually improve the health of your musculoskeletal system. When you make routine chiropractic care a part of your lifestyle, you avoid many of the aches and pains that so many people suffer, your joints last longer, and you are able to engage in more of the activities you love.

Spinal misalignments are much like diabetes, in that you can’t just treat it once and expect for everything to be better. It requires that you take care of yourself on a regular basis to remain healthy. Just like with diabetes, if you neglect to take care of your spine,over time your health will suffer – usually without any symptoms, until the problems have become severe. This is why I often call spinal misalignments “diabetes of the spine”. It’s not that your spine has diabetes, but rather to drive home the idea that in order to keep your body well, it is critical to maintain your spine’s alignment on a consistent basis.

As successful as chiropractic has become, there are a lot of myths circulating among the general public. Times have definitely changed for the better, but the fact is that many people still do not understand what chiropractors do. Let’s talk about a few of the more common myths about chiropractic.

Myth #1 – Medical Doctors don’t like Doctors of Chiropractic
The American Medical Association’s opposition to chiropractic was at its strongest in the 1940’s under the leadership of Morris Fishbein. Fishbein called chiropractors “rabid dogs” and referred to them as “playful and cute, but killers”. He tried to portray chiropractors as members of an unscientific cult who cared about nothing but taking their patients’ money. Up to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the medical establishment purposely conspired to try to destroy the profession of chiropractic. In fact, a landmark lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Illinois, in the 1980’s found that the AMA was guilty of conspiracy and was ordered to pay restitution to the chiropractic profession.

In the 20 years since, the opinion of most medical doctors has changed: several major studies have shown the superiority of chiropractic in helping people with a host of conditions, and medical doctors developed a better understanding as to what chiropractors actually do. Many people have returned to their medical doctors and told them about the great results they experienced at their chiropractors office. Hospitals across the country now have chiropractors on staff. Chiropractors and medical doctors are now much more comfortable working together in cases where medical care is necessary as an adjunct to chiropractic care.

Myth #2 – Once you start going to a chiropractor, you have to keep going for the rest of your life.
This statement comes up frequently when the topic of chiropractic is discussed. It is only partially true. You only have to continue going to the chiropractor as long as you wish to maintain the health of your neuromusculoskeletal system. Going to a chiropractor is much like going to the dentist, exercising at a gym, or eating a healthy diet: as long as you keep it up, you continue to enjoy the benefits.

Many years ago, dentists convinced everyone that the best time to go the dentist is before your teeth hurt, that routine dental care will help your teeth remain healthy for a long time. The same is true of chiropractic care for your spine. It is important to remember that, just like your teeth, your spine experiences normal wear and tear as you walk, drive, sit, lift, sleep, and bend. Routine chiropractic care can help you feel better, move with more freedom, and stay healthier throughout your lifetime. Although you can enjoy the benefits of chiropractic care even if you receive care for a short time, the real benefits come into play when you make chiropractic care a part of you wellness lifestyle.

Myth #3 – I don’t need to see a chiropractor because I can crack my own neck and backMany chiropractors hear people claim that they can adjust themselves and watch as someone tries to demonstrate by putting their hands on their head and their chin and thrusting to get an audible cracking sound. “See, I can crack my own neck”, they often say, thinking they are saving money every time they do it, Well, although it is true you can make your spine make noise, it is a myth that you can accurately correct your own subluxations by twisting your own neck or back when you feel uncomfortable. Although you may experience temporary relief, until the correct vertebrae are adjusted, you will only make the problem worse.