Chiropractic doctors practice natural, drugless, non-invasive health care and rely on the body's ability to heal itself. Sounds ideal, but just how does it work?

We look at the whole picture
Like other healthcare providers, we follow a standard routine to gain information about the patient. We perform a consultation, review the case history, conduct a physical examination, and may request laboratory analyses and/or x-rays.

Unlike other healthcare providers, however, chiropractic physicians also conduct a careful analysis of the patient's structure and pay particular attention to the spine. We also ask you about your life— Do you eat well? Exercise at all? How do you deal with stress? Do you have children? What do you do for work? And so on.

We seek the origin of the problem
Using this information, a diagnosis is made. Included in the diagnosis is the probable reason for your pain or discomfort. It is important to note that chiropractors seek to find the origin of the illness in order to eliminate it.

If your roof is leaking, do you simply catch the drips in a bucket for years on end, or do you repair the roof to prevent it from leaking? Similarly, if a migraine headache you've had all week is being caused by misaligned vertebra and an irritated nerve, do you continue to take pain killers indefinitely, or do you realign the vertebra to prevent the pain? You get the picture.

Chiropractors have a term for misalignments: subluxations. A vertebral subluxation is a misalignment of the bones that protect the spinal cord. It's a leak in the roof. Or a kink in the wiring of your nervous system.

The severity of the subluxation can vary, and there are a number of potential contributing factors that can be physical, emotional, mental, or chemical. A subluxation can be caused by any number of incidents, from birth trauma to an auto accident to simple repetition or over-use.

Then we help you fix it
When a subluxation occurs, a chiropractor can correct the misaligned bone and allow it to return to its proper position. This procedure is appropriately called an adjustment. Adjustments remove irritation to your nervous system and allow your brain to communicate with the rest of your body. This in turn allows your brain to control and heal your body. 

To keep the wiring fixed and the information flowing, several adjustments over a course of time may be necessary. In addition massage therapy, physical therapy, stretching exercises, or strengthening exercises may also be prescribed. In the chiropractic world, keeping the problem fixed and preventing its reoccurrence is just as important as the initial remedy.

Another important aspect of chiropractic care is this: the patient's improvement is the responsibility of both the doctor and the patient. You will be active in your own care and this is essential in optimizing the care you receive.