Chiropractic

Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal and the nervous systems.  Chiropractic care is used most often to treat neuromusculoskeletal complaints, including but not limited to back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, and headaches.  Because of various reflexes that occur within the body, some organ dysfunction can also be treated through chiropractic techniques, including but not limited to menstrual disorders, stomach and gallbladder pain, breathing disorders and intestinal colic.

What differentiates chiropractic from other medical sciences is the spinal manipulation.  The purpose of manipulation is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile – or restricted in their movement – as a result of a tissue injury. Tissue injury can be caused by a single traumatic event, such as improper lifting of a heavy object, or through repetitive stresses, such as sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture for an extended period of time. In either case, injured tissues undergo physical and chemical changes that can cause inflammation, pain, and diminished function for the sufferer. Manipulation, or adjustment of the affected joint and tissues, restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, and allowing tissues to heal.

Chiropractic adjustments rarely cause discomfort. However, patients may sometimes experience mild soreness or aching following treatment (as with some forms of exercise) that usually resolves within 12 to 48 hours.

Your initial assessment may include orthopedic and neurologic examination, laboratory testing, diagnostic imaging and other diagnostic interventions to determine the most appropriate care.

If chiropractic care is not appropriate or warrants co-management, we will refer you to other health care practitioners to help as part of your health management team.