Chiropractic is a natural form of healthcare that deals with the relationship between the spine and nervous system. Every message to every part of the body travels via the nervous system (brain, spinal cord and spinal nerves).
Your nervous system coordinates all bodily functions, including your breathing, digestion and immune responses. Every cell, tissue and organ is under direct control of the nervous system.
Your nervous system is likened to an information highway that delicately balances the self-regulating and healing mechanisms in your body. Even while you sleep, your body continues to work. In fact, every minute 2.5 million cells will die and then be replaced.
THE SPINE, WHICH IS MADE UP OF 26 VERTEBRAE BONES, THE PELVIS AND SKULL, AND WHICH HOUSES OUR VERY PRECIOUS SPINAL CORD, IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO MANY EVERYDAY STRESSES. THESE STRESSES CAN BE:
– Physical (i.e accident or injury),
– Emotional (i.e grief, anxiety or depression) or
– Chemical (i.e smoking, alcohol, medication or illegal drugs).
THE SPINE HAS TWO MAIN FUNCTIONS:
1. It allows us to bend and move. It enables flexibility to function.
2. It protects the delicate spinal cord and spinal nerves. When the spine is under stress, these flexible movable vertebrae may move to far and thus fixate or what Chiropractors term a ‘Vertebral Subluxation’. This subluxation can put pressure on the sensitive spinal nerves and create dysfunction, not only at the spinal level, but also to where-ever that nerve supplies.
THIS OFTEN CAUSES BACK OR NECK PAIN, BUT ALSO CAN RESULT IN MANY OTHER SYMPTOMS, WHICH TEND TO BE RELIEVED WHEN THE VERTEBRA IS ADJUSTED.
– Low back pain
– Neck pain
– Leg pain
– Sciatica
– Sensations of tingling or numbness in the arms/legs
– Headaches/migraines
– Chest pain due to rib involvement
– Compromised health i.e indigestion, reflux and irritable bowel.
Sometimes we are unaware of the problems, we may feel tired or just feel unable to do the things we used to and here is the problem. When movement is lost, degeneration begins. Compromised joint movement results is the discs ‘wearing out’, and the ageing process is excelerated. A degenerated disc results in a weakened spine which will cause damage for life.
When the spinal joints become stuck or misalign, extra load is then placed on the discs. Over a period of time this extra loading on the disc can cause it to wear-down and become compressed. It can cause the outer fibrous tissue of the disc to weaken and allow the inner gel to leak out or cause the disc to bulge. This can cause direct pressure on the nerves causing more inflammation and may result in a disc herniation or prolapse.
Chiropractors locate, analyse and correct vertebral subluxations or areas of stress. At Te Awamutu Family Chiropractic we educate patients that while we focus on the acute and very painful aspect of their back and neck pain, our major priority is to address their overall health and wellbeing.
Chiropractic stipulates that the body has the amazing, innate ability to heal itself. How is it that in the same office, some get the flu and others don’t? If your immune system is functioning as it should, then it is very possible you are more likely to efficiently combat this disease. If not, then your immune system is likely already under stress, thus is more susceptible to disease. Anyone who has studied basic biology would know the immune system is under direct control of the nervous system…this is what Chiropractic addresses everyday.
Because the spine is constantly under stress with daily life, we recommend regular wellness checks. This way we act as the fence at the top of the hill (as opposed to the ambulance at the bottom) by preventing episodes of acute ‘back pain’ and enabling the body to function optimally through having a spine that is free from nerve interference.
Not many health professions provide this natural preventative healthcare, and only Chiropractors analyse, locate and correct vertebral subluxation’s.
