|
What is Chiropractic Medicine?
Chiropractic is a health profession that focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems and the effects of these disorders on your general health. Chiropractic care is used most often to treat neuromusculoskeletal complaints, including back pain, neck pain, pain in the arm and leg joints, and headaches. Doctors of Chiropractic (D.C.) are often referred as chiropractors or chiropractic physicians. They practice a drug-free, hands-on approach to health care that includes an examination, diagnosis and treatment. Chiropractors have broad diagnostic skills and are also trained to recommend therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, as well as to provide nutritional, dietary and lifestyle counseling. The most common therapeutic procedure performed by chiropractic doctors is known as "spinal manipulation" or "chiropractic adjustment". The purpose of manipulation is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile or restricted in movement as a result of a tissue injury. A tissue injury can be caused by a single traumatic event (improper lifting of a heavy object or accident) or by repetitive stresses (sitting in an awkward position with poor posture over a long period of time). In any case, the injured tissue undergoes physical & chemical changes that cause inflammation, pain & diminished function for the sufferer. Manipulation or adjustment of the affected joint and tissues restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, allowing tissues to heal. Chiropractic adjustment rarely causes discomfort. If there is discomfort, it may be mild soreness or achiness (as with some exercise programs) which will resolve itself in 12 to 48 hours. For additional information, read about the Sutanto Technique on this website.
|