Download 1. What is Chiropractic? Chiropractic is a healing discipline firmly

1. What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is a healing discipline firmly grounded in science. Although its main
focus is the relationship between the skeleton (particularly the spine) and the
nervous system that runs through it, chiropractic is concerned with the care of the
entire body. Chiropractors use various diagnostic methods, including x-rays, to
discover the state of your health, paying particular attention to your spine and
joint structure. Spinal manipulation and other manual adjustments are their
primary methods of helping your body to heal itself.
2. What Education does a Chiropractor Have?
Chiropractors are doctors in every sense of the word. They have at least 3 years
of undergraduate university education, followed by 4 years of chiropractic school.
The number of hours of study and classes is equal to that of medical and dental
students, and indeed chiropractors are taught more than these other professions
in the areas of clinical diagnosis, neuroscience and orthopaedics. After
graduating from chiropractic school, doctors of chiropractic may then go on to
specialize in one of several post-doctoral programs offered at universities
throughout the country.
3. What do Chiropractors Treat?
Chiropractors treat all manners of complaints dealing with muscles, joints, bones
and nerves. Particularly, chiropractors are interested in the interrelationship
between these structures. Your chiropractor will assess the way you move, and
determine if the various parts required for proper motion, balance and stability
are working properly.
4. How is a Chiropractor different from other Doctors?
Chiropractors are more similar to medical doctors than many people realize.
Both are primary health care practitioners, meaning that you do not need a
referral to see a chiropractor (just as you don’t need a referral to see your
general physician). Both chiropractors and medical doctors are highly trained to
diagnose and treat various health care conditions.
The biggest difference between chiropractors and medical doctors is their
perspective on health care. Chiropractors strive to help patients live more
© 2004 Dr. Dale Macdonald – 229 – 10601 Southport Rd. S.W. Calgary Tel: 403-689-9889
www.elitesportperformance.com
healthfully without the use of drugs or surgery. Chiropractors place a premium
on prevention, and attempt to not only help patients recover from their current
injuries, but to prevent future injuries. Of course, some conditions are outside of
a chiropractor’s scope of practice. When this occurs, the high level of training
received by chiropractors allows them to recognize and promptly refer a patient
to the appropriate place.
5. The Spine and Nervous System
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Your spine is composed of 24 different bones called “vertebrae”. There
are 7 vertebrae in your neck, 12 in your middle back and 5 in your lower
back. A good way to remember these numbers is to think of meal times:
7am is breakfast, 12 pm is lunch, and 5pm is dinner (hopefully)!
•
You have 206 bones in your body in total, and over 800 muscles!
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You have 27 bones in each of your hands and each of your feet!
•
When you are inside your mothers’ womb, you are curled up in the shape
of a “C”. This initial curve is called a “primary curve”, since it’s the one you
have first. After you are born and you begin to lift your head, you develop
your first “secondary curve”, located in your neck. Later, as you start to
stand and walk, you develop another secondary curve, this one in your
lower back. So, by the time you are in school, you have 4 curves in your
spine, 2 primary and 2 secondary. There are two different types of
muscle:
• Smooth Muscle – found in your arteries and some organs,
including your digestive tract. These muscles are not under
your conscious control. For example, you can swallow a
drink of water even if you are upside down. You may get
some water in your nose, but once inside your throat,
smooth muscle acts without your control to push the water
down into your stomach – regardless of what position you’re
in!
•
Skeletal Muscle – this is the type of muscle that we are most
familiar with. Examples of skeletal muscle include your
biceps, quadriceps (“quads”) or calf muscles. The main
purpose of these muscles is to move you by moving your
joints.
6. Headaches
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Science has identified the existence of over 300 different types of
headaches. A large number of these are attributable to irritation of
muscles and / or joints in the back of the head.
© 2004 Dr. Dale Macdonald – 229 – 10601 Southport Rd. S.W. Calgary Tel: 403-689-9889
www.elitesportperformance.com
•
These muscles and joints can refer pain (by sending signals “the wrong
way down a one way street”) to regions of the head and face, including the
side and top of the head, and even behind the eyes.
•
These types of headaches are called “cervicogenic headaches”, and are
far more common than most people realize. In fact, many headaches
commonly termed “migraine” by the patient are actually “cervicogenic” in
nature and may often be alleviated by chiropractic care.
7. What is an Adjustment?
•
Chiropractic adjustment is a manual procedure which utilizes the highlyrefined skills developed during four intensive years of chiropractic
education. The chiropractor uses his / her hands to manipulate the joints
of the body, particularly the spine, in order to restore or enhance spinal
functioning.
•
An adjustment is a highly controlled procedure which rarely causes
discomfort. The chiropractor adapts the procedure to meet the specific
needs of each patient. Patients often note positive changes in their
symptoms immediately following treatment.
•
Recent studies in Canadian universities demonstrate that chiropractic
manipulation of the spinal joints causes a number of beneficial effects:
•
Spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) to the low back can improve
cutaneous blood flow in the thigh and leg.
•
SMT to a spinal joint can reduce the resting muscle tension of
those muscles that are supplied by the corresponding spinal
nerve root.
•
Joint manipulation causes a quick, dynamic stretch to be
applied to both the joint capsule and tendons that cross the
joint. This quick, dynamic stretch acts on the various nerve
endings present in the area, including pain receptors, balance
and position sensors, to decrease the intensity of signal being
sent from these nerve endings. Less pain, better position sense
and improved range of motion result.
•
The “gapping” effect that occurs within a joint during an
adjustment initiates a pumping effect on the synovial fluid
contained within the joint, effectively improving the nutritional
supply to the joint.
© 2004 Dr. Dale Macdonald – 229 – 10601 Southport Rd. S.W. Calgary Tel: 403-689-9889
www.elitesportperformance.com
8. The Safety of Chiropractic
•
Chiropractic treatment is a drug-free, non-invasive approach to common
musculoskeletal conditions such as neck and back pain. As such, it is a
very low risk therapy. In extremely rare situations there is a possibility that
adjustments of the upper neck may contribute to a stroke in patients with
prior underlying health conditions. This risk is estimated at 1 in every 2
million adjustments.
•
Comparing the risk of adverse reactions to neck manipulations with other
common treatments of neck pain reveals the safety of chiropractic. The
use of NSAIDS (Advil, Aspirin, Tylenol) for chronic neck pain results in a
1in 50 chance of developing a gastric ulcer. 1 in 1500 individuals on long
term NSAID therapy will develop more serious side effects, including
death. Each year in Canada, between 200 and 400 people die from the
use of conventional NSAIDS.
•
Recent studies at the University of Calgary demonstrate that a chiropractic
neck adjustment involves neck rotation equal to 50% of the patient’s
normal range of motion. Further data shows that a typical chiropractic
neck adjustment exerts 1/9 the force that would be required to cause
damage to any of the soft tissues or vasculature of the neck.
9. Proper Backpack Use
•
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Function takes precedent over fashion!
By the end of the teen years, more than 50 % of youth experience at least
one low back pain episode. Research indicates that this may be due in
part to improper use of backpacks.
•
Carrying a backpack alters the mobility of spinal bones, leading to
restricted movement – a risk factor for back pain.
10. Backpack Buying Tips
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Choose a backpack that is proportionate to body size.
•
The top of the backpack should not extend higher than the top of the
shoulder, and the bottom should not fall below the top of the hipbone.
•
Select a backpack made of lightweight material 9vinyl or canvas) instead
of leather).
•
The shoulder straps should be at least two inches wide, adjustable and
padded. Ensure that they do not cut into or fit too snugly around the arms
© 2004 Dr. Dale Macdonald – 229 – 10601 Southport Rd. S.W. Calgary Tel: 403-689-9889
www.elitesportperformance.com
and arm pits. Poorly designed shoulder straps can dig into the muscles
and put strain on the nerves and blood supply.
•
A hip strap or waist belt helps to effectively redistribute as much as 50 – 7% of the weight off the shoulders and spine onto the pelvis, equalizing the
strain on the bones, joints and muscles.
•
Choose a backpack that has several individual pockets instead of one
large compartment, this will help to distribute the weight evenly and keep
contents from shifting.
11. Interesting Facts
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Many people believe that cracking ones knuckles is bad and will cause
arthritis. While it may not be an endearing habit, it will not lead to eventual
joint damage. It will however, make the joint look larger over time. When
you crack your own knuckles, you put a stretch into the ligaments that
stabilize the joint. Done repeatedly (many people crack their knuckles
multiple times per day), your body will deposit more bone at the sites of
ligament attachment to anchor them onto the bone. This causes
enlargement of the bone surrounding the joint, but does not affect the
integrity of the joint itself.
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Just as people go to the dentist on occasion to ensure that their teeth stay
healthy, many people choose to see a chiropractor from time to time to
ensure that their muscles, joints and nerves are working properly.
© 2004 Dr. Dale Macdonald – 229 – 10601 Southport Rd. S.W. Calgary Tel: 403-689-9889
www.elitesportperformance.com