The World Health Organization defines health as "Optimum physical, mental, and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." This is the goal of the doctor of chiropractic -- working to eliminate interference with a person's innate potential for wholeness. 

 

Whenever you enter a chiropractic office, the doctor has an opportunity to educate you about the benefits of regular spinal care. The doctor makes sure you understand that the purpose for care is to examine your spine and see if the vertebrae -- the interlocking bones that make up the spinal column -- are correctly aligned. 

 

If not, it could mean you are subluxated, which interferes with your normal nerve flow, since the nerve fibers pass through the openings in the bones. If an opening is restricted, the nerve impulses may be altered as well and will prevent your body from expressing normal function. 

 

The spine is made up of 24 small bones called vertebrae: 7 in the neck, 12 in the mid back, and 5 in the lower back. Most of these vertebrae are shaped somewhat like donuts, with a hole in the middle. The spinal cord fits into and is protected by these ring-shaped bones. Two additional vertebrae at the bottom of the spine, the sacrum and the coccyx, complete what is called the spinal column. 

 

When vertebrae become stuck in an abnormal position, it's called a vertebral subluxation. To be more precise, the subluxation is not merely the presence of a misaligned bone. It also involves the presence of a "neurological insult" to use a technical term. In other words, the misalignment is causing a change in the flow of normal nerve impulses. The nerve "short circuits" and is being disrupted in some way because of the misaligned bones. 

 

The effects of vertebral subluxation on health have been well-documented in the millions of case studies recorded by practicing doctors of chiropractic. It is the chiropractor's job to determine whether there are any subluxations, and introduce the precise amount of force (called an adjustment) to gently -- but firmly -- unlock the vertebrae and allow them to return to their proper alignment. 

 

The practice of chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health. 

 

Dis-ease: The word disease is a combination of dis and ease. Dis is a prefix meaning "apart from." It follows then that dis-ease is nothing more than a lack of comfort, a loss of harmony in the system. Chiropractors believe that instead of treating disease with chemicals and invasive procedures, whenever possible, they should address dis-ease with the reduction or elimination of spinal nerve interference, thereby giving the patient a chance to recover naturally before resorting to drugs and surgery. 

 

In her paper "Physical stresses of childhood that could lead to the need for chiropractic care," presented at the first National Conference on Chiropractic and Pediatrics, McMullen stated, "Any condition that arises to change the normal birth process... frequently results in subluxation at the level of greatest stress. Severe subluxation resulting in nerve damage may be clinically obvious at birth (e.g., Bell's, Erb's, and Klumpke's palsies), however, more frequently the trauma remains subclinical with symptoms arising at a later time. These symptoms include, but are not limited to, irritability, colic, failure-to-thrive syndromes, and those syndromes associated with lowered immune responses. These subluxations should be analyzed and corrected as soon as possible after birth to prevent these associated conditions."