Our principle treatment modality is the Chiropractic adjustment.  Chiropractic is a healing system that is over 100 years old. It is based on the uninterrupted function of the spinal nerves.  For a century, especially in the Mid-West, Chiropractic was the preferred healing regimen for thousands of people.  The profession endured years of oppression and harassment by people who thought it a superstition or a con. The fact that the profession has endured and grown into one of the standard Pain relief modalities of modern health care is a testimony to its effectiveness.  But there is so much more one can do with the chiropractic adjustment.

The essential power of Chiropractic lies in its recognition of the Subluxation.  The subluxation was initially defined as an obstruction of the Flow of Life Force through the spinal nerves of the body. Although the technology was not available to exactly describe what the Flow of Life Force means (but recently with all the research in Acupuncture a model for the electro-magnetic energy the Chinese term “QI” has offered a  credible hypothesis), the clinical success of Chiropractic treatment gives credence to the theory.

Originally, most clinical evidence was anecdotal and pure observation.  By the 1980s research funds became available to academic researchers for the study of the Chiropractic Healing Effect.  Quite a few PhDs and DC’s have devoted their full energies upon the question.  

Many beneficial effects have been documented:  Nerve signals leaving a compressed spinal nerve with as little as 7mm of Hg pressure were reduced by 50% in intensity and garbled with noisy discharges that do not resemble the balanced output of a nerve signal. Indeed, they appear to be “static”, that is, random fluctuations in the signal that do not represent information transfer.  

When a vertebra is “adjusted”, that is, moved from its dysfunctional position to its appropriate position with respect to the other vertebrae, there is a cascade of neurologic signals extending several vertebrae above and below that which was moved. IN this cascade of nerve signals, all of these multiple bursts of neurological information flow to and from the brain itself.  This was a very important observation because it gives an explanation of how the movement of a vertebra can promote a response from the bio-computer that is the brain.

The greatest and most visible result of Chiropractic treatment is the alleviation of back pain and muscle spasm.  When the vertebra is restored to its proper position, there is an accompanying flow of information from the adjusted vertebra to the brain carrying information about the dysfunction that has been occurring and followed by a flow of signal from the brain informing the body how to correct the problem. 

It is instant and accounts for the sudden, some say “miraculous”, relief that follows spinal adjustment.

The principle limitation in using Chiropractic to heal the body is the limitation brought about by the quality of the tissues of the body.  The classic example is the lower neck adjustment that completely eliminates pain and spasm for less than 24 hours before it returns. If the tissues of the body (muscles, fascia, ligaments, etc.) are not strong enough to support the normal function of the body, then the adjustment cannot last.  This is the observation that began by leading us to include nutrition in our protocols, and expanded into the addition of emotional stress and ergonomic effects in the complete diagnosis of the problem.