If you’re new to Chiropractic, you will be pleased to know that the practice itself is not. Chiropractic care has been around since 1895.

While most people associate Chiropractic with neck or back pain, the Chiropractor looks at the body in its entirety – from head to toe to help restore the body back to balance.

The word Chiropractic means ‘done by hand’. The Chiropractic adjustment is a movement that guides the joints of the body back towards their correct position. This adjustment or alignment of the subluxated or misaligned joint can reduce the strain and irritation to the joints, nerves and surrounding tissues. The result is the feeling of less pain, looser muscles and, over time, a reduction in inflammation.

Chiropractic is a manual or hands-on therapy that that focuses on the mobilisation and correction of subluxated (misaligned) joints of the body and how that correction affects the nervous system.

With a subluxation, the joints can become inflamed, the muscles can become flaccid or taught and the nerves can become over or under excited. This presents in the body as a localised ache or pain, tight or crampy muscles or pain that radiates or refers to another area of the body. This could present as pins and needles down the arm or leg, or a flanking pain that travels around the body or up from the neck, presenting as a headache.

While a Chiropractor may help you recover from your pain or injury, their focus is on maintaining the function of your body and nervous system. This may also come in the form of lifestyle, fitness or nutritional recommendations. Your joints, muscles and nervous system are the trinity of health that are integral to a healthy functioning body.

The Chiropractic adjustment involves a very specific manipulation and pressure that is applied to the joint to assist in the recovery of function, mobility and realignment. Whilst Chiropractic is very safe, no drug or manual therapy comes without side effects. It is important to talk with your Chiropractor about any concerns you may have. One of the common side effects from your first adjustment, is achy muscles or joints. This is like the first time you do any exercise. The muscles are not used to functioning in this new fashion and can take 24-48 hours after the adjustment to settle. This ache should not be painful. If this does occur, you should seek further imaging or examination by your Chiropractor.

History of Chiropractic

According to historical records, on the 13^th September 1895 D.D Palmer performed the first spinal adjustment. He noticed that there was a bone near his neck of his deaf janitor that was not sitting in its correct anatomical position. Using his knowledge of the human body, Palmer ‘set’ the bone into its right position. The janitor immediately reported that he could hear again.

D.D Palmer then when on to research why setting a bone into its correct position produced the result it did. Although he went on to treat several other deaf people, he was unable to replicate the same results. On further investigation, he discovered that the misalignment, what we now refer to as subluxation, was causing a dysfunction of the nervous system that was stopping the Innate Intelligence (body’s’ ability to communicate) from functioning the way it should. We now know that any amount of pressure over a nerve can cause dysfunction, pain, pins and needles or numbness to the body area that the affected nerve travels.

By aligning or adjusting these subluxated joints back to their correct position, it should reduce irritation and inflammation around the joint, decrease the tension of the muscles which can both put pressure on the nerve, while removing any direct pressure from the joint itself.

The result is that the body’s innate ability to communicate, heal and find its homeostatic balance producing a better functioning you.