Why Do People See Chiropractors?

Many people who suffer devastating back pain seek the help of a chiropractor. A chiropractor treats issues impacting the back, as well as other areas of the body, through treatments such as spinal manipulation. Chiropractors also use a full range of additional treatments known to provide relief.

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A Chiropractor’s Holistic Approach

Chiropractors are medical professionals with a fairly exclusive field of expertise. Chiropractors are trained to look at the body and consider the body as a living machine.  If a joint is misaligned or damaged, the machine’s smooth running is upset; causing inflammation, pressure on surrounding nerves, and subsequent health problems.

A chiropractor’s manner of treatment is literally manual manipulation. They base their practice on an age-old theory which states that the proper alignment of the body’s musculoskeletal structure, specifically the spine, will enable the body to essentially heal itself without need for surgery or medication.

This manipulative treatment is used to restore mobility to joints restricted by pain from tissue injury, often caused by a trauma-inducing event. Upon the first meeting, a chiropractor assesses posture, joint mobility, and the patient’s lifestyle, for additional information. Numerous standard tests are conducted to determine mobility. Some of the tests include the Thomas test (which tests hip joint mobility) and the Yeoman’s test (the practitioner flexes the patient’s legs one at a time to test for sprain and mobility).

After the initial assessment, the chiropractor then goes to work by employing, first a massage to loosen stiff muscles, before focusing on manual adjustment techniques. The manipulation often involves a sharp, sudden, but precise thrusting movement to ‘free up” the joint. The latter is the treatment method that directly characterizes chiropractic treatment itself.

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