By Ernest Edem Ayer
Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine that is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of
mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially the spine, and a chiropractor is one
that is in this field and uses the act of spine manipulation to treat certain musculoskeletal disorders.
Daniel David Palmer founded chiropractic in the 1890s, after saying he received it from “the other
world”; Palmer maintained that the tenets of chiropractic were passed along to him by a doctor who
had died 50 years previously. His son B. J. Palmer helped to expand chiropractic in the early 20th
century.
Chiropractors, especially those in the field’s early history, have proposed that such disorders affect
general health via the nervous system.
The main chiropractic treatment technique involves manual
therapy, especially manipulation of the spine, other joints, and soft tissues, but may also include
exercises and health and lifestyle counseling. Chiropractors are not physicians or medical doctors.
The practice of chiropractic medicine as complementary medicine is well known for its positive
results in the treatment of both acute and chronic lower back pains and other joint pains.
In chiropractic, some practitioners believe that vertebral joint misalignments which they term as
vertebral subluxation which talks about the pressure on nerves and abnormal functions that create
lesions in some portion of the body, either in its action or makeup, and that is not necessarily visible
on X-rays are the cause of all diseases in the body.
They believe that this vertebral subluxation interfered with the body’s inborn ability to heal itself.
Chiropractors emphasize the conservative management of the neuromusculoskeletal system without
the use of medicines or surgery, with special emphasis on the spine.
Back and neck pain is the specialties of chiropractic but many chiropractors treat ailments other than musculoskeletal issues.
Spinal manipulation, which chiropractors call “spinal adjustment” or “chiropractic adjustment”, is the
professional quality attribute possessed by all chiropractors.
It is the most common treatment used in chiropractic care. Spinal manipulation is a passive manual maneuver during which a three-joint the complex is taken past the normal range of movement, but not so far as to dislocate or damage the joint.
Its defining factor is a dynamic thrust, which is a sudden force that causes an audible release and attempts to increase a joint’s range of motion.
These movements and thrusts towards pain relief without surgery or medicines can only be done by
a professional chiropractor. Results are always positive for chronic and acute lower back pain,
neck pains, and other joint pains.
Be informed about chiropractic practice as an alternative or complementary medicine and a go-to practice if one needs to fix a bad neck, back, or joint pain.
References
Singh, Simon; Ernst, Edzard (2008). “The Truth About Chiropractic Therapy”. Trick or Treatment?
Alternative Medicine on Trial. London: Bantam Press. ISBN 978-0-593-06129-9. OCLC 190777228.
