About Chiropractic

Chiropractic.

Chiropractic is the fastest growing natural health care profession in the world. It was discovered in 1895 in Davenport, Iowa, U.S.A. D.C.'s (Doctors of Chiropractic) specialize in locating and correcting a serious condition known as Vertebral Subluxation. A vertebral Subluxation is a misalignment of one or more of the twenty four moveable bones of the spine.

Misalignments (subluxations) are commonly caused by stresses and impacts to the body from poor posture, poor sleeping habits, slips and falls, vehicular accidents, sports impacts, strenuous exercise, work injuries, childhood falls, even the birth process. They cause dangerous stress to the spinal chord and the delicate spinal nerves which exit the spine between the spinal bones. This causes irritation to the nerves and interferes with their ability to function properly. This nerve interference causes the body to lose it's ability to function optimally and ill health eventually results. Though serious even in their early stages, subluxations are often not painful.

Vertebral Subluxation

It may be obvious that you need to see a Chiropractor if you are experiencing neck pain, back pain, hip pain, headaches, numbness or curvature of the spine. However, many people don't realize that chiropractic care has an excellent record of success helping many health conditions. Maintaining a healthy and well-aligned spine is extremely important and is the most often overlooked key to staying healthy.

Chiropractic treatments called spinal adjustments are comfortable, safe, and highly effective. People of all ages can receive chiropractic care to stay healthy, including infants and the elderly. Years of training, education, and experience enable your Chiropractor to determine if chiropractic care can benefit for you and your family. Chiropractors are highly educated, caring professionals sensitive to the natural health care needs of your family.

How Chiropractic Helps You.

The Principles of Chiropractic:

1.     The body is a self-healing and self-regulating organism.

2.     The nerve system controls and coordinates all of the functions in the body.

3.     Any interference with the nerve system inhibits the body's ability to regulate and heal      itself.

4.     Interference to the nerve system is most commonly caused by misalignment of the bones of the spine called "subluxations."

5. Maintaining a healthy and well-aligned spine enhances the body's ability to get and stay well.

Is Chiropractic Safe?

Much has been said and written in the media about the safety of chiropractic adjustments. Let’s examine this controversial question. According to scientific research, let’s compare chiropractic with a few common medical facts along with everyday accident rates, and put their risks into perspective. (Sources of the information are also provided)

Risk of serious injury or death from playing soccer or football = 1 in 25,500

Risk of serious injury or death from driving in an automobile = 1 in 5,900

Approximate risk of being hit by lightning = 1 in 1,000,000

Risk of serious injury or death from canoeing = 1 in 100,000

Risk of death from smoking 20 cigarettes/day = 1 in 200

(Dinman BD. The reality and acceptance of risk. Journal of the American Medical Association 1980; 244(11): 1226-1228)

 

Overall death rate for spinal surgery = 700 in 1,000,000

(Survey data of the cervical spine. Research Society, 1982)
(Deyo RA, Cherkin DC, Leosser JD, Bigos SJ, Ciol MA. Morbidity and mortality in association with operations on the lumbar spine: The influence of age, diagnosis, and procedure. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery Am 1992; 74(4): 536-543.)

Deaths per year from Gastro-intestinal bleeding due to Anti-inflammatory use (Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Vioxx, Celebrex, Naproxen, Voltaren) = 400 in 1,000,000

(Dabbs V, Lauretti W. A risk assessment of cervical manipulation vs NSAIDs for the treatment of neck pain. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1995; 18 (8): 530-536.)

Lets compare these interesting facts to that of the risk for Chiropractic procedures:

Developing "Cauda Equina Sydrome" (serious neurological condition whereby loss of bowel and bladder control results) from lumbar adjustment = 1 in 100,000,000

(Shekelle PG, Adams AH, Chassin MR, Hurwitz EL, Brook RH. Spinal manipulation for low-back pain. Annals of Internal Medicine 1992; 117(9): 590-598.)

Risk of serious neurological complication from neck adjustment = 0.6 in 1,000,000

Risk of death from neurological complications in neck adjustments= 0.3 in 1,000,000

(Hurwitz EL, Aker PD, Adams AH, Meeker WC, Shekelle PG. Manipulation and mobilization of the cervical spine: A systematic review of the literature. Spine 21(15): 1746-1760.)




Sources:

Leape, L. Unnecessary surgery. Annual Review of Public Health 1992; 13:363-383.

Phillips D, Christenfeld N, Glynn L. Increase in US medication-error deaths between 1983 and 1993. Lancet 351: 643-644.

Lazarou J, Pomeranz B, Corey P. Incidence of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients. Journal of the American Medical Association 1998; 279: 1200-1205.

Schuster M, McGlynn E. Brook R. How good is the quality of health care in the United States? Milbank Quarterly 1998; 76: 517-563.


 

Some more interesting facts from other research in the United States:

12,000 deaths/year from unnecessary surgery

7,000 deaths from medication errors in hospitals

20,000 deaths/year from other errors in hospitals

80,000 deaths/year from nosocomial infections (infections generated in hospital)

106,000 deaths/year from NON-errors, simply from adverse effects of medications.

Total = 225,000 deaths/year from medical-induced (iatrogenic) causes. According to the Institute of Medicine, that number may be as high as 230,000-280,000. Disability and discomfort NOT included.



As we can see from the literature, chiropractic adjustments are remarkably safe. In the past 110 plus years of modern-day chiropractic, the profession has boasted a tremendous safety record. This is even reflected in the extremely low liability/ malpractice insurance rates for chiropractors when compared to their medical colleagues.

As you can see, with ANY procedure, there are risks involved. There are definite contra-indications to manual adjusting. It is the duty of the Doctor of Chiropractic to conduct a complete case history and perform a thorough physical examination with x-rays if necessary to look for any contra-indications in the patient, and modify his/her technique to accommodate the specific condition.



There are many chiropractic patients who have previously had serious injuries, who are pregnant, who have had spinal or open-heart surgeries, osteoporosis, and serious medical conditions like AIDS or cancer. Anyone will benefit from having a healthy functioning nerve system. It's just a matter of finding the right adjusting technique to fit the body type, age, condition, and comfort level. So, you can rest assured, Chiropractic is safe, and it is for everyone!