What is Chiropractics

I thought I would start with a basic overview of what Chiropractic is, mostly because many whom I have talked to have no or very limited understanding.  Usually the response consists of something concerning back pain.  Even though this is not wrong, that is sadly the extent to their knowledge.  The practice of modern Chiropractics was founded in 1895 by D.D. Palmer, a student of magnetic healing and bonesetting sciences.  The first "adjustment" was administered to Harvey Lillard, who later told Palmer that his hearing had greatly improved.  D.D. Palmer concluded that bone manipulation can restore function to the body.  This opened the door to the philosophy of what we today call Chiropractics.  The term Chiropractics actually was coined later by Rev. Samuel Weed, combining two greek words meaning "Concerned With (Praktikos) Hand (Chiro)"

So this is the beginning to manual manipulation in the philosophy of Chiropractics, later termed as Adjustment. But this is just the surface.  This is often the part that people understand, the "cracking backs" part of chiropractics.  But they are not bone doctors.  D.D. Palmer looked a little deeper, beyond the bones, and understood something that is just beginning to be recognized today.  The foundation to the body is not the skeleton.  The master system of the body is the Nervous System.  It is this system that connects the whole body, allowing the brain to communicate to the body and visa versa.  In fact, it is no wonder that the Nervous System is the first system formed in embryo.  This is vital.  It is needed to help the fetus to develop.  Without a skeleton, we would simply be a bag of organs.  Without a nervous system, we would die.  Simply put, the nervous system is the master system.  This was the focus of D.D Palmer and the early chiropractics, understanding that if a bone is out of place, it is effecting the function of the nerve that passes by, thus effecting certain body functions that the nerve supplies.  In short, Chiropractors are not bone doctors.  They are nerve doctors that understand the anatomy and physiology of the body to help restore normal function.

So what is Chiropractics?  It is the philosophy and the study of the body as a whole, including the anatomy and physiology, to restore and provide optimal function and health to an individual.  It is a vitalistic approach that the body has the understanding and ability to adapt, protect, and even heal itself.  Basically, the doctor can't heal the body.  Rather, the doctor restores the body to correct function, allowing the nerve to restore function and communication to the rest of the body, thus healing itself.  How so?  Can I ask what is the mechanism behind a fever?  Too many often blame their illness to the pathogen.  This is incorrect.  Yes, it is due to a pathogen, but it is not the cause.  The cause of the fever, is our own bodily response to protect itself and rid of the pathogen.  Our immune system effects the core body temperature, increasing it to kill off the pathogen that has invaded.  It is our own body, with it's infinite and innate knowledge, that causes the fever, to protect itself, simply, to heal itself.

Without proper nerve function, it is impossible for our body to normally function, allowing the body to be exposed to many diseases and physiological abnormalities.  The lack of nerve function is referred to as a Subluxation.  This can be caused by many things, simply put as the 3 T's.  Traumas, Toxins, and Thoughts, or it can also be put as Physical, Chemical, and Emotional stressers.  The physical is the daily activities along with the unexpected traumas that we face in life.  The chemical is the things that we put into our bodies directly, like food, or indirectly, like hair dyes.  The emotional is the stressers in life.  This one often gets overlooked.  When I say that someone is confident, do you view someone who has slumped shoulders and looking down at the ground.  No, we often view someone who is sitting or standing up straight, their head up and alert.  Our thoughts effect us dramatically, especially in a world like today with Stress all around us.  Stress plays with our emotions, and even our nerve functions, exposing us to many avoidable complications.  For optimal health and wellness, we need to rid of these stressers in our life.  Many of them, we can rid of ourselves if we choose to make the effort.  But there are others we need an "adjustment", to restore our nerve function, to restore our normal body function, and to restore our health.  For that, we have our friendly neighborhood Chiropractor.