Chiropractic has been around for a lot longer than many people think. Historically, the first ‘chiropractic adjustment’ was given all the way back in 1895, and since then, chiropractic has grown to become the third largest primary health care profession in the world.
The word ‘chiropractic’ comes from the Greek words ‘cheir’ (hand) and ‘praxis (action), and literally means ‘done by hand’. This refers to the specific adjustments that chiropractors make to joint restrictions of the spine and pelvis, as well as the hips, knees, shoulders, allows, and any other joints that aren’t moving in their full range. Reasons why joints may lost their full of motion in the first place include physical stressors (e.g. poor posture, long periods of sitting, lifting heavy weights), chemical stressors (eg. processed foods, alcohol, smoking) and emotional stressors (eg. work stress or emotional stress).
Getting the joints moving correctly again not only feels good and relieves pain, but also removes stress from the nervous system, which allows the body to better repair itself.
Some of the common conditions that chiropractic can help with include:
- Acute and chronic lower back pain
- Sciatica
- Neck pain and whiplash type injuries
- Migraines and headaches arising from the neck
- Shoulder pain and frozen shoulder
- Tennis elbow
- Minor sports injuries
- Pregnancy related pain
What to Expect
Your First Visit
On the day of your first visit, it is a good idea to arrive around 10 minutes early to fill out a general health questionnaire. Your chiropractor will then go through your health history with you, and conduct a physical exam. The exam will focus mainly on the current mobility of your spinal joints, and will include various neurological and orthopaedic tests. Your chiropractor will then go through the results with you, and recommend a treatment plan going forward. Your first appointment may be up to an hour’s duration, giving you plenty of time to ask questions.
If appropriate, and your chiropractor does not require any further investigations at this stage (x-ray, MRI etc), then you will receive your first adjustment on your first visit.
Follow-up Visits
After your initial visit, your appointments are usually spaced fairly close together for a couple of weeks, in order to assist your body in making the necessary changes to movement and alignment. Certain faulty movement and compensation patterns may have been adopted by the body over a long period of time, leading to pain and dysfunction. These patterns may take time to change. However, each adjustment builds on the one before (similar to going to the gym), and soon enough, the body is able to hold these new movement patterns for longer periods of time.
Maintenance Care
Once feeling better, many patients choose to continue with chiropractic care on a maintenance basis, simply in order to continue feeling good and functioning well, and to nip any small issues in the bud. With maintenance care, patients often report improvements in other areas, including improved digestion, better energy levels and concentration, and less sporting injuries!
If you have any questions about whether chiropractic may be right for you, please just give us a call on 020 8789 4362, and we’ll be more than happy to chat.
References:
- The Bronfort Report. Effectiveness of manual therapies: the UK evidence report. Chiropractic & Osteopathy201018:3. DOI: 10.1186/1746-1340-18-3. © Bronfort et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010
- Palmer, D.D. (1910) The Science, Art and Philosophy of Chiropractic Portland, Oregon: Portland Printing House Company.
- CAP. Therapies: Chiropractic. Available.