Over the past couple of years I have found myself repeatedly explaining to people what chiropractic really is. I decided to create this blog to help educate the general public about the safest form of healthcare available. When people overhear me say I’m in chiropractic school, most people’s response is “oh my lower back really hurts” and I cant help but laugh, not because I think it is funny but because of the lack of knowledge the public has regarding the profession. My goal for this blog is to share information about various issues and to help give everyone the truth about the science of chiropractic and its safety – the facts, not my opinions. Everything I write will be based off of multiple peer-reviewed articles so there is no room for debate, it is strictly facts.
Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system, and the effects of these disorders on general health. Subluxations can be a cause of these disorders. Doctors of Chiropractic find and correct subluxations. Chiropractors correct subluxations by delivering an adjustment is a very specific force vector delivered by the chiropractor’s hands or an instrument called an activator. The chiropractor identifies how the bones are subluxated and corrects them with the appropriate vectors.
I will begin by defining the term “Subluxation.” Subluxation in the simplest terms is one or more vertebrae that are misaligned or have a lack of motion that interferes with neurological communication between your central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the rest of the body. This subluxation will cause a stress response from the body releasing cortisol, also known as the “stress” hormone. I will discuss the effects of prolonged high levels of cortisol in the body in a later post. This lack of movement and misalignment will cause irritation to the nerves leaving the spinal cord, resulting in neurological interference. The central nervous system (CNS) controls everything in your body ranging from organ function to each individual cell of the body. This constant communication between cells and the CNS is imperative for the expression of health and wellness. If the body doesn’t recognize changes in cells, disease will inevitably follow. Only a Doctor of Chiropractic can find and correct subluxations.
The Doctor of Chiropractic program is typically a 4 year post-undergraduate degree program for students who are enrolled year-round, taking approximately 26 credit hours per quarter. The course load the first two years includes: Anatomy, Physiology, Endocrinology, Pathology, Histology, Osteology, Radiology, and Embryology and many more. The last two years a chiropractic student starts to master the art of finding and correcting subluxations through adjustments. To be licensed in most states (Ohio for example) a Doctor of Chiropractic must pass a series of six board examinations.
In my next post, I will discuss the safety of chiropractic adjustments and the research behind the science. As a final thought I want to leave you with a bit of advice. With all this information I will be providing, don’t just take my word for it and do not just take a medical doctor’s word when you ask them about the safety of a specific healthcare issue. Empower yourself and look at the research regarding these issues. Research does not lie.
Thanks for reading - I look forward to sharing more with you!
- Andrew
Thanks for reading - I look forward to sharing more with you!
- Andrew
