Background of Chiropractic Services

Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts that is concerned with human health and prevention of disease, and the relationship between the neuroskeletal and musculoskeletal structures and functions of the body.  The primary focus of chiropractic is the relationship of the spinal column and the nervous system, as it relates to the restoration and maintenance of health.  A practitioner of chiropractic is referred to as Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.), Chiropractic Physician or Chiropractor.

The primary focus of the profession is the vertebral column; however, all other peripheral articular structures and adjacent tissues may be treated, depending on state chiropractic scope of practice laws.

Neuromusculoskeletal conditions commonly treated by chiropractic physicians include:

Contractures 

Degenerative conditions of the joints

Fibrositis

Headaches (including tension headaches, migraines, and vertebrogenic-type headaches)

Myalgia

Myofibrositis

Neuralgias

Non-infectious inflammatory disorders of the joints, muscles, and ligaments of the spine and extremities

Osteoarthritis -- Intervertebral disc disorders of the spine such as disc protrusion, bulging, degeneration, and displacement

Peripheral joint trauma

Radiculopathies

Repetitive motion injuries

Spinal facet syndromes

Spondylolisthesis

Spondylosis

Sprains and strains

The chiropractor may treat multiple neuromusculoskeletal conditions during a single visit.

Chiropractors use broadly accepted diagnostic procedures to assess diseases and adverse health conditions.

The primary mode of chiropractic treatment is manipulation or adjustment.  Chiropractic manipulation is the application of a controlled force to re-establish normal articular function.  The objective of manipulation is to restore the normal mobility and range of motion within the joint.

The chiropractor affects the body's physiology and promotes healing by locating and correcting mechanical disorders of joints or joint subluxations.  In chiropractic, the term "subluxation" is used interchangeably with the term "spinal subluxation complex" or "vertebral subluxation complex".  A subluxation may also be called a joint dysfunction, joint fixation, functional joint lesion, somatic dysfunction, or biomechanical dysfunction.  A subluxation has been defined as a fixation, lack of motion, or aberrant motion of an articular joint, resulting in physiological changes within the joint that may cause inflammation of the joint and its capsule, which may result in pain, swelling, muscle spasm, nerve irritation, damage to joint cartilage, and loss of normal range of motion.  Nerve irritation may cause pain and spasm to radiate.  Vascular, sensory, and motor changes may accompany a spinal subluxation complex.