What Is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is a professional, valuable and natural health approach offered to all Australians to enhance quality of life. It is based on the scientific principle that all functions in the body are controlled by the nervous system, and that your body is a self-regulating, self-healing organism. Every muscle, joint and organ relies on nerves from the brain to control their function. At any time, dysfunction in the nervous system's ability to perform optimally can occur due to physical, emotional and chemical stressors.

Chiropractic is based on the principle that an altered function of your spine, termed a ‘Subluxation’ amongst Chiropractors, may interfere with the flow of information and energy along your nerves and throughout your nervous system. Chiropractic is the science, art and philosophy of locating and correcting these areas of nervous system dysfunction, thereby looking to correct the CAUSE of disease not just the treatment of symptoms.

The aim of Chiropractic care is to restore normal nerve activity by finding and correcting subluxations. By restoring this nerve function, the body's inborn capacity to heal itself is able to take place. This inborn capacity is called INNATE INTELLIGENCE. When a spinal nerve is pinched, the innate intelligence of the human body which controls and co-ordinates every bodily function, mental process and healing mechanism is unable to express itself. Therefore, Chiropractic care is aimed at restoring all bodily functions back to normal in order to allow the body to heal itself, and in effect, alleviate the patient of their presenting signs and symptoms.

The subluxation is the foundation of all Chiropractic practice and is the very reason that a person presents at a Chiropractic office. A subluxation is a misaligned joint in the spine and/or pelvis that interferes with exiting nerves. The general indications of a subluxation are pain, swelling, altered blood flow, muscle tension, tenderness, and decrease in motion and nerve dysfunction. These changes occur because when a spinal segment becomes misaligned/subluxated, it is restricted in movement, it possesses a swollen/bulging disc and it may cause changes in its surrounding soft tissue structures (ligaments &/or muscles). The result is a pinched nerve and since the nervous system is the controlling system of all bodily functions, a multitude of problems are possible consequences; ranging from headaches, migraines, back pain, stiffness and acute disc syndromes to the more complex organic problems such as heart burn, constipation and period pain, just to name a few.

An adjustment is used to correct the subluxation and restore normal nerve function. It is a specific and controlled thrust delivered to the involved joint with an intention of removing the nerve interference. This occurs by accurately restoring normal motion to the joint, decreasing swelling and restoring a normal relationship between the bones and the disc and/or ligaments. Depending on the chronicity of the subluxation, once the nerve pressure has been removed, the area of the body that is controlled by that nerve will be able to function in its normal capacity.