How Does Chiropractic Work?
Chiropractic works by restoring your own inborn ability to be healthy. When under the proper control of your nervous system, all the cells, tissues, and organs of your body are designed to resist disease and ill health. The chiropractic approach to better health is to locate and help remove interferences to your natural state of being healthy. A common interference to the nervous system is the 24 moving bones of the spinal column. A loss of normal motion or position of these bones can irritate or impair the function of the nervous system. This can disrupt the transmission of controlling nerve impulses. With improved spinal function there is often improved nervous system function. Your chiropractic doctor can help remove interferences that may be impairing normal health. Since the primary focus of your care is improved nervous system function, chiropractic can have a positive effect on many health conditions not normally thought of as "back" problems

How long does a treatment take?
The first consultation takes, on average, about half an hour, and a treatment session about 15 minutes, but this will vary according to your condition and your needs. Refer to New Patients Procedures for what to expect on your first visit.

How long will it take to get better?
Your recovery is dependent on many factors - the problem, the length of time you have had it and your own commitment to any rehabilitative exercises and maintenance visits which your chiropractor may recommend.

How often do I need to come for treatment?
An average course of treatment may entail five or six visits over two or three weeks, but every case is assessed individually, and it is important to keep your appointments, and make regular visits. Discuss this with your chiropractor, who will explain your treatment program to you.

What is an Adjustment?
A Chiropractic adjustment is the art of using a specific force in a precise direction, applied to a joint that is fixated, "locked up", or not moving properly. This adds motion to the joint, helping the bones gradually return to a more normal position and motion. The purpose of this safe and natural procedure is improved spinal function, improved nervous system function and improved health.

There are many ways to adjust the spine. Usually the doctor's hands or a specially designed instrument delivers a brief and highly-accurate thrust. Some adjusting methods are quick, where as others require a slow and constant pressure.
After years of training and clinical experience, each chiropractic doctor becomes highly skilled in the delivery of a variety of adjusting approaches.

What is the popping noise of the adjustment?
When the two surfaces of a joint are moved apart rapidly, as happens in a chiropractic adjustment, there is a change of pressure within the joint space. This may sometimes cause a bubble of gas to 'pop' - but this sound is not significant, and does not hurt.

Have I got a “trapped nerve”?
These are common, general terms used to describe a multitude of conditions. Your chiropractor will make a more specific diagnosis and explain your condition to you.

While commonly associated with the spine, the pinched nerve (compressive lesion) is actually rare. Researchers suggest that only 10% to 15% of spine related problems are caused by direct pressure of bone on nerve tissue! This can result in numbness, burning, or a "pins and needles" feeling. More frequently, nerves are irritated (facilitative lesion). This is caused when nerve tissue is rubbed, scraped, stretched by a loss of spinal curve, or irritated by malfunctioning spinal joints.

What about the “slipped disc”?
A person can’t technically have a "slip” disc. The intervertebral disc is a pad of cartilage type material situated between spinal bones. Each disc serves as a connector, spacer and shock absorber for the spine. A soft, jellylike center is contained by outer layers of fibrous tissue. Healthy discs help allow normal turning and bending.

Because of the way each disc is attached to the vertebrae above and below, a disc cannot "slip." However, trauma or injury to the spine can cause discs to tear, bulge, herniate, or worse, rupture. This can be quite painful, as the soft center of the disc leaks, putting pressure on the adjacent nerve roots and spinal cord. While results cannot be guaranteed, many patients have avoided needless surgery or a dependency on pain pills, by choosing chiropractic care for their disc-related health problem.

Will treatment hurt?
Adjustment/manipulation, when carried out correctly by a qualified practitioner, is not painful. If you have acute muscle spasm, when even the lightest touch hurts, there may be some discomfort. Sometimes, if you have had a problem for some time, you may feel sore whilst your body starts to adjust. Your chiropractor will tell you if this is likely to happen.

Are all patients adjusted in the same way?
No. Your treatment program will be tailored to your specific needs.

Should I bring my family for chiropractic checks?
Yes. The strength of chiropractic is that it can help prevent discomfort, pain and even disease, and is suitable for everyone. It is entirely appropriate to visit a chiropractor even if you have no pain, as restrictions in movement can often be detected before symptoms appear.

Is chiropractic treatment safe?
Chiropractic is remarkably safe when treatment is carried out by a properly qualified practitioner. Your chiropractor is trained to recognize conditions which require referral elsewhere, and can treat you even after surgery.

Why should I return if I'm feeling fine?
Your chiropractor has treated you, so allowing your body to heal, but if you continue the lifestyle which caused the original condition, regular treatment should also continue. The choice, however, is yours.

Can I adjust myself?
Is there anything wrong with me 'cracking ' my neck or back myself? No, you cannot properly control an adjustment to yourself and your relief may only be temporary. If you feel you want to 'crack' your joints, it is because you need an adjustment. Consult your chiropractor!

Am I too young?
Since significant spinal trauma can occur at birth, many parents have their newborns checked for the Vertebral Subluxation Complex. Later, learning to walk, ride a bicycle, and other childhood activities can cause spinal problems. While a bandage and some comforting words can help a skinned knee, the unseen damage to the child's spine is the unique domain of a chiropractic doctor. Many childhood health complaints that are brushed off as "growing pains" can often be traced to the spine. Regular chiropractic checkups can identify these problems and help avoid many of the health complaints seen
later in adults.

Naturally, chiropractic adjusting procedures are modified to a child’s spine. Most parents report that their children enjoy their chiropractic adjustments and seem healthier than other children.

Am I too old?
More and more people are consulting chiropractic doctors, especially in their later years. With growing concerns about 
overmedication and the side effects of combining various      prescription drugs, safe, natural chiropractic care is growing in 
popularity. Restoring better spinal function can help improve mobility, vitality, endurance, and appetite. Many patients
 report improvement with arthritic symptoms and other chronic ailments often associated with the aging process.

The adjusting techniques used by your doctor will be modified for maximum comfort and results. As we get older and wise, the simplicity and effectiveness of chiropractic care becomes more and more obvious.

Will my doctor approve?
Increasingly, medical doctors are recognizing chiropractic as an effective complementary treatment, particularly for back pain. 
However, some are less keen to refer patients to chiropractors. You do not need a MD's referral to visit a chiropractor.