The definition of doctor in Latin is “educatorâ€. Part of my job is to guide you through this process of therapy that is unique and very effective but very different than what you may have been told.
Chiropractic is a holistic approach to structural integration which affects the whole body system.
There are two very important points about your body we address.
The premature degeneration of your skeleton. (How well you age)!
The role your nervous system plays in your overall health.
We all instinctively know that movement is life. Stop moving and start degenerating.
We also know that “stress†is what ultimately creates ill health.
Every human has 360 joints, most of which need to move.
Every movable joint has a capsule around it which contains a lubricating fluid in it called synovial fluid. It acts just like the oil in your car. It prevents wear and tear of the joint. Just like the oil in your car it needs to be periodically “topped offâ€. Guess what does that?....Movement of the joint.
If the joint is not moving correctly there is less or no oil being replaced.
You tell me, what happens if you run your car low on oil?
The problem is that the joint needs to move in 3 lines of motion known as the x,y,z axis. You can not actively move that way to know if the joint is stuck.
You have to have someone who understands this to challenge the joint to see if it's moving correctly.
Chiropractors are uniquely trained to do this.
You also cannot feel a stuck joint until a certain amount of degeneration, also known as Arthritis starts to set in. Also, a stuck joint will predictably cause the surrounding muscles to brace, i.e. tighten up to try and protect the, what the body perceives as an injured joint. This is why you may have chronically tight muscles that you can't massage or stretch your way out of.
Chiropractic works on what is known as the SAID principle.
Specific Applied Imposed Demand.
Meaning by repeatedly and very specifically moving the stuck joint we essentially
re-educate the joint to start moving again. How do we learn any thing?
Repetition.
The SAID principle is also why you get stronger when you lift heavy weights!
Every human joint complex also has a very specific type of nerve called
Mechanoreceptors.
These nerves communicate with your brain. When proper movement occurs the brain gets the Thumbs up signal. When the joint is not moving correctly the brain gets a very different signal of which two devastating things occur.
One, the joint and soft tissues ultimately become chronically inflamed.
Acute inflammation is how we heal. Which is what I'm trying to make happen when I work on you with the ART, Graston tech. and adjustments and why you may feel a little sore after the therapy.
But if the inflammation continues you never heal correctly and now will have future pain and structural issues the rest of your life.
Probably the most damaging thing that occurs from stuck joints is that this miss-communication at the propreoceptive level is an irritation to the sympathetic nervous system which is part of your “Fight or Flight†system.
You are now in what we term sympathetic overload, meaning you're now living in a fear, stress response non stop.
By getting the joints to move again we tone down the sympathetic response and allow the Parasympathetic system, (the relaxation, repair process) to balance out.
This is why some patients report other problems they may have had start to clear up. We don't cure any thing but if we can remove the stress we allow the body the chance to do it's magic and heal.
If you want a fighting chance at living a high quality of life remember, movement is life!