More than just a spinal expert.

Did you know that as chiropractors, we can treat conditions from head to toe? Did you also know that we don't crack your bones? What about the fact that we can not only help you recover after an injury but also help you to prevent injuries?

What Is Chiropractic?

This is the question that we get most often. There’s so much misinformation out there of what exactly chiropractic is so our hope in the next few minutes is to dispel any myths that you might have regarding our profession and to see if chiropractic is right for you!

Let’s get started.

Chiropractic is a non-invasive, hands-on discipline in healthcare that focuses on both the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. Basically, chiropractic has to do with anything related to the muscles, joints, and nerves in your body. It brings healing to your body without medication or surgery by ensuring that your body, your musculoskeletal structure, is in proper alignment, which optimizes your body’s natural healing mechanism.

As chiropractors, then, we therefore focus on the close relationship between your spine and nervous system, holding to the following beliefs:

- Your nervous system is affected by biomechanical derangement, or abnormal movement patterns, and structural irregularities of your spine
- Chiropractic treatment, for many conditions, can restore your spine’s structural integrity. This means reducing pressure on the sensitive neurological tissue coming out of your spine, which ultimately improves your health.

Chiropractic is generally categorized as alternative or complementary medicine, however, it can also be used in conjunction with conventional medical treatment. The initials, "DC", identify us as a chiropractor. Our education includes an undergraduate degree in addition to four years of chiropractic college.

What Do Chiropractors Do?

“Don’t chiropractors crack people’s bones?”

No. We most definitely do not! Chiropractors diagnose, treat, and provide preventive care for disorders related to the spine, pelvis, nervous system, joints, and muscles. In other words, a chiropractor is a health care professional who focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of neuromuscular disorders.

We start by taking a full medical history and reviewing any relevant diagnostic imaging such as x-rays, MRIs, etc. Then we perform a physical examination using tests that examine the function of your muscles, joints, and nerves (ie. orthopedic and neurological tests). This enables us to make a diagnosis and determine if treatment is appropriate for you. If it is, we then develop and carry out a comprehensive treatment plan customized towards your needs.

So what about the bone cracking?

These are hands-on adjustments, a sudden and controlled force in order to improve your range and quality of motion. We manipulate your spine and/or other joints in order to reduce pain and improve your functionality. But that’s not all we do! As chiropractors, we also utilize other alternative non-invasive therapies such as myofascial release or joint mobilization, as physiotherapists do, in order to restore mobility to your joints that have been restricted by tissue injury. Additional treatment interventions that we provide include therapeutic exercise, education, ergonomics, and lifestyle counseling.

What Are the Benefits of Chiropractic Care?

Okay. So now you know what chiropractic is and what precisely it is that we do, but what exactly are the benefits of chiropractic care you ask?

Glad you did.

We live in a fast-paced world. From instant messaging to fast-food to next day delivery, speed is at a premium. So why should your healthcare be any different? Chiropractic is one of the quickest forms of therapy to reduce your pain and getting you back to doing the things that you love in the shortest amount of time possible. Even the therapy itself is quick. No lying on a bed for one or more hours while the therapist slowly works on the area that's causing you problems. You're in and out in 15 minutes or less, giving you more time for the things that you love.

Secondly, chiropractic is non-invasive. Chiropractic care has long been heralded as a natural method for the prevention of back surgery. In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association recently published its guidelines for low back pain and suggested that people should first try chiropractic before resorting to surgery.

But wait, did you know that chiropractic can benefit not only those who are suffering with pain and disability? That’s right. The third benefit of chiropractic care is actually injury prevention. By ensuring that your spine and body are properly aligned, this in turn allows you to avoid unnecessary tension in the body caused by these misalignments, which predispose us to injury. Why only take care of your health after you’ve lost it? Wouldn’t it be better to keep your health the entire time?

Chiropractic is also often used by amateur and professional athletes alike to enhance athletic performance. Sport is often a game of inches, a game of milliseconds. Just the smallest advantage is often the difference between winning and losing. Don’t be on the wrong side of this advantage that chiropractic can give you.

Finally, perhaps you’re not injured and not particularly concerned about preventing it. You’ve never needed to worry about surgery and you’re not an athlete. Is there anything that chiropractic can offer you in your simple day-to-day living? I won’t lie to you, chiropractic isn’t necessarily for everyone, but for those of whom have given it a go, they report benefits including stress and muscle tension relief, enhanced mood and energy levels, and even increased confidence due to better posture. If any of these would be helpful for you, come and give chiropractic a try. It might just change your life!

What Conditions Do Chiropractors Treat?

As chiropractors, we use a variety of non-surgical treatments to treat people with the following conditions:

- Back pain
- Neck pain
- Whiplash
- Strains and sprains
- Rotator cuff injury
- Repetitive strain injury (RSI)
- Limited range of motion in the neck, back, shoulder, or limbs

We also treat neurological conditions including the following:

- Sciatica
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Thoracic outlet syndrome

Additional conditions that would be benefited by chiropractic care include:

- Headache (especially occipital or tension)
- Arthritis & osteoarthritis
- Fibromyalgia

Regardless of how your injury happened, whether in a car accident, a work-related incident, a sports injury, or simply as a result of daily living, we can help you to get back on your feet and doing the activities you love sooner rather than later.