Please select a question below:
1. What is Chiropractic?
2. What do chiropractors do?
3. What is a subluxation?
4. How do I know if I have a subluxation?
5. Why are x-rays used?
6. What is a chiropractic adjustment?
7. What makes the sound during an adjustment?
8. Can adjustments wear out the spine?
9. How many adjustments will I need?
10. Can I adjust myself?
11. Do babies and children need chiropractic?
12. Am I too old for chiropractic?
13. What is a 'slipped disc?
14. What is a pinched nerve?
15. How safe is chiropractic?
16. Do medical practitioners work 'together' with chiropractors?
Chiropractic is Greek ‘to do by hand’. It is the science, art and philosophy of removing subluxations of the nervous system, thus helping the body remain in a state of homeostasis, or a state of equilibrium, that is self healing and self regulating. The brain and nervous system controls and regulates every cell, tissue organ, system and function of our body.
The spinal bones, or vertebra, protect and maintain the communication pathways of the brain and spinal cord and their associated nerves. Interference to the nerve pathways is known as Vertebral Subluxation Complex(VSC) and is usually the cause of sickness or disease.
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Your Chiropractor firstly reviews your case history, taking into account any health concerns such as accidents, or surgery, and specifically, what brought you into the clinic. He or she will carry out a thorough neurological, orthopaedic and chiropractic examination and take spinals x-rays where indicated. You'll then receive your 'Report of Findings' outlining the problems chiropractic can help you with and a recommended plan of care, or adjustments, to correct your spinal subluxations. Because your problem probably started some years before you felt the symptoms, your OneWay chiropractor will discuss 3 phases of care with you; Initial Intensive Care to remove your pain and stabilise your condition, Reconstructive or Healing Care to allow the body to heal the decay process and Wellness or Maintenance Care to maintain your newly restored health.
Throughout your care, your progress is carefully monitored through periodic examinations and reassessments to ensure you receive the very best chiropractic care.
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A subluxation occurs when one, or more vertebrae (spinal bones), misaligns and loses its proper motion. When this occurs, pressure may be placed on the nerves carrying information between the brain and body, ultimately affecting the body's performance. The ends result is usually sickness and disease, such as the headaches you suffer, or the asthma you thought was due to climate change. Subluxations can be caused by anything from the birthing process to falls, from sport or accidents and practically everything in between.
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Most people have subluxations and don't even know it. Like the early stages of tooth decay, subluxations can be present before the warning signs appear. The best way to find out is to visit your chiropractor for a thorough chiropractic, neurological, orthopaedic and x-ray examination. The test results will show the location and severity of the subluxations you may have, and the best course of action to correct them.
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To see is to know. Imagine your dentist doing work on a decayed tooth without taking an x-ray, or images, to see the condition of the tooth before deciding on a course of action. No doubt you'd be horrified and wouldn't want any work done on your tooth until proper images had been taken. The same is true with your spine. The importance of x-rays is that they give an inside look at the condition of your spine, the spinal curves you should or may not have and any spinal decay. X-rays, along with your orthopaedic, neurological and chiropractic examinations help your chiropractor formulate the best course of action and the required care plan to correct your problem.
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An adjustment, or adjusting technique, is the means by which your chiropractor corrects spinal subluxations. There are many and varied techniques your chiropractor may use, depending upon his examination results and whether he's adjusting a baby, the elderly, a pregnant woman or a normal sized adult. Some techniques involve applying a very quick, gentle and extremely specific thrust to the vertebrae, while others utilise adjusting instruments and drop piece tables that apply an equally gentle but specific force that do the adjustment for you. Either way, your chiropractor will use what technique is best in your case.
A clicking or popping sound is often heard with the adjustment. It's perfectly harmless and pain free. It isn't bone rubbing on bone as some people have incorrectly thought, but rather gases escaping from the joint. Some people have a misconception that the louder the noise, the better the adjustment. This is not true. The noise, or lack of it, has nothing to do whether the adjustment is good or not.
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The popping sound is caused by gases in the joint, namely oxygen and nitrogen, mixing together. It's the same sound you get when you 'crack' your knuckles, or when you lift a plain of glass off a wet bench and it causes a popping sound. The sound is not painful and is not necessarily heard with each adjustment.
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No. Quite the opposite. If you have a subluxation and you don't adjust it, research has shown that the discs will eventually wear out and the spinal bones will fuse together, causing major spinal nerve entrapment and damage to cells and organs. Bones, muscles and ligaments need to be exercised to stay healthy. Besides removing the subluxation, the adjustment is the best form of exercise you can give your spine.
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The number of adjustments vary from patient to patient, depending on the severity of their problem and their individual health goals. Symptomatically, chiropractic works extremely quickly, with most patients experiencing a rapid change in their symptoms after only a few adjustments up to a few weeks. Because human beings are unique and individual, no two patients respond exactly the same. As the body heals and stabilises over a period of weeks or months, visits become less frequent. Naturally, the more chronic the condition, the longer the body takes to heal.
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Although some patients try to administer a self adjustment, it only increases their problems long term. The joint becomes hypermobile and extremely unstable. A chiropractic adjustment is a specific force, in a specific direction to a specific joint. This is why adjustments should be left to your OneWay chiropractor who is highly trained and skilled, through years of university training, to not only locate the 'correct' subluxation, but to also adjust it.
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Absolutely. Its been said that "you've never had a chance since birth". And it's true. Most spinal subluxations begin at birth. When you consider that the 'normal' birth process is often traumatic, then you can appreciate the terrible spinal trauma that is inflicted upon a baby's spine when it is delivered using forceps or other instruments.
A medical researcher by the name of Dr. Towbin in the 1930's discovered that 7 out of 8 babies that died at birth, or shortly thereafter, died from spinal cord damage due to the birth process. This is why it is vital that all babies and children are checked by your OneWay chiropractor for subluxations.
Research shows that on average, children have two and a half thousand(2500) falls by the time they are five years old. This is why children suffering from spinal subluxations often present with symptoms such as headaches, asthma, colic, recurring ear and throat infections, bed wetting and even ADHD. Irritability and poor concentration at school are also common.
The techniques used to adjust children are extremely gentle and safe.
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You are never too old for chiropractic care. More and more people, especially in their later years, are visiting chiropractors to regain their health and vitality and to stay healthy. And because every drug has a side effect, chiropractic care is rapidly growing in popularity due to its safe and natural approach. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are common complaints of the elderly that respond well to chiropractic care. As these symptoms improve, patients report a rapid improvement in other conditions they thought was just part of the aging process they had to put up with.
Whatever your problem, you'll find your OneWay Chiropractic experience to be extremely safe and gentle and a vital process in your quest to regain your health.
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Physically, its impossible to slip a disk, even though you might have been told this in the past. Your disks are firmly attached to the vertebrae above and below them. When you hear someone mention that they have a 'slipped disk', what they are referring to is a condition where disks can bulge and herniate due to injury or the ongoing effects of subluxations and degeneration. It's often a case of 'the straw that broke the camel's back'. When subluxations have been present for some time, it often only requires a simple bending over or lifting a light object for the back to let go and you're stuck in a bent over position. The sooner you get to your OneWay Chiropractor the sooner you'll be back to normal.
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When people refer to a pinched nerve they really mean the nerve has been irritated or chaffed, causing an interference to the normal nerve supply that may result in an increased or decreased nerve supply. Either way, it is usually very painful and you'll need to see your OneWay Chiropractor as quickly as possible.
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Extremely safe. And because chiropractors have specific techniques for every type of patient, from babies to the elderly, you can rest assured your visit to your Oneway Chiropractor is going to be not only safe, but gentle also.
In 1979 the New Zealand Commission of Inquiry into Chiropractic released their report after over 18 months of research. They concluded that spinal manipulation in the hands of a registered chiropractor is “remarkably safe”. They also commented that “chiropractors are the only health practitioners who are necessarily equipped by their education and training to carry out spinal manual therapy”.(Reference: “Chiropractic in New Zealand. Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Chiropractic. PD Hasselberg . Wellington, New Zealand: Government Printer, 1979.”)
In the latest major new study on the risk of stroke following manipulation of the neck, which reinforces the safety of chiropractic care for people with neck pain, the Report concluded that patients are no more at risk of having a rare type of stroke after visiting a chiropractor than they are after visiting a medical practitioner.(Reference: "Risk of Vertebrobasilar Stroke and Chiropractic Care" - David Cassidy, D.C., Ph.D, as part of the multidisciplinary, international task force on Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 led by Scott Haldeman D.C., Ph.D., M.D.)
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More and more research is showing the incredible benefits of chiropractic. Although all medical practitioners should welcome chiropractors with open arms, this is not always the case. And although we all practise the same philosophy, that the 'welfare of the sick is the supreme law', medical acceptance of chiropractic has been slow to change. However, with millions of people world-wide receiving the benefits of chiropractic, public opinion has demanded a change. Today, more and more medical practitioners are referring patients to our clinics. Veterans Affairs and Workers' Compensation cover chiropractic. So, should you need a referral from a medical practitioner for Workers Compensation or because you are a Veterans Affairs patient, keep shopping around until you find one who will refer you to us.
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Please ask your helpful OneWay Chiropractic Doctor, where you're always the One!
