FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions
These are some of the most frequently asked questions we have been asked during our work at Hinckley Chiropractic Clinic. If the answer to your question is not here, please feel free to contact us and we will help you.
What is chiropractic care?
Your spines job is to provide postural support, movement and protection to the very delicate nerves that exit the spine. Messages go backwards and forward from the brain, through your spinal cord and out to your cells and tissues, including muscles, joints, organs, and glands. It is vital that this communication is uninterrupted so that the body can make appropriate responses to your environment and your health is expressed in the best possible way.
If your spinal joints become subluxated or misaligned, then the nerve messages going to and fro are impeded. Subluxations affect the flow of nerve energy to your body where the nerve goes to, and affects the nerve messages from your spine to your brain. Also, over time, if the joints remain subluxated, this will speed up wear and tear as the joints are out of normal alignment.
A Chiropractors job is to detect and correct these spinal subluxations, remove nerve interference and allow the body to function optimally.
Your spinal health is closely linked to your overall health.
Is it safe?
Chiropractic is the most frequented alternative health profession in Australia. It is the largest non-surgical, non-drug prescribing, primary contact health profession in the world. It is also very safe, and is 250 times safer than a course of anti-inflammatory drugs. (Dabbs,V.,& Lauretti.W.J. (1995). A Risk Assessment of Cervical Manipulation vs NSAISA for the Treatment of Neck Pain. JMPT, 18 (8). 530-36.)
Although chiropractic care has an excellent safety record, no health treatment is completely free of potential adverse effects. The risks associated with chiropractic, however, are extremely small.
Before we start a program of care with a new member the doctor of chiropractic goes through the possible adverse reactions and gives the appropriate advice should discomfort be noted after a chiropractic adjustment.
Who can chiropractic care help?
If achieving and maintaining excellence in health is a priority in your life, then a spinal check up is an important part of that process, whether it's for a newborn or someone in their eighties. We all are at different levels of health, and our health goals may differ too. But if you are aiming to step up and move to the next level of health then improving your spinal health is a great way to do that. Excellent spinal health ensures that your nerve system (THE MASTER CONTROLLER) communicates efficiently with your body, so that your internal environment to respond to your external environment in a more balanced way, leading to greater health and wellbeing.
Can my spine degenerate(decay) and not give me pain?
Spinal misalignments or subluxations are present long before pain commences. When a spinal joint has been subluxated for several years, then not only will your spine adapt and create changes in your posture, but there is a greater chance that the tilt or twist in the vertebra (back bone) will cause some wear and tear. This will show up on X-rays as a reduced disc, and other remodeling changes, such as extra calcium deposits which will look like spurs on your vertebrae. The longer the problem is present the greater the chance that your body will fuse the problem vertebrae. This is your bodyʼs innate wisdom at work- a joint that is unstable and not moving well will eventually fuse- this may take decades. Just as a problem in your big toe will cause you to lean on the outside of your foot, and if you continue this walking style will cause you shoes to wear unevenly.
Spinal degeneration is bad news for your nerve system, as advance degeneration causes much nerve pressure and damage.
If a spinal joint is working perfectly then there should be no degeneration or wear. It is important to understand that people can have subluxations and have NO PAIN OR SYMPTOMS, and people can have subluxation degeneration and have NO PAIN OR SYMPTOMS. Donʼt wait for pain and spinal remodeling - get your spinal joints working well and keep them working well. This is the key to achieving nerve system health and hence, overall health. People will tend to come in to see me after an major aggravation of a long standing issues, usually one that is on and off. Stiffness, occasional twinges are all warning signs- donʼt wait for the sirens to go off.
Even though we would recommend to maintain your spinal function, it really is up to you to make that choice.