What is a Chiropractic Adjustment?
In the wide world of wellness, chiropractic care is an essential form of alternative medicine that solely cares for the health of the spine, alongside the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. Having a professional chiropractor in your overall well-being toolbox is a boon to the prevention of mechanical disorders of the body. Every chiropractor has to endure hours and years of education to understand why you’re in pain, and how to help realign your bodily structure in such a way that you can function properly.
As a health care profession that spotlights your body’s ability to heal itself, having a chiropractic adjustment is the treatment that involves manual therapy, oftentimes including spinal manipulation. If you find yourself in a chiropractor’s office to aid in your healing, the professionals appointed to offer you care might also include physical therapy and nutrition counseling to continue on with the inflamed musculoskeletal relief and contribute to a positive lifestyle change.
The Care Chiropractors Provide
The chiropractic profession approaches patient care in a way that resembles how conventional medicine initially screens new patients. The licensed healthcare professional interviews the patient and obtains a detailed health history followed by an examination then tests and develops a comprehensive diagnosis. They then create a plan to manage the pain and symptoms, begin treatment, and check in on the patient’s progress as they work diligently to treat inflamed areas related to the musculoskeletal system.
The Adjustment Process
The treatment methods used by chiropractors range from manual manipulations to stretching the bodily site in question, to applying sustained pressure on the specific joints, typically delivered by hand and including a fast and gentle thrust to get the body back into alignment. The patient typically lies on a table designed for support and pressure from the treatment, as the chiropractor manually checks all pain points and delivers results that involve different modalities.
Sometimes, the chiropractic adjustment will need ‘blocking’ underneath parts of the lower body to help with the alignment. This is where the licensed professional will gently place wooden blocks under a hip or thigh area to realign the position of the spinal column and the adjoining structure that’s seemingly out of whack. The purpose of these manual manipulations is to enhance joint motion and function while alleviating discomfort. Since chiropractic manipulations are most commonly performed on the spinal area, other body parts may be treated in this way in order to achieve alignment.
A chiropractic adjustment may also involve manual therapy for the cervical spine area, which includes the upper neck. Oftentimes, a neck adjustment is simply another modality that coincides with the overall healing of the entire spinal alignment. The professional and their assistants may recommend rehabilitation that involves a neck stability contraption to ensure the adjustment ‘sticks’ and aids in the entire healing process. Following a chiropractic adjustment, physical therapy is normally prescribed that includes the spine, hip, and abdominal exercises–every body part that supports your skeletal structure and needs strengthening to get back to normal.
In Summary
Chiropractic care involves education in basic science courses, such as physiology, anatomy, and kinesiology. A chiropractor who works on patients must have extensive knowledge of spinal assessments, adjustment techniques, and performing a diagnosis. The in-depth treatment for chiropractors goes beyond the adjustment process and into post-care and rehabilitation. Once the manual therapy has been offered to patients for as long as needed, physical therapy and nutrition counseling enter the scene.
The only way to reap the benefits of a chiropractic adjustment is with continued manual care and lifestyle changes that keep your spine in check and healthy in the long run.