Chiropractice

Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts which is based upon the understanding that good health depends, in part, upon a normally functioning nervous system (especially the spine, and the nerves extending from the spine to all parts of the body). "Chiropractic" comes from the Greek word Chiropraktikos, meaning "effective treatment by hand." Chiropractic stresses the idea that the cause of many disease processes begins with the body's inability to adapt to its environment. It looks to address these diseases not by the use of drugs and chemicals, but by locating and adjusting a musculoskeletal area of the body which is functioning improperly.

The conditions which doctors of chiropractic address are as varied and as vast as the nervous system itself. All chiropractors use a standard procedure of examination to diagnose a patient's condition and arrive at a course of treatment. Doctors of chiropractic use the same time-honored methods of consultation, case history, physical examination, laboratory analysis and x-ray examination as any other doctor. In addition, they provide a careful chiropractic structural examination, paying particular attention to the spine.

The examination of the spine to evaluate structure and function is what makes chiropractic different from other health care procedures. Your spinal column is a series of movable bones which begin at the base of your skull and end in the center of your hips. Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves extend down the spine from the brain and exit through a series of openings. The nerves leave the spine and form a complicated network which influences every living tissue in your body.

Accidents, falls, stress, tension, overexertion, and countless other factors can result in a displacements or derangements of the spinal column, causing irritation to spinal nerve roots. These irritations are often what cause malfunctions in the human body. Chiropractic teaches that reducing or eliminating this irritation to spinal nerves can cause your body to operate more efficiently and more comfortably.

Chiropractic also places an emphasis on nutritional and exercise programs, wellness and lifestyle modifications for promoting physical and mental health. While chiropractors make no use of drugs or surgery, Doctors of chiropractic do refer patients for medical care when those interventions are indicated. In fact, chiropractors, medical doctors, physical therapists and other health care professionals now work as partners in occupational health, sports medicine, and a wide variety of other rehabilitation practices.

Back Pain

Two common causes of back pain are disc injury and degenerative disc disease. As discs degenerate, they lose their water content and height, bringing vertebrae closer together. The nerve openings are consequently narrowed and the added pressure from the disk can pinch a nerve causing back or leg pain.

Often confused with each other, a bulging disc is normal, while a ruptured disc is not. A bulging disc is a normal process which happens as the discs carry body weight throughout the day. The weight of the body causes the discs to "bulge" out. This "bulge" disappears at night as the weight is removed.

A ruptured disc is an injured or damaged disc that leaks out watery jelly (called nucleus pulposus) from the center of the disc. This leakage reduces the shock absorber effect and sometime the jelly presses against a nerve and causes pain, primarily leg pain.

Whiplash Syndrome. If your head is bent backwards or forwards violently your neck ligaments can be strained. (Ligaments are tough, inelastic fibres which hold bones together.) The symptoms are pain and stiffness which usually begin several hours after the occurrence of the injury.

A stiff neck that is accompanied by a severve headache, vomiting, confusion, drowsiness and a hatred of bright lights may mean menigitis (an inflammation of the membrane covering the brain and spinal cord).

A slipped or prolapsed disc in the cervical spine could result in a severe pain in your shoulder, arm or hand. Small movements may make the pain worse.

Back and shoulder pain which is made worse by breathing and accompanied by a cough and high temperature may be caused by a chest infection such as pneumonia or pleurisy.

Pain and stiffness in the back accompanied by numbness or tingling in the fingers may suggest osteoarthritis in the bones of the spine.

The Mid Back

Back pain that becomes worse after sitting in one position for a long time may be caused by poor posture or by a badly-designed chair.

Stress, anxiety and emotional worries can lead to muscle tension which results in aches and pains in the back. This is one of the most common causes of back pain - probably affecting as many as eight out of ten sufferers.

A sharp pain that is worse when you breathe in or move and which follows an injury may be a result of a broken rib - or even a damaged bone in the spine.

If your pain started after a trivial movement - such as tying up your shoe laces or turning over in bed - it may be a result of a slipped disc or a joint problem in your spine.

Severve, constant pain that radiates round into your chest may be a result of a fracture caused by osteoporosis of thin bones.

Pain here that is accompanied by discomfort when passing urine and/or blood in your urine may be a result of a kidney infection.

If you get severe pain here that comes and goes - and radiates down into your groin - you may have a kidney stone.

Pain in the middle of the back that is made worse by eating and accompanied by indigestion may suggest a stomach ulcer.

A pain that follows strenuous exercise may suggest a torn or strained muscle.

General backache that is made worse by movement or cold weather may suggest arthritis in the spine.

The Lower Back

Did your low back pain start fairly quickly after twisting, bending or lifting or did it occur after some apparently trivial movement? If so, then it may be caused by a slipped or prolapsed disc.

If, in addition to back pain, you also have pain going down one or both legs, or numbness or tingling in one or both legs, then you may be suffering from sciatica - in which the sciatic nerve can be damaged by a slipped or prolapsed disc.

If you are under 30 and you find that your pain and stiffness are relieved by exercise you may have a condition known as Ankylosing Spondylitis in which the discs and ligaments of the spine become stiff and bonelike.

Low back pains that are accompanied by gynaecological symptoms (discharge, bleeding etc.) may suggest a gynaecological cause - such as period pain.

Hips

Pain that is mainly in the hip or groin, goes down the front of your leg and gets worse when you walk may be caused by an osteoarthritic hip.

Base of the Spine

Pain in one buttock - possibly accompanied by pain in the back of the thigh - may be caused by a sacroiliac joint strain.

Slipped or Prolapsed Discs

One of the most common causes of back pain is a slipped or prolapsed disc and it really isn't difficult to understand why this causes so much trouble. It is the bones of the spine which give the back its strength. But if the spine only consisted of bone then you wouldn't he able to bend to tie up your shoe laces or pick things up off the floor. So between the bones there are 23 intervertebral discs which act as bendy shock absorbers.

The outer part of each disc is tough and rather rubbery but inside that there is a soft, squashy area called the nucleus pulposus (85 per cent of each disc is made up of water). It is this central soft part of the disc that gives us the ability to touch our toes.

When you are lying in bed at night the disc expands and sucks in water and food. But when you are walking or carrying something heavy the bones compress the discs and squeeze out much of the fluid.

During the average sort of day most of us lose about a centimetre in height because our discs are compressed. You gain that lost height again every night.

If your spine consisted only of bone it would be very stiff and immobile. But unless there is something wrong with it your spine is remarkably bendy. There are two things which make this possible.

First, there is the shape of the bones. Your first cervical vertebra (which is also called the 'atlas' bone). It allows your head to nod backwards and forwards, and to tilt sideways. Your second cervical vertebra (also known as the 'axis' bone) allows your head to turn to the left and to the right. The other bones of the spine also allow a certain amount of backward, forward and sideways movement.

More important even than the shape of your bones are the intervertebral discs' the 23 narrow spongy shock absorbers which fit between the 24 separate bones of your spine. Without the discs these bones would grate and crunch evey time you moved. The disc has a strong fibrous outer casing called the antiti-fibtostis and a soft, squashy, jelly-like interior called the nucleus pulposus which is reinforced with strands of fibre.

Intervertebral discs have very little in the way of nerve supply and contain no blood. They are made up largely of water As you get older the amount of fluid in your discs will diminish slightly and as a result you will get shorter.

References:
WebMD