How adjustments enhance function

So how is an adjustment actually helping the body? Most of us have unfortunately experienced pain that becomes an interference, some more than others. In these cases, we of course feel the need to alleviate pain as quickly as possible. While this is one of the aims of our care, it’s not actually our main goal.

Do we need a body M.O.T?

Look at it as how we treat our cars. There are a lot of things we proactively do to make sure our cars run well.

We change the oil, restore tyre pressures…

This helps prevent mishaps where possible, but it is still important to keep up with services and M.O.T’s.

In the same way, our bodies need the right nutrition, good movement and emotional welfare… but also a good M.O.T every so often.

Chiropractors are likened to mechanics of the spine.

Even when everything feels ‘O.K’, they can ensure the spine is functioning properly before the development of pain.

How does this work?

Your Chiropractor detects dysfunctional spinal segments using their hands.

We call these subluxations (which does not mean a partial dislocation, but a joint which is not functioning as it should).

Through research, we now know that muscles around the spinal subluxation are less able to be controlled normally. The result is altered feedback from these muscles, to the brain. The brain therefore interprets information from these areas incorrectly.

The Chiropractic adjustment provides a sudden stretch to these muscles around the spine. The fast stretch restores normal muscle control, therefore improving feedback to the brain and more accurate interpretation of information. In the event that the joint has been dysfunctional for a long time, it can take some persistence and repetition to restore optimal function.

The Chiropractic adjustment provides a sudden stretch to the muscles around the spine which restores normal muscle control and reduces pain.

The Reality Check

Dr Heidi Haavik uses a great analogy to this in her book ‘The Reality Check’. Imagine you are walking down a corridor that you have walked through for years. You are so familiar with the corridor that if the lights went out, you could walk through that corridor without walking into anything. Now imagine it’s pitch black and you go to walk down the corridor, but a bicycle has been left in the way. Unfortunately – this means you end up walking into the bicycle. Think of the bicycle as the dysfunction. It’s there without you knowing. It’s when you walk into it that the pain starts!

This explains why it’s not uncommon for someone to see us, and they are unable to explain why the pain started. “It gradually came on in the past few weeks”, “I woke up with it”, “I wasn’t doing anything, I just noticed it while I was sitting” etc.

There are relationships between particular levels of the spine and the body. For example, releasing a dysfunction in the upper neck can help relieve headaches, the mid back can influence shoulder and/or chest movement and breathing, lower spine often relates to sciatic pain, etc.

So it’s not necessarily the site of pain where the problem is located. It’s essential to always have a full history and examination, to identify the problem and how we can help if and when we can.

“When I first came to the clinic my neck was very painful and I constantly needed to move around as it hurt when I sat still for long periods of time. My treatments and massages have been fantastic and I am hardly ever in pain anymore. All of the SCC staff are so friendly and accommodating. I always feel very welcome whenever I visit.” Charlotte Cripps