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This article may just be your first introduction to chiropractic care as a health proffesion. If so, we recognize that you might have some questions about what chiropractic is and how its natural approach could help reveal many health concerns. Since these are common questions for new patients, we will talk about the chiropractic approach to health along with explaining the use of chiropractic care for your health problem.

Based on the premise that good health goes hand in hand with a properly functioning nervous system, chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts. When cells, organs, and all other structures of the body are working normally, a state of health or normal physiology occurs. Oppositely, when the body’s physiology is not normal, a disease state begins. An abnormal physiology leads to abnormal function of structures and predisposes the body to disease processes.

The spinal column is a series of movable bones that starts at the base of your skull and ends in the center of your hips. The spine is the structure that is depended upon for support and movement. Even though the spine is composed of 24 individual vertebrae; they all work together as one whole unit. Those 24 vertebrae are stacked on top of each other like building blocks with a layer of fibrocartilage (disc) in between them. The discs help cushion shock, allow movement, and reduce friction.

Chiropractic care is different than any other health care procedure. It focuses on the spine and examination of the spine to evaluate structure and function. Several things could cause the spine to lose its ability to move as a dynamic organ such as: uneven stress, accidents, over-extension, falls, tension, and many other factors. Minor displacements/derangements of one or more of the vertebrae can result from such symptoms along with irritation to spinal nerve roots directly by pressure or indirectly through reflexes.

In turn, these irritations cause malfunctions in the body. Nerve pressure and nerve reflex can cause a disturbance in fragile body functions resulting in a hightened vulnerability to the disease process. In order to relieve the irritation to the spinal nerves, the chiropractor must re-establish the normal mobility of the spine. By doing so the doctor of chiropractic causes your body to operate more efficiently.