Chiropractic – how does it work?

Chiropractic is based on the relationship between your spine and your nervous system.

Chiropractic Definition

You can find the World Federation of Chiropractic definition of what chiropractic is here.

Chiropractic how does it work?The Nervous System

Chiropractic is concerned with the main system in the body which is the nervous system.

Your nervous system consists of your brain, spinal cord and nerves.  It is the most vital system of your body.  This is because, the brain sends signals through the spinal column and nerves to control every other system of the body.

The nervous system is responsible for every function your body performs. For example beating your heart, your breathing, digesting and eliminating your food.

Your brain and nervous system automatically perform these processes, which means you didn’t have to learn them. The most significant parts of your nervous system are protected by bone. Your skull protects your brain and the vertebrae of your spinal column cover your spinal cord.

Spinal Interference

Even with this protection from the skull and vertabrae however,  interference can still happen. This is especially so along the spinal column. Any interference to the nervous system restricts or distorts the transmission of messages through the body.  Therefore, interference causes parts of your body to not work as intended.

What Causes Spinal Interference?

Above all, the most common cause of interference is stress.

There are three major types of stress which the human body faces every day. Each may result in interference of the nervous system. These are:

  • Physical stress, for instance an accident or injury, traumatic birth, poor posture, lack of exercise, sleeping habits. Every day wear and tear and even sitting at work every day can cause the bones of the spine to lose their normal position or motion. This can lead to pain or stiffness and poor function of the nervous system. Chiropractic adjustments remove joint stiffness and muscle tension returning joints to their normal position. This removes the physical stress placed on a joint and on the nervous system.

  • Chemical stresses, for example: diet, environmental pollutants, preservatives and other toxic products can upset the body’s chemical balance and the tone of the muscles and ligaments. Chiropractic is an holistic approach to health. Therefore, not only does a chiropractic adjustment improve joint mobility, but your chiropractor will also advise exercises, stretches and give nutritional advice to help reduce chemical stress on the body.

  • Emotional or mental stresses eventually affect us all at some time in our lives.  Emotions such as grief, workload stress and depression can cause us to tighten up muscles and ligaments in our body without knowing it. Chiropractic can help, by improving the bodies mobility to alleviate the physical signs of emotional stress.

Most of us have at least one, if not more of the above stress factors in our lives. As a result, ultimately these affect our posture and joint alignment.

Chiropractic is a highly skilled and developed approach to removing these interferences, allowing your body to heal itself and fulfil its maximum potential.

In most instances the first place to start would be an initial free consultation.  During this appointment you will be able to ask questions and get a better idea of what treatment can do to improve your health.