Second, I didn't take any of the pictures he used....I'll find my own to add later....some day....
If you don't get adjusted by a doctor at Delmarva Chiropractic here in Salisbury, MD ~ get adjusted SOMEWHERE!! ;-P
1. Pain is the LAST symptom of dysfunction.
A patient’s back is often restricted or unstable for months or years before it presents as a problem and they show up in a chiropractor’s office. In addition, the absence of pain is not health. While medication may be needed, if you take a pill and the pain goes away, the dysfunction that caused it still persists. Muscle, ligament and joint injuries often occur as a result of long-term biomechanical dysfunction, sometimes from past injuries, making the area more susceptible to future injury.
Somewhat like the tip of an iceberg looming on the horizon is a warning of something deeper and more dangerous, pain is a warning. It is a signal of malfunction of some vital body circuitry; a message that something is wrong. And even though the presence of pain means that something is wrong, we cannot say the opposite, that the absence of pain means that we are necessarily healthy. A person may have no symptoms at all yet be suffering from the first stages of a life threatening disease. Pain is usually the last thing to occur in an unhealthy condition and the first thing to go away when the causes start being corrected.
2. Athletes use chiropractors to stay well and perform better, not just for the occasional injury.
Athletes choose chiropractors because we are movement specialists. Chiropractors were spotted all over the Olympic coverage last year, and top athletes such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, Tom Brady, Evander Holyfield, and Arnold Schwarzenegger have all been proud patients of chiropractors. These days it’s far more common than not for major athletes and sports teams to keep chiropractors nearby to help prevent injuries, speed injury recovery, improve balance and coordination, and give them a greater competitive edge.
3. The body does not perform as a cluster of separate mechanisms, but rather a cascade of events that all starts with proper control by the nervous system.
The nerves that travel through and control every function of your body originate at the spinal cord and their transmission may be disrupted if the joints of the surrounding spinal column are not moving properly. This disruption in biomechanical integrity combined with altered physiological function is what chiropractors call a subluxation. Below is a chart that illustrates the relationship of the spinal nerves exiting the vertebra branching off to the various organ systems. You can see why it is not uncommon for a chiropractor to treat a patient with mid-back pain who also suffers from irritable bowel system, a patient with a subluxated sacrum who has been unsuccessfully trying to become pregnant, or a patient with an upper back fixation and acid reflux.
4. Doctors don’t do the healing.
Sorry to disappoint you, but a chiropractor will never fix your back. What we are able to do is restore proper motion in the joints, which relieves tension on the nerves and muscles and allows your body to do the healing that it is inherently made to do. As chiropractors, we believe that the body is a perfect organism in its natural state, and all disease comes from a disruption in the body’s proper transmission of signals by the nerves which affects its ability to heal and to defend against disease-causing agents. We never treat disease. We assess to find which spinal levels are causing the dysfunction, and we adjust it to restore proper nerve flow so the nervous system may work as efficiently and effectively as possible.
5. Chiropractic is for all ages.
Many seniors aren’t aware of the benefits of chiropractic care which can help them not only with pain relief, but also increase range of motion, balance and coordination, and decrease joint degeneration. There’s no patient too young for chiropractic either! Chiropractors check infants moments after birth for misalignments of the upper vertebrae that may occur as a result of the birth process. In addition to supporting overall health and well-being, parents also take their children to chiropractors to encourage healthy brain and nervous system development, to assist with colic, asthma, allergies, bed-wetting and sleeping problems, and to assist with behavioral disorders.
6. We know about more than your backbone!
This surprises many people who had no idea that chiropractors give advice on nutrition, fitness, ergonomics and lifestyle, screen for conditions unrelated to the musculoskeletal system and refer out to other practitioners when necessary. Chiropractors are also able to complete specialties in other areas such as pediatrics, sports rehabilitation, neurology, clinical nutrition, and addictions and compulsive disorders.
Other than particular specialties and the differences in learning to adjust and learning to prescribe medication, our training hours are not dissimilar from that of medical doctor. The photo shows classroom hours for basic science requirements compiled and averaged following a review of curricula of 18 chiropractic schools and 22 medical schools.
The doctors at Delmarva Chiropractic have some of the finest continuing education available and likely have the most extensive educational background anywhere on the Eastern Shore . For example Dr. Lane and Dr. Brown are both Certified Chiropractic Extremities Practitioners (CCEP) meaning that they have diplomate level training, in adjusting the appendicular skeleton (the 126 bones of the pelvis, lower extremity including the foot, ribs, scapula and upper extremity including the wrist and hand.). Dr. Lane is nearing completion of his diplomate in Chiropractic Neurology. Dr. Brown is in process of acquiring a diplomate as a Chiropractic Sports Physician and Dr. McKamey has obtained a Masters Degree in Sports Science and Rehabilitation, completed certification as a Chiropractic Wellness Specialist, is taking the CCEP courses and will be beginning the Chiropractic Internist Dipolmate program in the Fall.
7. Successful chiropractic patients accept responsibility.
When somebody says that they tried chiropractic and it didn’t help, chiropractors cringe and we get the feeling that they really missed the boat. Of course, there are cases with complicating factors, but when we hear this from people with straightforward chiropractic problems it is very clear what has happened. In most cases, one doesn’t acquire back pain over night, and it’s not going to go away over night. If a weak core from years of sitting at a desk is to blame for the additional stress on your joints, we would expect an adjustment to provide relief, but once the condition is no longer exacerbated, we would most definitely prescribe some exercises for you to do at home. We might also suggest an evaluation your nutrition if an inflammatory diet may be setting you up for pain. Sure, we are always happy to adjust someone and make a living, but if you’ve been given homework and you don’t do it, we don't like to hear you blame chiropractic when you’re hurting again!
My patients often get a speech that goes something like this. "In the first 6 to 12 visits my goal is to drive your discomfort level down and increase your mobility to a point where you can begin to strengthen and rehabilitate your core." "Proximal stability is absolutely necessary for distal mobility and weakness in the pelvic floor and the core muscles that support your spine is the number one reason for low back injury." Reducing the pain and restoring mobility is primarily my responsibility. However, with injury there is always neurologic insult and deconditioning. I tell them that during the rehabilitative phase the responsibility shifts from me to them and "I can tell when patients are not performing their home exercises." Without dedication to stabilization and strengthening the cycle of healing and re-injury is perpetuated.
8. Chiropractic may help you get sick less.
Studies have indicated that adjustments consistently reduce the production of pro-inflammatory mediators associated with tissue damage and pain, and may also enhance the production of immunoregulatory complexes important for healthy immune system defense. As far back as the deadly flu pandemic of 1917-1918, chiropractors noticed that their patients seemed to have fewer fatalities than among the general population and were able to publish their work in an osteopathic journal since no scholarly journals were accepting chiropractic data. The estimated death rate among patients of conventional medical care in the U.S. was estimated at 5 to 6 percent while the fatality rate among influenza cases receiving spinal adjustments was estimated at 0.25%.
9. “I’ll have to go forever” is a myth.
Chiropractic joke: Q: How many chiropractor's does it take to change a light bulb? A: Only one, but he comes back to adjust it over and over and over again.
You may want to go to your chiropractor forever once you’ve started because you realize how great getting adjusted is, but your doctor won’t expect you to come for continuous care without symptoms and eventually third party payers like insurance providers, will not pay for visits when there is not a subjective complaint or objective findings. Generally, if you come in with pain, once you’ve been treated for your initial complaint, you’ll be scheduled for a few more appointments to make sure proper motion is being maintained.
At Delmarva Chiropractic our primary goal will be to reduce your pain to a tolerable level then begin a period of rehabilitative protocols to restore functional capacity. It is our position, that it is impossible to rehabilitate tissues which are in a dysfunctional state and tissues in pain are always dysfunctional. We want to restore function so you can return to the activities of daily living your enjoy so much.
Beyond these two phases of care it will be recommended you return occasionally to be checked just like you would go to the dentist to get checked for tartar buildup and cavities. Of course, many people still choose to see their chiropractor weekly or monthly for wellness or maintenance care.
10. Adjustments don’t hurt (well, mostly).
There is no bone snapping or warrior-style pulling heads off spinal columns! The neck adjustment some chiropractors use causes anticipation for many new patients, but is actually much more gentle than they imagined, and involves a quick, direct thrust to a specific spinal bone. The sound an adjustment makes is called a cavitation and is only space being created within the joint causing gasses to be released from the joint capsule, which creates the popping or cracking noise. Also, chiropractic adjustments will not wear out your joints, as some imagine because they have been warned not to “crack their knuckles” for this reason in the past. Adjustments, unlike “knuckle cracking” or having your friend stomp on you while you lay on the carpet, are applied specifically to improve the motion of your joints and limit the small dysfunctions that over time can lead to arthritis. Most people after an adjustment describe the feeling as being “lighter”, having greater ease in moving the body, and being able to stand up taller.
However, while we want you to know that chiropractic is gentle and safe it is important to note that restoration of normal joint function along with the stretching of tendons, muscles and overlying fascia can cause some residual localized soreness that may last 12-24 hours. We are always careful not to adjust "too much" in those critical first several visits in an effort to keep this possibility to a minimum.
Watch this short, fun video by Dr. Nima Rahmany at Westgate Wellness Centre, Maple Ridge, British Colombia.
