Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Chiropractic?

A: The management of your health and well-being primarily by:

- the treatment of joints and soft tissues, thereby influencing the nervous and muscular systems

- the use of safe and effective manual and other conservative therapies

- recommending appropriate lifestyle changes

Q: What is a Chiropractor?

A: A Chiropractor is a Primary Health Care Provider whose expertise lies in the management of musculoskeletal conditions. Chiropractors receive a minimum of 7 years post secondary education. They have graduated with a doctorate from an accredited Chiropractic College where they have learned to diagnose and manage most neuromuscular conditions.

A: When spinal bones lose their normal position and motion, nervous system interference results. Spinal Dysfunction may result from postural stress, trauma or chemical imbalances.

A: Specific force applied in a specific direction to normalize nervous system and spinal dysfunction.

- a gentle "hands-on" procedure

- improves joint motion

- safe and effective

- may be performed on other joints

A: Myofascial release techniques to break up inter and intra muscular adhesions

- Active integrated stretching

- Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretch

- Improvement of length tension relationship within the muscle

A: An Adjustment results in an instantaneous gap within the joint. This increase in joint space shifts normal fluids within the joint and allows trapped gases (nitrous oxide and others) to be released. The release of these gases causes a "cracking" or popping sound. Despite the loudness of these sounds, it is not painful. In fact, many patients notice a tremendous relief in their pain with an adjustment.

A: Many patients notice a relief in their pain within the first treatment. However, some may require 6-8 treatments before they report any noticeable improvement. It is important to realize that chiropractic treatments are intended to assist a patient in their recovery. In many cases, the patient must make appropriate lifestyle changes to ensure full recovery and receive the most benefit from their chiropractic care.

A: Many patients presently in our clinic report that they felt fine right up until the moment their pain began. As well many are not able to contribute their pain to anything that they had previously done. The reason for this presentation is because a lot of musculoskeletal conditions result from cumulative insults to their musculoskeletal system. This usually occurs over an extended period of time, therefore, routine chiropractic assessments are useful in the early detection of a problem before it becomes more serious.

A: It is possible to turn or move in a certain way and elicit the same sounds in your spine that is heard with an adjustment. However, these sounds often come from the joints surrounding the fixated joint. That is when a joint becomes immobile, adjacent joints may compensate by becoming more mobile or "hyper-mobile". The sounds that one makes in their own spine are often a result of gases being emitted from the "hyper-mobile" joints. This may in fact exacerbate the condition by promoting hypermobility within the surrounding joints. Only an adjustment by a licensed health care practitioner will be able to address the immobile or fixated joints, thereby eliminating the problem.