A Simple Explanation of Chiropractic

Easy to Understand Explanation of Chiropractic Care

The human spine is made up of 24 movable bones called vertebrae.  Sometimes these bones fail to move correctly and/or lose their proper alignment.  This causes two problems.  1) The nerves that come off the spinal cord between the vertebral bones can become irritated and sometimes pinched, which has a negative effect on whatever that nerve goes to — muscles, sensory cells, internal organs, blood vessels to the brain, etc.  2)  uneven “wear and tear” on the involved joints that causes degenerative changes (arthritis).

The Chiropractic Doctor does an examination and sometimes takes x-rays to determine where these problems are and performs a series of “spinal adjustments” or “spinal manipulations” to re-establish proper motion and alignment. Other treatment modalities such as electrical muscle stimulation, traction (decompression), or orthotic shoe inserts may be used as well.  A specific set of exercises is usually prescribed to help maintain the changes the chiropractor has made.  Dr. Olsen refers to this set of treatments as Spinal Reconditioning.