Benefits of Chiropractic Care Everyone has had a moment when they haven’t felt like their health was a 100 percent. We complain about our backs, necks, having headaches, and feeling fatigue. Most people can relate to these problems. These problems have been around for centuries. All that has changed is how we treat our pain. Most of us probably pop an Advil or some sorts of pain killer and go on with the day. Then at the end of the day the pain probably returns, maybe even worse than before. This most likely happens because medicine is taken to relieve the pain not to fix what's causing the pain. What everyone should consider is putting the pain killers down and making an appointment with a chiropractor. What is a chiropractor? “A chiropractor is health care professional focused on the diagnosis of pain. They treat through hand adjustment and/or manipulation of the spine. Most chiropractors seek to reduce pain and improve the functionality of patients as well as to educate them on how they can account for their own health through exercise, ergonomics and other therapies to treat back pain. Chiropractic is generally categorized as alternative medicine or complementary medicine” (Bowen). They focus mainly on finding the cause to eliminate the pain not just treat it. According to Dr. Kara Johnson D.C. they focus on getting the patient back to maximum health by moving interferences in the spine for healing in a safe and comfortable way. Many may think that the profession of Chiropractic’s hasn't been around for long. In fact, chiropractic care has been around for centuries. The earliest recording of chiropractic dates all the way back to 17,500 B.C. Different cultures all around the world have all been known to use spine manipulation. The famous Greek physician, Hippocrates “believed that only nature could heal and it was the physicians’ duty to remove any obstruction that would prevent the body form healing” (Rondberg 9). Herodotus also Greek, came to fame by curing a disease through spine manipulation, but it wasn't until Daniel David Palmer (D.D) discovered a specific spinal adjustment. Palmer is known to be the Discoverer of Chiropractic (Rondberg 10). A Canadian native, Palmer moved to the U.S at twenty-years of age became a teacher but had a few side jobs. Before he became a chiropractor he dabbled in magnetic healing. Magnetic healing is using the body’s natural magnetic field to heal the body. It wasn't until September 18, 1895; Palmer constructed his first spinal adjustment, on Harvey Lillard. Lillard was a janitor who had an accident affecting his back and also making him deaf for seventeen years. Palmers’ spinal adjustment gave Lillard his hearing back (Rondberg 11). After this great success the public began to come to Palmer with problems varying from headaches to heart complications. Palmer knew how to help these people’s health but he still had to answer the question of why the adjustments worked. He discovered that nerve interference was the cause of the people’s pain. As always great success comes with great failure. Medical doctors were quick to criticize Palmer, so much that it landed him in jail. After Palmer’s death, his son took over his fathers practice. Bartlett Joshua Palmer is known to be the developer of chiropractic. His main priority was to make chiropractic care well known. To make it flourish he created a radio station, because of B.J Palmer chiropractic care is still around today. Thanks to the Palmer’s discoveries, everyone should make it a priority to get an assessment done by a chiropractor. They could be the solution to your pain, migraines, and other health problems. Most people ask why should they visit a chiropractor when they can crack and pop their backs and necks themselves. Cracking and popping could very well make things worse. Those cracking and popping noise could be a sign that you have a misalignment. A chiropractor is the only person that can correct the misalignment safely. According to Dr. Kara Johnson D.C., someone trying to adjust themselves really isn’t doing anything; you’re probably just releasing gas and moving things around. A chiropractor has to find the primary subluxation and misalignment because doing it yourself isn’t fixing the primary spot. Stretching your spine is helpful, so doing exercises like yoga benefit your spine and overall health. If you are going to see a chiropractor people should expect a painless and non- invasive assessment. First, you most likely will have to fill out papers about the history of your health. You may go through a series of stretches so the doctor can see or feel any misalignment. Some doctors may require an X-ray for further findings. After the assessment is over, the doctor will go over what he or she found. The doctor will tell you if there are any nerve interference and the severity of them. From there he or she will inform the patient of how they will plan to adjust you. Most patients who have nerve interference will have to go through three levels. According to Dr. Rondberg Level 1 the Intensive Care Phase it’s where the doctors’ main goal is to eliminate or ease the existing pain you have immediately. Level 1 most patients are coming two to three times a week. Level 2 the Reconstructive Phase may be the most important phase because it’s to make sure you don’t have any relapses of nerve interference. At this phase the patient should be seeing the doctor one to two times a week. The final Level 3 is the Wellness Phase, the spine is adjusted correctly and now the patient has routinely checkups to ensure no relapsing (Rondberg 58). People may ask how long they will have to visit the chiropractor. Dr. Johnson states that the amount of time a patient has to continue their visits depends on the patient, but recommends visiting the chiropractor for the rest of his or hers life. Everyone should visit the chiropractor routinely like visiting the dentist. Chiropractic care is not just for people in pain. Anyone can visit the chiropractor for multiple reasons including just wanting to have a healthier lifestyle. Pregnant woman and babies will benefit from visiting the chiropractor. Dr. Johnson has witness many cases of woman who are unable to breast feed, until receiving an adjustment from a chiropractor. Older people will also benefit from having an adjustment. Dr. Johnsons practice strives to make the patient old or young comfortable with the adjustment. They achieve this by using tools other than their hands such as, an activator and adjusting table. The activator has four settings; depending on the patient the doctor will use different settings. Older people and babies will use a setting of one or two, for different reasons such as sensitivities. The adjusting table is use to adjust mainly the lower back in a gentler way other than the doctors hands. Once the patient has received an adjustment, the next step is to maintain good health. Dr. Johnson says that the patient can help the process of correcting the spine by having a balance diet, exercising, keeping appointments, reducing stress and following the doctors instructions. Dr. Vincent created a list of do s and don't s for staying healthy. He list things like not sitting with your legs cross for a long period of time, and not to sleep on your stomach. According to Dr. Kara, sleeping on your stomach over stretches the neck.

Works Cited

Rondberg, Terry A. Chiropractic First. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Vincent, Dr. "Avalon Chiropractics." What Is Chiropractic, Chiropractic, Correction Of Neurological System, Correction Of Skeletal System. N.p., 2008. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Yoeman, Steven G., DC. "What Is a Chiropractor?" Spine-health. N.p., 12 Sept. 1999. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.