Most of the time the answer is no. When you have a misalignment in your spine it can hurt but often these misalignments are often painless. Misalignments often lie just under the surface much like a dental cavity creating a problem but going unnoticed until it causes pain. This explains why people will be showering their hair or picking something off the floor and 'all of a sudden' their back goes 'out' or they experience sudden neck ache or back pain. Remember, pain is an indicator that you have a problem and in itself is not the actual problem.
Receiving chiropractic care is a necessary part of being healthy, which in turn means preventing disease. Just like a balanced diet, regular dental check-ups and being active, chiropractic care allows you to reach your full health potential. Everyone, from the youngest to the oldest, should eat well, remain active and have a healthy spine. Whether you have a specific problem or not, your spine needs to be checked to remain healthy. As Hippocrates said, "You are only as healthy as your spine." You have regular dental check-ups; you get your car serviced regularly so it does not break down, so why not look after your spine? Remember, your teeth can be replaced, your spine cannot!
A chiropractor checks your spine to see if you have any misalignments. Your spine is meant to be in line. When you have a misalignment, your spinal bones (vertebrae) create havoc with your nervous system. This havoc and interference disturbs the neurological impulses flowing from your brain to your body and from your body back to your brain. Your brain then can no longer keep the body healthy due to this interference. As a result this can cause a negative effect on the body, a weakened immune system, arthritis and other diseases.
If you have any misalignments, it is very important that you have them corrected. Your chiropractor will gently adjust your vertebrae back into alignment, allowing your body to start healing itself.
It takes just a few minutes.
The misalignments in your back are more often a result of lifestyle and how your back reacts to this lifestyle. We will not just adjust your back and leave it at that; we will have a thorough look at your lifestyle; how you work, what sports you do, how you sleep, and even discuss your nutritional needs if this is deemed necessary. It is important for us to teach you how to be responsible for your own back and as such we will create a program of exercises to retrain your nervous system and to improve your musculoskeletal functioning and general health.
Adjustments are usually painless.
The adjustment may cause a noise such as you hear when your knuckles pop. This is not the bones cracking. The noise is the pressure being released between the misaligned vertebrae, much like the built up pressure being released from inside a canned drink when it's opened.
Stress causes your spine to become misaligned. Stress can be physical (e.g. traumatic, repetitive, postural), emotional (e.g. from work, lifestyle or relationship anxieties) or chemical (e.g. toxic surroundings, poor diet). Everyone suffers from different degrees of each of these stresses. We see the benefits patients get by learning where their difficulties are coming from and often recommend other therapies at the clinic to deal with specific issues. Mind and body are intimately related and this is understood at Angel Chiropractic Clinic. See the section regarding 'Health Care Classes'.
Each adjustment is tailored individually to suit the patient based on their age and the nature of the misalignment. Young patients are adjusted differently to adults and elderly patients are adjusted differently again.
Absolutely not! Once is better than never, though most people choose to continue to receive the benefits of chiropractic care as part of an ongoing desire to stay well. Your chiropractor adjusts only those vertebrae that are misaligned, restoring your body back to the way it was designed to be. Just like exercise or eating properly, when you feel what it's like to be healthy with a healthy spine, you will also notice when something's not quite right. To keep this body of ours running, it requires the correct kind of upkeep and just like anything else, if you don't put energy into health you'll eventually put energy into fighting aches and pains and keeping sickness at bay. You don't have to keep going but most people choose to. Why wouldn't you want to stay well?
How long you decide to benefit from chiropractic care is always up to you. Statistics from NICE (National Institute of Healthcare and Clinic Excellence) have reported that 75% of patients have a recurrence of symptoms within the first year. Chiropractors feel this is excessively high and that a clinically tailored rehabilitation programme and regular spinal care will maintain wellness and decrease the chance of a recurrence. The aim of the Angel Chiropractic Clinic is not just to get you out of pain but also to keep you well.
No, it's impossible to adjust yourself. It is possible to make your spine pop and feel better, but it's not possible to find the misalignment that's causing the problem and specifically adjust it and make it better. If you rely on adjusting yourself or having someone who is not a chiropractor adjust you, the parts of your spine that pop will become too loose and unstable, while the real problem (the locked misalignment) will become stuck and decay. Chiropractors would never attempt to adjust themselves. They go to another chiropractor to receive their adjustments.
Chiropractic is one of the safest health professions in the world. Your chiropractor will do a complete examination and take x-rays to determine if there is any reason why you can't be helped through chiropractic care.
Definitely! Conditions such as these often place extra stress and tensions on the spine and tissues. Leaving this extra stress unchecked can cause further problems in other areas. The chiropractor takes all of these factors into account to insure your spine is kept in peak condition.
A chiropractor has 5 years of chiropractic schooling. Courses taken are the same as a medical doctor with the addition of studying spinal care, nutrition, exercise and advanced neuroanatomy in place of emergency procedures, surgery and pharmacology.
If only I had a £1 for every time I have been asked this! Chiropractic maximizes your health and healing by removing interference from your nervous system and allowing the natural ability of the body to heal itself and to function properly. Chiropractors call this the 'innate' ability. A chiropractor is able to read and diagnose x-rays, thus allowing us to form a thorough examination. X-rays also show us the condition of a patient's spine and allow us to be very specific in our adjustments. Osteopaths cannot utilise and diagnose from x-rays, and therefore their adjustments are far more general.
Pre-existing unnoticed imbalances in your spine and pelvis become overtaxed when pregnant. The added stresses lead to discomfort and difficulty while performing routine, daily activities. Chiropractic care throughout pregnancy can relieve and even prevent the common discomforts experienced in pregnancy. We give specific adjustments to eliminate the stresses in your spine, restore balance to your pelvis, which result in greater comfort and lifestyle improvements.
When the pelvis is in a balanced state the ligaments connected to the uterus maintain an equalised, supportive suspension for the uterus. If your pelvis is out of balance the ligaments become taut and twisted, causing a condition known as 'constraint' to your uterus. This constraint limits the space of the developing baby and affects his or her optimal development. If the woman's uterus is constrained as birth approaches, the baby is also prevented from getting into the best possible position for birth. Any baby position even slightly off during birth will slow down labour and add pain to both the mother and baby. Many women have been told that their babies were too big or labour "just slowed down" when it was really the baby's presentation interfering with the normal process and progression. We work specifically with your pelvis throughout pregnancy restoring a state of balance and creating an environment for an easier, safer delivery.
As soon as possible! The best time to start being adjusted is before you become pregnant so that your body, spine and nervous system are at their optimal best to conceive. Also, after the birth of your baby seeing a Chiropractor will help your body stay in alignment as you deal with the extra demands of a new baby. We want this to be a magical time and by gently checking and adjusting your body we strive to help you get your body back to its pre-baby best. We will also give you guidelines of the best way to carry and lift your baby and also what exercises post birth are acceptable for your stage of recovery.
You can never be too young or too old to see a Chiropractor. Labor and birth can be physically stressful for the baby, having your baby checked as soon as possible will allow him or her the gift of good spinal and nerve health as they grow.
