CHIROPRACTIC IS OVER 110 YEARS OLD

Chiropractic is not new. It's beginning is traced back to 1895 when a magnetic healer by the name of DD Palmer adjusted the spine of a school janitor in Iowa, USA, and the man's deafness was cured. Things are a little cloudy as to what exactly DD did, but at the time modern medicine was selling snake oils off the back of wagons so it's not surprising the detail is lost, but this is how it all began.

For most of it's history chiropractic has delivered fantastic results without the solid scientific research to explain how it works. However the last few decades have seen a lot of work into spinal pain conditions, and the results are now giving us explanations as to why chiropractic has been so successful ever since DD Palmer's time.

Much of the problem is that back pain is a difficult beast to manage. Given that at any one time about 1/3rd of the population is experiencing back pain, and nearly 2/3rds of us will experience back pain in our lives, yet there is minimal consensus as to the cause and best treatment approach. What is known is that bed rest is the worst thing to do, drugs just mask the symptoms and simply waiting for the pain to go away will almost certainly lead to regular flare-ups in the future.

Chiropractors are in a unique position as they train specifically to deal with spinal problems, and the research is now showing that what chiropractors look for is the most common cause of back pain - the subluxation.

THE SUBLUXATION - ITS LIKE A WHEEL ALIGNMENT PROBLEM IN THE SPINE...

Most people experiencing back pain do so because their posture on a day to day basis is not great, so small incremental stresses in the spine build up until one day they become symptomatic. When back symptoms strike, it often means the problem has actually been around for some time, and there often is no such thing as a quick fix.

Fortunately chiropractic treatment can relieve symptoms most of the time, without the aid of drugs. The big question is what your expectations are in terms of resolving the problem properly, as opposed to a quick fix to stop the pain.

A subluxation involves five abnormal components
1. Incorrect movement or alignment between two or more bones of the spine
2. Irritation and changes in the nerves at the affected spinal level
3. Abnormal muscular tension
4. Changes at the cellular level including swelling and oedema
5. Potential for degenerative changes to the soft tissues and bones

WHY DOES CHIROPRACTIC WORK?

In simplified form, chiropractic is based on the following principles:

1. The body is constantly adapting to an ever-changing external environment to stay healthy and alive
2. The part of the body that controls this adaptive process is the brain and nervous system
3. When the spine develops faulty movement patterns (subluxations), these often complex functional problems irritate the nervous system and
4. Lead to a reduction in the body to adapt and therefore stay healthy

The role of a chiropractor is to identify these subluxations and correct them using a variety of techniques that can be adapted to suit the person.

IS CHIROPRACTIC SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE?

Virtually everyone can benefit from chiropractic care, and age is no barrier;

* Newborns go through a lot of stress during childbirth and problems like colic seem to be strongly linked to problems in the upper neck
* Young children are estimated to fall about 400 times by the time they are 5 years of age, plus a developing immune system needs all the help it can from a healthy spine and nervous system
* Growing teenagers have many physical changes and it is often during this time that the spinal problems of adulthood develop. Curvatures of the spine known as scoliosis often develop during adolescence and need to be managed carefully
* Through our adult lives we experience many different stresses which can be managed and treated successfully with chiropractic care
* In our later years many of the aging problems respond well to chiropractic, obviously with increasing frailty the adjusting techniques are modified accordingly.

WHY THRIVE CHIROPRACTIC?

Quite simply we aim to provide service beyond what you would expect, using a range of natural methods to get you better as quickly as possible, and to provide the tools to help you take control of your good health.