Chiropractors in Columbus
In my office, I see patients with a variety of health problems respond to chiropractic care. To help you get the most from your investment of time and money here are some suggestions I share with my newest patients:
- Keep your appointments. Each visit builds on the ones before. Your care recommendations are based on success with other patients with similar health problems.
- Do your homework. In many ways, what you do at home and at work can have a profound effect on your health progress. This is the time to eat right, rest and get the proper exercise. I’ll offer specific suggestions on future visits.
- Give it time. Healing is a process that takes time and is influenced by many factors. Retaining muscles and soft tissues needed to support your spine properly can take weeks to months of intensive care. Please be patient.
Chiropractors in Columbus, Ohio Are Nervous System Doctors.
Most people think of chiropractors as neck, back, and /or bone doctors. Yes, it is true that we help lots of patients with neck and back pain and we do this with a specific adjustment to the spine. A chiropractic adjustment is a specific force applied in a specific direction to a specific vertebra (“back bone”) for the specific purpose of removing a subluxation. The only reason chiropractors “move bones” is to take the pressure off the nerve so the body can function as it was designed.
The body is a self healing, self regulating organism and the most amazing machine on earth. You don’t have to think about having your heart beat 60 to 85 times per minute or taking 14 to 18 breaths per minute or secreting enough stomach acid to digest your food because our bodies regulate this automatically through our nervous system. When we cut our finger or scrape out knee and put a band-aid over the wound, is it our body that heals the wound or is it the band-aid.
The body of course. When we break a bone in our arm and have a cast placed on our limb, is it our body that heals the broken bone or is it the cast the doctor placed on our arm? The body of course. These are just some simple examples that show the self-healing and self regulating power of our bodies and it is all accomplished by proper communication between the brain and the body.
Communication Between the Brain and Body.
The brain sends signals down the spinal cord and out the nerves to their target areas (muscles, heart, lungs, liver, stomach, glands, pancreas, gal bladder, small intestine, large intestine, kidneys…..) There are 31 pair of nerves that leave the spinal cord and exit the
spinal column to reach their specific destination. The nervous system controls the function every organ, tissue, and cell within the body. Because the nervous system is so vital to life it is very well protected within our bodies. The brain is protected by the skull and our spinal cord is protected by the spinal column (backbone) which is made up of 24 moveable segments called vertebra.
Miscommunication Between the Brain and Body.
When everything is working as it should there is 100% communication between the brain and the body (organs, tissues, cells). With 100% communication the body is able to function at its optimum. A subluxation is an interruption in this communication process. Subluxations are caused by spinal misalignments that narrow the space (vertebral foramen) through which the nerve from the spinal cord exits the spinal column to reach its target.
Research has shown that it takes very little pressure (about the weight of a dime) to cause aberrant nerve flow. This nervous system interference causes the communication between the brain and the body to be less than 100%. This uncharacteristic, irregular, atypical, abnormal communication interrupts the signal from the brain to the body and vice versa which leads to uncharacteristic, irregular, atypical, abnormal function within the body’s organs, tissues, and cells. For example, irritating the nerves that go to the stomach or intestines causes interference with the communication between the brain and these organs. This may cause the person to suffer from gastric reflux, ulcers, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea or other gastrointestinal problems.
So What Causes Subluxations?
Many of life’s events can cause subluxations and they can be divided into three categories called the 3 T’s.
· Thoughts – include but are not limited to emotional stress (marriage, friendships, financial, holidays, moving/relocating, work…) and having a negative outlook on life.
· Trauma – include but are not limited to slips, falls, motor vehicle accidents, improper lifting, improper exercise, straining, jolts as well as sustained postures (sitting all day, sleeping, long car rides…)
· Toxins – include but are not limited to poor diet, tobacco, alcohol, side effects from medications, environmental pollution (smoke, exhaust fumes, second hand smoke, cleaning chemicals, paint fumes…)
Correcting Subluxations
Doctors of Chiropractic are the only health care professional trained to detect, reduce, remove, and prevent vertebral subluxations. There are many different chiropractic techniques and I choose to practice the Gonstead Technique. The Gonstead System was developed by a chiropractor with a mechanical engineering background named C.S. Gonstead. Known for its specific analysis and biomechanical approach to full spine adjustments, the Gonstead System is one of the most researched techniques in chiropractic today.
The Gonstead System utilizes specific x-ray analysis, orthopedic/neurological evaluations, heat sensitive instrumentation, motion palpation and static palpation of the spine to locate problem areas. The Gonstead System is a scientific and specific form of Chiropractic that has enabled millions of people to find solutions to their physical problems and enjoy a greater degree of health and a better quality of life.