Chiropractic treatments are a form of alternative and complementary medicine. It specializes in the diagnosis, management and prevention those conditions that cause problems on the neurological as well as the muscular and skeletal systems. It involves use of manual manipulative techniques targeted on the spinal cord and vertebrae with an aim of correcting dysfunction and therefore restoring health. Initially this practice was predominantly located in North America, Europe and Australia but is now practice in over 100 nations.
This practice was first discovered by a magnetic healer called Palmer in the united states but has faced many challenges in being adopted into convectional systems because of lack of scientific basis to support the mechanisms of the practice. Scientists disapprove the allegations that spinal dysfunction is the sole cause diseases, they however approve it for manual therapies for conditions of the lower back while discrediting it for cervical conditions where it could be dangerous.
Several chiropractic specialists have different believes on the mechanisms through which this therapy works. They however have a consensus on a few issues such as the existence of a relationship between health and the nervous system. The specialists are well vast with functions and structures of the spinal cord and nerves and how they relate to disease processes.
There are three main principles that stand out in the practice of this treatment. Once is that of reductionism which tend to contradict the wide belief of other alternative therapies that belief in holism an that health is a factor of their surrounding. On the contrary the though here is the nervous stem originating from the spine is the factor of good health such that any dysfunction causes disease. There is also the believe that the body has the ability to heal itself also called homeostasis as an inborn capacity. Finally is that the conventional methods tend to be more invasive and thus the need of lesser invasive approaches, what is called conservatism.
The founding father had the hypothesis that diseases and ill health was as a result of misalignment of the nerves as they left the spinal cord along the vertebral joints. This is because the misalignment caused an interference of the ability of the body to heal itself. The pressure from the misalignment was also part of the pathogenesis of the resulting symptoms of diseases. The specialist must therefore have good knowledge of structure and nerves to treat patients.
There tends to be a small overlap of this approach of treatment and other forms of manipulative therapies like massage and osteopathy which also employ manual manipulation. Specialists can however distinguish them with the understanding the chiropractic therapy need more firm grips in order to reach the deep nerves.
Examples of conditions that are managed through this therapy include Low back pain which is the commonest condition manageable through this approach. It has also been used to manage migraine headaches. It is also used in many systemic diseases where there is an issue of nerves associated to the condition resulting in chronic pain.
Chiropractic treatments are generally relatively safe especially when done by a skillful practitioner and in the appropriate manner. There is however few complications that could occur could arise and there are contraindications against which it cannot be delivered such as conditions that result in unstable joint like rheumatoid arthritis.By Adela Beasley