An adjustment is gentle and brings many health benefits
What is a chiropractic adjustment?
A chiropractic adjustment is a specific and controlled pressure or force directed to a specific locked or fixed joint, all with the purpose of correcting any spinal misalignments and any interference to neural signals that can occur due to those misalignments, thereby improving spinal function, releasing muscle tension and improving general health.
What is the noise you hear when you get an adjustment?
When you get an adjustment, you may hear a ‘pop’ or ‘click’, which sounds and looks fairly painful but in fact is extremely safe when performed by a registered chiropractor. The answer to “what is it?” is purely chemical – it’s all a matter of gas!
A joint has a fluid-like substance bathing it to create lubrication and decrease friction when it moves. Within this fluid there are air bubbles (mainly nitrogen and carbon dioxide) contained within it. A joint that has become misaligned has a build-up of these gases, so that when the chiropractor performs the adjustment, causing the joint to open, the sudden escape of gases creates a ‘pop’ sound, a bit like opening a champagne bottle.
However, if you don’t hear the popping this doesn’t mean the adjustment was ineffective – in fact, there are many chiropractic adjustments that don’t produce a sound at all. The sound is interesting, but in itself is not a guide to the quality or value of the adjustment.
Is chiropractic safe?
According to a New Zealand Government inquiry, chiropractic is “remarkably safe”(1) due to the fact that we avoid potentially harmful drugs and risky surgery. Like all health professions, there is a risk, but it is extremely minimal, due to the years of training, practice and experience a chiropractor must go through to become registered. For anyone in ‘at risk’ categories, a thorough examination will identify the rare person for whom chiropractic is unsuitable. To put it in perspective, the comparison of chiropractic care and a course of anti-inflammatory drugs to alleviate the pain of a mis-alignment has demonstrated conclusively that chiropractic is 250 times safer (2).
Chiropractors perform their adjustments or re-alignments on millions of people around the world every working day with the resulting relief and easing of pain provided for countless sufferers.
- Chiropractic in New Zealand: Report of the Commission of Inquiry. (1979). Hasselberg PD, Government Printer, Wellington, New Zealand
- Dabbs,V., & Lauretti,W.J. (1995). A Risk Assessment of Cervical Manipulation vs NSAIDs for the Treatment of Neck Pain. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 18(8), 530-536
Are chiropractors registered or licensed practitioners?
Chiropractors are most definitely registered and licensed practitioners. To become a chiropractor, one must spend at least five years at university, starting with a Bachelor of Science degree as well as a Masters of Chiropractic. They have each completed over 5000 hours of lectures and tutorials in areas such as Anatomy, Physiology, Neurology and, of course, specialised Chiropractic studies. Students spend their final year working with patients in supervised clinics around Sydney, as well as in field work at various carnivals and charity events, that ensures graduates a real, practical knowledge before completing their studies.
Once graduated, chiropractors must register with the Chiropractic Registration Board which continually checks and ensures that chiropractors have met professional and educational standards to treat safely and effectively. Chiropractors also have to complete ongoing education to maintain their association membership to be registered with the Chiropractic Association of Australia, of which Chana is a member.
Do you need a referral from a GP?
Chiropractors are primary healthcare practitioners therefore a referral is not necessary. However more and more GP’s are referring to Chiropractors via the Enhanced Primary Care Program (EPC).
If I start, do I have to keep coming?
No. Some of our clients only use chiropractic care for initial pain relief. Once their pain has settled, their care stops. Others have a more functional approach and use chiropractic care to help strengthen and balance their spine. Finally, some clients attend regular wellness visits, because they like the feeling they get with chiropractic care and the ongoing health benefits they receive from regular spinal adjustments.
Ultimately the choice is yours. We will advise you on what we believe is best suited for you, but you choose how long you would like to benefit from care.
Who can be adjusted?
Chiropractic can be beneficial during pregnancy
Almost anyone can be adjusted – chiropractic adjustments can start as soon as you’re born! Birth is one of the most traumatic events on the spine for both baby and mother, and misalignments in a baby’s neck can cause feeding problems, digestive problems, and breathing problems, just to name a few.
Chiropractic is also very beneficial for pregnant mothers, as correct alignment of the pelvis and hips can help in the pregnancy and birth process. Elderly patients also benefit from chiropractic, to help alleviate the pain, stiffness and decreased mobility that can occur with degeneration.
Of course, each patient is different, and a chiropractor will factor in your age when deciding how to adjust their patients, using much smaller and gentler adjustments for babies, children and the elderly. If you are contraindicated for adjustments, your chiropractor will find out in your initial visit, through their thorough examination.
