The Basic Philosophy Behind Chiropractic Care

By Dr. Brad Steinle

The basic philosophy behind chiropractic care is that the body contains the innate abilities of self-healing and self-maintaining.

For example, if a person sustains a cut to the hand, the body will heal that cut. If that same person sustains 10 cuts to the hand, the body will heal all 10 cuts.

The chiropractic subluxation is generally misunderstood within the general population. Medically, the term subluxation simply means “less than a dislocation.” However, to the chiropractor it carries much more significance.

Throughout daily life, every individual receives either major traumas in one moment (such as a car accident or sports injury) or minor traumas over a long period of time (such as repetitive movements or poor posture). These injuries cause vertebrae in the spine to move away from their natural position. This in itself would not be that trouble- some to the person, due to the fact that the body has allowed extra space in the joints surrounding nerves as they immediately exit the spine.

However, each of these spaces (referred to as intervertebral foramen, or IVF) contains a substantial amount of soft tissue structures. Ligaments, arteries, veins and lymphatic channels are among these structures. The soft tissue is the culprit in producing pressure upon the nervous system.

At this level, the nerve root is covered by a structure called dura mater and is therefore much more susceptible to compression than say, the nerves in the arm, which results in a decrease in conductivity. The decrease in conductivity actually results from the disruption in blood flow through capillaries that supply the nerve itself. It must also be noted that  a disruption in blood flow means that metabolic waste from these cells can no longer travel away from this location. This waste can cause permeability in the surrounding tissue and lead to inflammation and swelling.

The beginning of this process will result in a response from your body’s “alarm system” – pain. After a long period, the nerve will no longer conduct pain signals and will eventually degenerate to a point beyond recovery.

Our goal is to detect and reduce the subluxation before the nerve is too heavily damaged. New techniques have been developed to accurately adjust the subluxation in a very gentle fashion. We utilize many of these techniques in order to accommodate different patient requirements.