When Health Goes Bad
Q: How does chiropractic affect one's general health?
A: Once we understand that the word "health" comes from an Old English word which means "whole," then health-or the lack of it- takes on a new importance. To be healthy is to be whole, but when we lose our wholeness, we lose our precious health.
At any time, eight of ten persons are losing their health, their wholeness, usually a piece at a time. One person suffers from sinus trouble; another from digestive or respiratory problems; another from fatigue. Others suffer
from leg or hip problems, headaches, back pain, and so on. If uncorrected, one health problem often triggers others. Such troubles may arise when interference woth normal transmission of nerve impulses disrupts the
coordination, harmony, and integrity of some of the body's functions, and thus fragments its wholeness to some extent. This brings on illness, pain, and other health problems.
That's where chiropractic comes in. Since nerves go everywhere, chiropractic's scope is as braod as the nervous system. Chiropractic doctors are experts in finding and correcting nerve interference brought on by
misaligned vertabrae or other biomechanical faults which pinch, irritate, compress or otherwise compromise vital spinal nerves.
The Chiropractic Touch
Q. What does a chiropractic doctor expect to find when examining a patient's spine by touch?
A: Examination by touch is one of the most time-honored, respected methods chiropractic doctors use. Such examinations, by carefully feeling with the hands and fingertips, is called 'palpation.'
Doctors of all kinds utilize palpation, however chiropractic doctors are particularly skilled at it. Palpation makes up a fundamental part of a chiropractor's training, a method which allows the chiropractor to "see" the spine and its supporting structures. It is also a means of examining other joint structures along with muscles, ligaments, tendons, "trigger points," and so on. Many of those problems are easily detected by the experienced hands of a chiropractic doctor.
Chiropractors consider palpation so important they utilize it with virtually every patient on every visit to determine the position of the vertabrae, the amount of spinal fixation, the range of motion available, and whether the
patient's spinal condition has improved or regressed since the last visit. Also, palpation helps the doctor know how much and what kind of treatment is needed on that visit.
