Keep Reading: How has chiropractic changed over the years?

1. Basic chiropractic techniques are very similar to what the founders established over 100 years ago. They are still based on an adjustment where corrective movement is introduced.

The current science explaining why it works is quite different, however. Back in 1895, it was believed that bones were actually out of place and that the adjustment “racked” them back into place and that when bones were “out” they actively pinched nerves interfering with nerve flow much like “stepping on a hose to impede the flow of water.”

We now realize that we are actually correcting faulty joint motion. Joints in distress will “seize up,” and create painful protective muscle spasm and when severe, inflammation. In turn this will disrupt the proper messaging carried by the nerves and alter the body’s normal rhythms and patterns, plus create pain symptoms.

So in contrast to the technological advances that have come out of medical research, chiropractic has found that the research (from many different scientific and medical fields) has caught up to explain what we are actually influencing and why it is so effective. 

2. Due to research and study, chiropractic techniques have become more refined and specific over time, in much the same way as each individual practitioner becomes more subtle and refined in his/her physical treatment techniques.

Also, we now have a much better understanding of when and why to engage the patient in adjunctive therapies like IMS, ART, deep tissue massage, and when to refer for co-operative care or alternative care.

3. Chiropractic is now much more mainstream than it has ever been. There is greater co-operation with professions which were historically quite antagonistic, with government and insurance companies, and a much greater acceptance by the general public, which has seen a dramatic increase in utilization of our services.