What Is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is a whole-person centered approach that focuses on the relationship between the body’s main structures – the skeleton, the muscles, and the nerves.

Chiropractic focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system, and the effects of these disorders on general health. Chiropractic services are used most often to treat common musculoskeletal complaints, including but not limited to back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, and headaches.

How Does Chiropractic Work?

One of the most common and well known therapeutic procedures used by chiropractic is spinal manipulation (sometimes referred to as a “chiropractic adjustment”). The purpose of spinal manipulation is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile – or restricted in their movement – as a result of a tissue injury. Tissue injury can be caused by a single traumatic event, such as improper lifting of a heavy object, or through repetitive stresses, such as sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture for an extended period of time. In either case, injured tissues undergo physical and chemical changes that can cause inflammation, pain, and diminished function for an individual. Manipulation, or adjustment of the affected joint and tissues, restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, allowing tissues to heal.

Dr. Andie Ibarra uses a variety of techniques using both hand and instrument, depending on your body and preference. A few of the techniques used are Diversified, Thompson, Activator, Webster, Advanced Muscle Integration Technique, and light muscle work.

Benefits

Chiropractic is useful in addressing a variety of health conditions, including:

  • Carpel Tunnel Syndrome

  • Chronic pain (such as headaches, back pain, neck pain, knee pain, shoulder pain)

  • Disc Problems (herniated disc)

  • Migraines

  • Muscle Spasms

  • Sciatica

  • Sports Injuries

Does Chiropractic Hurt?

Chiropractic adjustments rarely causes discomfort. However, patients may sometimes experience mild soreness or aching following treatment (as with some forms of exercise) that usually resolves within 12 to 48 hours. Compared to other common treatments for pain, such as over-the-counter and prescription pain medications, chiropractic’s conservative approach offers a safe and effective option.

Possible Side Effects

Chiropractic is widely recognized as one of the safest drug-free, non-invasive therapies available for the treatment of neuromusculoskeletal complaints. The risks associated with chiropractic, however, are very small. Many patients feel immediate relief following chiropractic treatment, but some may experience mild soreness, stiffness or aching, just as they do after some forms of exercise.

Some reports have associated high-velocity upper neck manipulation with a certain rare kind of stroke, or vertebral artery dissection. However, evidence suggests that this type of arterial injury often takes place spontaneously in patients who have pre-existing arterial disease. These dissections have been associated with everyday activities such as turning the head while driving, swimming, or having a shampoo in a hair salon. Patients with this condition may experience neck pain and headache that leads them to seek professional care—often at the office of a doctor of chiropractic or family physician—but that care is not the cause of the injury. The best evidence indicates that the incidence of artery injuries associated with high-velocity upper neck manipulation is extremely rare—about one to three cases in 100,000 patients who get treated with a course of care. This is similar to the incidence of this type of stroke among the general population.

If you are visiting your doctor of chiropractic with upper-neck pain or headache, be very specific about your symptoms. This will help your doctor of chiropractic offer the safest and most effective treatment, even if it involves referral to another health care provider.

Prenatal

Dr. Andie is certified in the Webster Technique by the ICPA (International Chiropractic Pediatric Association).

Webster technique is a specific chiropractic sacral analysis and diversified adjustment. The goal is to reduce the effects of sacrum and sacroiliac joint dysfunction/instability. In doing so, neuro-biomechanical function in the pelvis is facilitated.

Benefits of Webster:

  • A more comfortable pregnancy and birth

  • Shorter labor time

  • More room for baby to grow

  • Improved energy levels

  • Fewer interventions