Frequently Asked Questions

Is Chiropractic Safe?

Chiropractic is among the safest of the healing arts.  As proof, one merely has to compare malpractice rates between chiropractors and other health professionals.  Chiropractors’ malpractice premiums are a small fraction of those for medical doctors, especially orthopedists and surgeons.

What is an adjustment?

A Chiropractic adjustment is the use of a specific force in a precise direction that helps normalize spinal function. The adjustment is applied to a joint that is fixated, “locked up”, or not moving properly. Adjustments help return the bones to a more normal position or motion, restoring body’s natural healing.

 

What does it do?

Adjustments help normalize spinal function and avoid bone and soft tissue degeneration. When nervous system function improves in this way, the body can begin the natural healing process.

 

What do adjustments feel like?

After the adjustment, many patients report a sense of well-being or a feeling of calmness. Others feel improved mobility. Inflammation or muscle spasms may delay these positive effects. Chiropractors excel at making adjustments comfortable and effective.

 

Is it safe?

YES! Chiropractic adjustments are so safe, even newborns and children receive adjustments to repair the damage caused from the birth process, learning to walk, or other childhood trauma. Each adjustment is tailored to each patient’s age, size, and unique spinal problem. After years of training, each Chiropractor has selected a variety of methods and become skilled in their delivery.

 

In fact, adverse effects of medical treatment is the principal cause of death in people under 45 years of age, as well as being the leading cause of morbidity and permanent disability. Costing Australians $401 million dollars per year and consumed 16% of Australia’s total annual health system expenditure for injury. 17% of hospital admission results in adverse events, 5% results in death, and 50,000 people per year are permanently disabled as a result of their medical treatment (from The report, Health System Costs of Injury, Poisoning and Musculoskeletal Disorders in Australia 1993-1994).

 

Yes! A New Zealand government study concluded that Chiropractic adjustments are “remarkably safe.” Taking an over-the-counter pain reliever is about 100 times more risky.

 

Why an adjustment?

A Chiropractic adjustment corrects Vertebral Subluxations. An adjustment helps your body to restore itself to optimum health! When the 24 bones that protect the spinal cord lose their normal position or motion, delicate nerve tissue can become choked or irritated. If a thorough examination reveals malfunctioning areas of the spine, Chiropractic adjustments are recommended to help correct this malfunction.

Each day millions of delighted people choose Chiropractic over drugs or surgery, as a common sense approach to better health.

In some patients with long-term chronic conditions, realigning the spine may also cause the muscles around the spine to be sore. This is only temporary, until the weakened muscles are strengthened. This is comparable to the discomfort felt after a good work out at the local Kingston gym.

 

How long will it take?

The healing process takes time. Depending on the severity of your spinal distortion or subluxation, the chiropractic patient may respond after only one or a few adjustments. No two people are the same, so even if two patients have the same spinal distortion, they will not heal in the same amount of time. There are three stages to consider in how long will it take to heal.

First is the initial intensive care, visits are frequent, focusing on reducing symptoms. Second is the corrective care, the objective is to stabilize spinal function to complete healing. Last is wellness care where regular check-ups prevent old and new spinal problems occurring and reoccurring. You have to invest time in chiropractic care to restore and optimize your health. The chiropractor will recommend a care schedule, depending on age, condition and lifestyle.