Myths About Chiropractic

Popping and cracking your bones is bad for you

A chiropractic adjustment is a specific force at a specific place that improves the motion in the spine. An adjustment is only done on a joint that isn’t functioning well. The joints that are working properly are left alone.When performed by a chiropractor, an adjustment can increase the range of motion in your spine and can  relieve pain and stiffness.

If you randomly crack your knuckles, neck or back, it can be bad for you. When people do this, there is usually a problem somewhere else in the spine that is causing  tension to build.  When you pop your own back, you temporarily relieve the pressure, but you don’t fix the problem. A few hours later the pressure builds up again, so you have to pop your back again. Over time, this can create looseness or “hypermobility” in the spine, which is a harder to correct.

Chiropractic isn’t safe.

Any treatment can have an adverse side effect, whether it is taking medication, surgery,  physical therapy, massage or chiropractic. Chiropractic has been shown to be remarkably safe in most studies. Chiropractic malpractice rates are very low, which reflects the safety of chiropractic care.

Once you go, you have to go forever.

Not true. You can come to a chiropractor for as long as you like. It is your body and your choice. People usually come with a particular problem and our first goal of care is to help you feel better. If it’s a simple problem, it can get better with a few visits.  If it’s complicated, you may need several months of care. Unfortunately, most of us wait until the problem has been there for a while and have neglected to do the things that keep your spine healthy (like stretching, yoga, or practicing good posture). Over time, the spinal joints/vertebra degenerate and wear down. This grinds down the soft tissues and irritates nerve fibers and other sensitive tissue.  This is why some problems require longer care than others.

Why do some people go for a lifetime? Some people take better care of themselves than others.  Some people go to the dentist, watch what they eat, and exercise. They are proactive about their health and want to stay healthy instead of waiting for a crisis to happen. People under regular chiropractic care report that it makes them feel better, more flexible, and therefore more healthy and alive. They wouldn’t go to a chiropractor if it didn’t help them in some way.

Chiropractors are not well educated.

Dr. O’Hea graduated with B.S. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in Physiological Psychology in 1983. He then graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic West in 1987.

Dr. Felber has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Washington, graduating in 1983. She graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic West in 1987.

Chiropractic school is tough. If you don’t think it is, look at the curriculum listed on a college website. Washington State requires chiropractors to attend 25 hours of continuing education per year.

My M.D. doesn’t believe in chiropractic care.

In the past there was animosity between MD’s and DC’s. We still come across a few M.D.’s who won’t refer a patient to us, but for the most part these “turf wars” have ended.  Our office gets referrals from many providers; orthopedists, GP’s, physiatrists, orthopedists and physical therapists.  We also refer to other doctors when another opinion is in order. No profession has all the keys to good health and no one provider can solve all problems.

I hate getting “Cracked”.

A lot of people are frightened by manual adjustments, especially in their neck. There are many techniques available to adjust the spine, ranging from the traditional manual adjustments to very light force adjustments that involve no popping or joint noises. There are also soft tissue techniques that are very effective. We utilize a variety of techniques suitable to a practice member’s age, condition, and comfort level.

My back doesn’t hurt so I don’t need to go.

Some chiropractors choose to focus only on caring for those with back pain. However, the benefits of chiropractic go far beyond than just helping you with pain. Vertebral subluxation can have a wide range of deleterious effects on the body.  For example, a recent study showed that chiropractic adjustments lowered blood pressure better than medications in people with upper neck subluxation/dysfunction.

More About Chiropractic

The Big Picture

Can chiropractic care help me with problems other than back pain?

The short answer is that chiropractic is not a treatment of any particular disease or malady. If you are going to a chiropractor for a problem like asthma, do not expect that spinal adjustments will make this problem go away. That being said, most chiropractors will see some problems that don’t seem to be related to the spine improve with care. Much of the current research is investigating whether or not spinal manipulation will help with  problems like colic, high blood pressure, or balance. More and more evidence points to a role in spinal adjustments modulating the activity in the  central nervous system.  And since the central nervous system monitors and regulates every function in the body, this may be the reason that other problems improve while someone is receiving chiropractic care.

Can Chiropractic Help You?

The only way you will know is to be checked. If you don’t have subluxation (joint dysfunction), muscular imbalances, or other structural faults you may not need chiropractic care.

Structure Dictates Function

The way something is built determines how well it will work for any given task. Your body is no exception. If you want to continue functioning well, you need to build and maintain the structures that make up your body. An interesting concept that describes how chiropractic ( and for that matter other manual therapies) can help your body work better is the concept of  ”energy leaks”.  When you have a problem in a body part, whether it is an ankle or your spine,  your body devotes more energy in helping the body part work better.  This is the energy leak.  And the more your body has to work  on correcting one area, the less energy it has for overall general health.

What causes the joints in the spine to get stuck in the first place?

In a word, stress. Physical stress (like sitting at a computer all day ),  emotional stress, and even the an imbalanced diet ( caffeine and junk food )  can lead to changes in the musculoskeletal system.

Do subluxations always hurt?

No, in fact most of the time our spine can adapt to the stress that these subluxations create on the spine. That is why we don’t hurt every time we strain our spinal joints. Over time, the body can’t adapt to the problems and we hurt. In our office, over half the people we see with worn out spines can’t recall a specific injury. Subluxations are sort of like dental cavities. They begin small and often don’t hurt.  Over time they start effecting more and more tissues until finally something has to give.   And for most of us, that first symptom is pain.

How do I know if I have a subluxation?

That’s where a chiropractor comes in. Our job is to determine what parts of your spine are healthy and which areas are not.