Question
QUESTION: for past 5 days I have had tingling in my thumb and next 2 fingers...it comes and goes....I lift weights and think I possibly did something.....could u recommend a treatment and possible chiropractor in Rockland County....thank you!

ANSWER: Dear Vinnie,

Thank you for your question.  In order to answer it properly, I抣l first need to give you some background on anatomy and physiology and how they relate to the chiropractic profession.  I抣l then offer my thoughts on how this may relate to the situation you describe.  

There are two branches or schools of thought in chiropractic.  Briefly, they are differentiated by whether they deal with the limited therapeutic approach for aches and pains (commonly termed "mixed" chiropractic because it represents a mixture of a chiropractor with a non-chiropractic matter) or a non-therapeutic approach to optimum body performance (termed "straight" chiropractic because there is no mixing of chiropractic with anything else).  My expertise is in non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.

Therapeutic "mixed" chiropractic is the older approach based on a split from the founding principles of chiropractic about a century ago.

Non-therapeutic "straight" chiropractic is the more modern of the two.  It deals with a particular, common situation called a vertebral subluxation.  The spine is made of many bone segments which house and protect the spinal cord and the smaller spinal nerve branches that come off the spinal cord and exit between the bones.  These nerve pathways carry information or messages between the brain and the cells of the body.  These messages are essential for the life of the cells.  Without brain messages, the cells immediately begin the process of dying; i.e., they can no longer function the way they should to maintain life.

Because the bones are moveable, they can misalign in such a way as to interfere with the messages and, ultimately, the ability of the person to function at their best or express their optimum potential, whatever that may be.  People with vertebral subluxations are not able to get all they can out of life.

Vertebral subluxations can be caused by a wide variety of factors, what we'll generally call stresses.  These stresses can be physical (such as exercise routines, sleeping posture and mattress condition, the birth process, sneezing, falling down, etc.), mental / emotional (in its many forms, probably the most familiar use of the word stress), or chemical (such as pollution, drugs, perhaps even alcohol, etc.), which are, unfortunately, uncontrollable and regular parts of daily living for all age groups.  In short, a vertebral subluxation can occur for a multitude of reasons.

Tragically, vertebral subluxations are rarely obvious to the individual they affect.  They usually have no symptoms.  The reason is that most of what goes on inside you happens without your awareness.  For example, try specifically to "feel" your liver.  Try to be aware of exactly what it抯 doing right now.  You can't, so you can't know if it's functioning at its best or something less.  To complicate things, nerve pathways that carry messages of control (termed "motor" nerves) have no way of transmitting ache or pain messages, so your body function may be far from perfect and you'd not have any alerting signal whatsoever.  The branching of the nerve pathways is complex and extensive, making it exceedingly difficult to predict or determine exactly how the person will be affected.  For this reason alone, it is impossible for anyone to give you reliable answers as to a connection between vertebral subluxation or the spine and specific symptoms of any kind, including the tingling sensations you mention.  Certainly, every part of the body must have connections to the nerve system so that vital information may be transmitted between the brain and the cells and there are some who would attempt to review the possible nerve connections between a nerve root and specific organs or tissues, but this ignores the multitude of variables that determine the expression of function.  The question of how your individual body carries out the myriad of activities just to maintain life is enormous and would require your Creator抯 (or creator抯, for the agnostic) knowledge, or at least far more than our educated knowledge of the complexities of life.

Now that you have more information about the body and vertebral subluxation, how do you make use of it?  Well, first understand that this is not an explanation of why you have the tingling you described or whether it may be related to vertebral subluxation.  It is possible that you can experience all sorts of things as a result of vertebral subluxations or nothing at all, but there is much more to consider.  As I mentioned earlier, every aspect of what you are capable of being or doing is dependent upon the transmission of life from the brain to the body, but there is no valid or reliable use of the symptoms you list to measure if that is happening.  Are there reasons for what you抮e experiencing?  Even though they may be beyond our ability to identify, yes, there are; but pinning them down is not relevant to the matter of whether you will benefit from being free of vertebral subluxations.  Vertebral subluxation is, in and of itself, detrimental to your life.  It is not valid or reliable to try to connect it to tingling, as you mentioned, or any other organ or tissue conditions.  In order to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have that person抯 spine checked by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor using a method of "analysis."  When a vertebral subluxation is detected this way, it is obviously important to correct it as soon as possible.  The term for this procedure is 揳djustment.?br>
Since vertebral subluxations are caused by so many different things, people choose to go to a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor on a regular basis to enjoy the most time free of the life-robbing effects of vertebral subluxation. There's a saying that straight chiropractic is not about your back, it's not about pain, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life.  With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

As far as the nature of your tingling or whether it is cause for concern, the internet is hardly the proper place to get that answer.   Beyond the fact that it is not something germane to my field, diagnosis is a complicated art, even when done properly.  Anyone who is willing to offer a diagnostic opinion about the specifics of your situation without ever having met you or the opportunity to observe and examine you in-person is giving you nothing more than a guess, at best.  

That said, non-therapeutic straight chiropractic can be of benefit to you ?or any spine-owner, for that matter ?but in ways you may not have considered when you were putting together your question.  You ask me to recommend a treatment.  You now know, however, that what we抳e addressed here is quite different.  A key question to ask for your purposes, then, would be, Is someone with the symptoms you describe better off with vertebral subluxation / nerve interference or free of subluxation / with the nerve channels open?  It is easy to see that having all the available nerve messages getting through is better than only some of them getting through, regardless of the person's situation otherwise.  It抯 not that you should see a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor FOR your symptoms ?you should visit one in an effort to be free of vertebral subluxations, even WITH those symptoms.  Non-therapeutic straight chiropractic is not about diagnosing and/or treating these complaints or any therapeutic-model or medical condition.  It is entirely separate in its goal.  

In order to determine if you have a vertebral subluxation, it would be wise to have your spine checked by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor - even if you still elect to have therapeutic attention or advice for your reported symptoms.  It抯 the only way to know.  Remember, the two objectives are not the same.  

As I mentioned earlier, not all chiropractors adhere to the non-therapeutic straight chiropractic viewpoint and it is important that you be able to distinguish which ones do if you're going to seek this type of service.  You need to understand very clearly that the practice objectives of therapeutic mixed chiropractic and non-therapeutic straight chiropractic are quite different, as described above.  What I can tell you must not be interpreted from the mixed viewpoint.  

I抦 not certain whether there is a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor in Rockland County.  I will research the matter and check my directories further.  If you wish, you can re-contact me through this site or use my direct e-mail, [email protected], in a few days and I will let you know if I found someone.  

Vinnie, I wish you the best in understanding what non-therapeutic straight chiropractic has to offer.  It has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.


Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi

Thank you very much....if you have a reccommendation for a doctor it would be very much appreciated.

Vinnie Mahon

Answer
Dear Vinnie Mahon,

Thank you for contacting me for a referral to a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor.

In order to have the best experience, I invite you to review my response to your original question with particular attention to the information on vertebral subluxation and the comments I made about non-therapeutic straight chiropractic before you go through the following information.

Please understand and remember that choosing to go to a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor is based on the presence of vertebral subluxations which keep you from being your best.  In my posting, I noted that there's a saying in my field that chiropractic is not about your back ?it's about your life.  The service you抎 be seeking is so that you can express your life to your fullest potential.  Since I (or any other chiropractor) didn抰 create you, I don抰 know what your full potential is.  When one considers that vertebral subluxations occur for so many different reasons which are part of daily life, they usually conclude that they should be checked regularly throughout their lives so they can correct the vertebral subluxations as soon as they happen or, in other words, allow them to exist for as little time as possible.  

After checking through my directories, I do not know of an office in Rockland County for you to contact.  I will continue to scan the directories and ask colleagues for assistance, though, and will let you know if I can locate a particular office.  Remember that not all chiropractors are the same and it will be worth a few minutes of travel to find the right office to meet your needs.

I抦 also going to give you a method for locating a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor without the benefit of a direct referral.

1.   Call the office and ask, 揑s this a straight chiropractic office??or 揂re you a straight chiropractor??br> 2.   If the answer is, 揘o,?go on to the next phone listing and repeat step 1.  If the answer is, 揧es,?ask, 揥hat do you take care of??or 揥hat sort of conditions do you deal with??br> 3.   If the answer is, 揤ertebral subluxation only,?or 揘erve interference due to misaligned spinal bones,?or some similar answer that indicates this, then make an appointment.  Otherwise, go on to the next listing and repeat step 1.

The reason you would ask these two questions in this order is because, as I said, not all chiropractors are non-therapeutic straight chiropractors, though some will erroneously identify themselves as such.  The second question helps you know if they truly understand and practice according to those principles.

Once again, Vinnie, I am happy to provide you with information.


Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.