Question
Hi,

I've been seeing a chiropractor for 9 months, and a friend recommended a different chiropractor to try. The second chiropractor seemed horrified that the first chirop. manipulated my hips on both sides, and said it only needs to be done on one side.

Are there several approaches to manipulation - one school that says manipulate on both sides and another that says manipulate only on one side?

I'm being treated for a herniated disk, and subsequent lower back problems. The first chiropractor has helped me immensely - but the second one has made me question the manipulation of both hips.

Can you clarify if this is just preference of treatment?

Thanks,
R

Answer
Dear Robyn,  

First, I wish to apologize for the delay in your receiving this response.  I had not received your question until this morning.  I have reason to believe that the web-site through which you submitted your question had some technical difficulties these past several days because yours was not the only question affected.  

Thank you for your question.  I don't know how much background knowledge you already have about chiropractic, though the nature of your question tells me you have at least some experience as a consumer.  In order to give you the greatest benefit in answering your questions, then, I'll first need to give you some background information.  

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 and it is distinct from the field of medicine).  My expertise is in non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.

Therapeutic "mixed" chiropractic is an 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.  This is not the same as the finding of herniated disk and lower back problems, as you mention in your question, though they may exist together.  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 vital 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.  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 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, etc.), which are, unfortunately, 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.  As an example, try to "feel" your liver.  What's it doing right now?  You can't know, 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.  In order to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have that person's 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 using a method of 揳djustment.? Adjustments are not the same as manipulations, though they may each be done by hand and bones may be moved.  An adjustment is done with specific direction and magnitude, solely for the correction of vertebral subluxation.  Manipulation is done for therapeutic purposes, such as treating low back problems, for example.  

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 non-therapeutic straight chiropractic is not about your back, it's not about your pain, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life.  With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

In summary, then, a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor has the professional objective of checking the spine on a regular basis for vertebral subluxations and safely correcting those that are found so that the individual may express their optimum potential on all levels.  

It is important to discuss objectives here.  It is actually the objective that determines one profession from another.   Ask someone, 揥hat profession uses x-ray?? Consider that dentists, podiatrists, medical doctors, osteopaths and even chiropractors may employ x-ray methods in their work, yet they are not interchangeable professions.  It is the goal or reason ?in other words, the objective ?for which the x-ray is used that determines which profession it is.  An important consideration, then, when considering chiropractic techniques is the type of chiropractic you wish to receive.  

As I mentioned earlier, not all chiropractors adhere to the non-therapeutic straight chiropractic division.  From the mimited information I have from you, it is likely the chiropractors you have visited are of the therapeutic mixed viewpoint.  The technique of manipulation is not equivalent to adjustment, so it will be impossible for me to comment on the matter of single or double manipulation choices, but I will provide you with some information on adjustment and the rationale that may be employed.  

In non-therapeutic straight chiropractic, there are many different technical adjusting styles.  Rather than tell you what I think of a technique, consider this: it is more important what you think about it.  If you wish to receive non-therapeutic straight chiropractic services and believe that a particular technique package is best suited to helping your body be free of vertebral subluxations, then so be it!  The actual technical considerations inherent in its use are of less importance than whether it is being used in the correction of vertebral subluxations.  Methods will vary in many ways.  I would be more inclined to consider, then, more questions about why one would use a particular style rather than questions about how it is done, unless for some reason that is a major concern for you as well.  If the service you seek is to be checked for vertebral subluxations and effect their correction, ultimately, you will have to weigh your confidence in the chiropractor's ability to effectively and safely effect the correction of those vertebral subluxations that are identified.  I do not know enough about you to tell you that a particular technique is suitable to you and a particular vertebral subluxation(s) on any given day.  

It is impossible for me to answer the question of exactly what adjustments you should receive on any particular occasion.  First, we've never even met!  It is the responsibility of the non-therapeutic straight chiropractor to make such a determination based on your individual needs at that moment.  In a sense, it is impossible to over-utilize non-therapeutic straight chiropractic when done properly because when no vertebral subluxations are detected no adjustment procedures are done!  It's as simple as that!  It may be necessary to have adjustments to multiple bone segments or none at all.  There is no schedule or formula for predicting what your needs will be.  It all depends on what you present each time you are checked.  It is not a matter of preference so much as an unbiased analysis of the objective evidence.  However, if bones were moved regardless of the presence of vertebral subluxations or for the therapeutic goal of treatment of back problems or herniated disks, then that is not an adjustment.  In such a case, the service was not proper non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.  In a non-therapeutic straight chiropractic office, it would make perfect sense that the chiropractor would recommend that you be checked regularly.  It would only make sense, though, that you be adjusted when a vertebral subluxation was found.  You may not need to receive an adjustment on each occasion of being checked.  Celebrate those visits, because it means you are functioning with all the nerve channels open!  

Certainly, it would be wise to have your spine checked for vertebral subluxations by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor, even if you still elect to have therapeutic attention for disk and lower back issues and wish to continue with a therapeutic mixing chiropractor or anyone else to do so.  Remember, the two objectives are not the same.  I can not tell you whether the chiropractors you have visited are right for you, but hopefully you now have enough information at hand to make that decision with greater confidence.  

If you are interested in finding out how to locate a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor in your area for your chiropractic needs, please contact me at this site again.  You may also visit www.gschiro.com, a site that represents non-therapeutic straight chiropractic on a state level in New Jersey.  

Robyn, it has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.  I wish you the best.  

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.