Question
Hello, I have been to see several chiropractors over past 12-14 years, have received tremendous benefit from having done this, and expect to be an ongoing patient.  While expecting to continue being an ongoing patient, but also being a bit of a 'do-it-yourselfer', could you recommend any means to occasional self-care?  Recommend any books, magazines, web sites, tutorials?


Answer
Dear A.P. Loyd,

Thank you for your question.  Yours is an inquiry similar to those I have heard from others who are investigating chiropractic.  Unfortunately, though, it is based on some misconceptions.  In order to answer you properly, it will first be necessary for me to give you some background information on the chiropractic profession.

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, immediately the cells can no longer function the way they should for optimum performance.

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 the changes that accompany pregnancy, accidental trauma, sleeping posture, pillow and mattress condition, the birth process ?for both mom and the baby, 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 other words, despite what you feel in your back or in the area the shoulder, you actually have no idea by using that if there is nerve interference due to vertebral subluxation!   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.

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 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.

A key question, then, would be, Is a person 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.  As I mentioned earlier, not all chiropractors adhere to this and it is important that you be able to distinguish which ones do if you're going to seek this type of service.  It may be, from limited information you provided, that the chiropractor(s) you have visited is (are) of the mixed viewpoint.  For therapeutic mixed chiropractic, there may indeed be home-care alternatives and if that is what you seek, I will encourage you to seek out that sort of opinion.  

Unfortunately, there is no a substitute for proper non-therapeutic straight chiropractic; i.e., being checked properly and having appropriate corrective adjustments.  I'm a very skilled and experienced non-therapeutic straight chiropractor and I just do not have the physical ability to properly check myself!  There is no at-home alternative ?unless, that is, you live with a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor.  That doesn't mean it's hopeless, though, if you don't.

My experience, and it is no reflection on your financial situation at all since I don't know you, is that the only barrier, typically, to someone using non-therapeutic straight chiropractic on an ongoing, regular basis for the rest of their lives is cost.  Doing something like this every week for each member of the family at some high, per-visit, per-person fee is unafaordable for most chiropractors themselves!  There are a growing number of non-therapeutic straight chiropractic offices that are using a cooperative fee system.  This system allows the individual/family to set their own dollar amount, thereby assuring that it is affordable to anyone and everyone.  Many feel this system is a reflection of a commitment to helping the greatest number of people possible living free of the impairment of vertebral subluxations with an opportunity to realize their full potential.  If you would like more detail on such a system, you may contact me through this site or directly at [email protected].  Just as it is true that not all chiropractors adhere to the practice of non-therapeutic straight chiropractic, not all will use such a fee system.  Personally, I feel this is a problem and I have taught the concepts of this fee system at various seminars.

Certainly, I feel you should visit a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor, if that is not now the case, even if you still elect to use therapeutic mixed chiropractic services.  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 information I give you must not be interpreted from the mixed viewpoint.  Non-therapeutic straight chiropractic is not about the treatment of the things you listed at all ?whether in-office or at-home procedures are employed.  What you experienced was something different from non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.

From a non-therapeutic straight chiropractic viewpoint, however, it would certainly be wise to have your spine checked for subluxations by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor, even if you still elect to have therapeutic attention for other concerns.  It's not an either/or choice that you have to make.  Remember, the two objectives are not the same.  One is about your pain, the other is about your life.  

If you are interested in finding out how to locate a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor in your area or if you have any other questions, please contact me at this site again or at [email protected].  You may also visit www.gschiro.com, a site that represents non-therapeutic straight chiropractic organizations on a state level.

A.P. Loyd, I wish you the best in understanding what chiropractic has to offer.  It has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.