Health
Chiropractic care helps people live with ease not disease
BY JUDI KOSKI
Fall 2010 |
The Ontario Chiropractic Association reports approximately 1.43 million Ontarians visit a chiropractor each year. In this province alone, 11 percent of the population chooses chiropractic care. What is chiropractic? What is a subluxation? Does it hurt to get adjusted? Who should see a chiropractor? What does it cost?
The benefits of chiropractic extend far beyond pain relief. Treatment can be effective for many situations, health conditions and ages. Chiropractors can help adults, teens and children achieve better health.
Chiropractic treatment is used for those who suffer from headaches, sciatica, back and neck pain, whiplash, disc injuries, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, pregnancy-related back pain and sports injuries. Chiropractic also places an emphasis on nutrition, exercise, wellness and lifestyle changes to promote physical and mental health.
Dr. Mark McCue at McCue Chiropractic and Wellness Centre has been practising in Sudbury since 2000. He says he loves the challenge of the holistic approach to improving patient’s health through natural chiropractic care.
“There is a huge shift in today’s society where people are sick and tired of taking a pill for every ache and pain...(They) are looking for safe alternative health-care approaches to improving their condition.”
“As a chiropractor I approach the problem from within the body, whereas conventional medicine approaches the patient’s symptoms from outside the body. Doctors of chiropractic do not prescribe pills or medication.”
McCue says he believes many of the symptoms people suffer from such as headaches, earaches, colic and indigestion are caused by internal problems (subluxations).
“By treating these symptoms with medication you are merely suppressing the symptoms for a short period of time only to reappear. By addressing the problem within the body not only is (it) fixed but the symptoms go away as well,” he adds.
Dr. Todd Mazzuca at the Capreol Chiropractic and Message Clinic has been in practice for 14 years. He discusses typical patient responses and benefits achieved through chiropractic care:
“Immune system improvement and overall health, increase in energy, strength and flexibility…better sleep, better digestion, and increased performance in sports, work and everyday life…and a decrease in pain and discomfort. Those little aches and pains are not ‘just what happens with age’.
“The biggest benefit is having a body that can heal itself and live a longer, healthier life full of ‘ease’ not dis-ease.
Frequently asked questions
Chiropractic means healing with the hands. Aches and pains are all signs your body isn’t working right. Your brain, spinal cord and all your nerves control and regulate your body. Physical, chemical or emotional stresses produce a defensive posture. Muscles contract, locking spinal joints that pinch or irritate nearby nerves. A thorough examination by a chiropractor helps find these subluxations.
When a vertebra becomes displaced, it can interfere with nerve impulses from the brain and nervous system to the organs and tissues. This can cause different symptoms throughout the body. People could have a subluxation and not even know it. Chiropractic adjustments take the stress off the affected nerve allowing it to function normally.
Do chiropractors crack bones?
No. Chiropractic adjustments typically involve a quick, gentle push on the spine with the doctor’s hands to help restore motion that has been lost to certain places in the spine. When adjusting the spine you may hear a slight noise that in science is called a cavitation, nothing is breaking or popping. It is helping to put ease back in the joint.
All techniques are quite gentle. Some people may feel some slight irritation, but for the majority it is short-term and the benefits outweigh the risks.
Everyone from infants to seniors should at least get checked. Chiropractic is a highly skilled, natural treatment that is always adapted to the individual patient. Most of the acute symptoms people suffer from usually subside in four to seven days and patients are amazed at their progress. For many patients, chiropractic is a lifestyle and they truly understand the daily benefits chiropractic offers to their overall health. Others see the benefits of acute and chronic care that chiropractic offers, and some use chiropractic care on a casual basis as needed.
The Ontario Chiropractic Association’s (OCA) has a recommended fee schedule posted on their website. For example, an office visit consisting of a spinal manipulation/adjustment is $35. Fees may vary by region. Most extended health-care plans cover chiropractic services but these services are not covered by OHIP.
