I have lost count of the number of times someone has asked me “Is Chiropractic safe?” Many patients have mentioned that they put off seeing a Chiropractor for years because they were afraid, or nervous about being adjusted. People have told me they were worried that their Chiropractor would break their bones or cause permanent injury. The good news is, Chiropractic is remarkably safe. In fact I often adjust my friends and family. I also get adjusted regularly myself. To be honest I would not be doing this if I didn’t think it was completely safe.

Over the last ten years in practice I have narrowed it down to a few common reasons why someone might ask “Is Chiropractic safe?”

Will Chiropractic Hurt?

Patients often first consult a Chiropractor when they are in considerable pain. The painful area may already be injured, tight and inflamed. There is a chance that any hands on treatment may temporarily aggravate this condition further. This may cause some discomfort, but this usually eases off quite quickly. After a few visits most people start to feel a lot better. I have had many patients comment that their adjustments were gentler than they were expecting.

Can Chiropractic Cause a Stroke?

There have been numerous research studies showing no significant association with a stroke and chiropractic. (Here is one such study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4470078/). This study shows that the beginning stages of a stroke often result in neck pain and headaches. It is likely that this person would then consult a Chiropractor for these neck pains and headaches. The patient would later on have a stroke and think the Chiropractor was to blame, but this is not the case. The chances are that the patient would have had a stroke whether they saw a Chiropractor or not.

We are trained to assess a patient before treatment to determine if there is any risk of stroke. If we pick up any risks, we will refer you immediately for further testing, which may just help prevent a stroke. The overall risk of stroke in an average healthy person is very low.

Are Chiropractors Properly Trained?

In South Africa, Chiropractors complete a six-year course. This includes five years of theory and practical training, two years treating patients in the clinic, as well as completing a Master’s level dissertation to earn their Doctor’s title in Chiropractic. By the time we qualify we are highly trained in both assessing and treating patients with a range of neuromusculoskeletal conditions.

Are Chiropractic Adjustments Permanent?

One of the goals of a Chiropractic adjustment is to get a tight joint moving better. This is healthy for the joints, as they function best when they are moving and aligned properly. The clicking/popping that you may hear during an adjustment is not the bones breaking. It would actually require much more force to break the bones of a healthy individual than is possible during a standard Chiropractic adjustment. A once off adjustment may have quite a big effect on your pain levels, but it is not going to have a permanent effect. Your body will want to go back to what it is used to, due to habits and muscle memory. Long term structural changes are possible but this takes consistency, time and effort.

Is Chiropractic Safe?

I believe the main reason people may have been scared of the Chiropractor is because of a lack of knowledge. Once you understand that Chiropractic adjustments are both gentle and safe, and that Chiropractors undergo rigorous training to be able to deliver the appropriate adjustment, it takes away the fear. There are risks involves with any medical intervention, however these are minimal and can be avoided through taking a comprehensive history and assessing the patient thoroughly. If you have ever asked yourself “Is Chiropractic safe?” and are now ready to see a Chiropractor, give us a call on 031 562 9180. We would also be happy to answer any further questions you may have.

At Align Corrective Chiropractic, we often have patients who come to see us with multiple symptoms such as lower back pain, neck pain, headaches and sciatica. Our goal is to look at the bigger picture and determine if their structure is causing these symptoms. If we can improve their structure then we should be able to reduce their symptoms. So, not only can we help them feel better, but we can actually work on fixing the underlying problem.

Case Study #1

This patient initially came to see us with quite a few complaints. The main issue was a pain down the outside of the thigh, down the front of the leg, shin and into the foot on the right side. This had been happening for a good 15 years and may have been caused by frequent running when they were younger. The pain would come and go, and would get quite severe at times. It was aggravated by running and driving for long periods, and unfortunately their job required long distance driving on most days.

The patient had also been experiencing lower back pain on the right side for 5 years, and had recently developed frequent headaches. These headaches would cause a mild pain around the eyes, towards the end of the afternoon.

After a thorough examination, including digital posture photographs and spinal x-rays, we decided to take a corrective approach and began a corrective chiropractic care plan. This was not only to help reduce the pain associated with the sciatica, lower back pain and headaches but also to improve posture and make positive structural changes.

Corrective Care Plan

The treatment plan included regular chiropractic adjustments, very specific Mirror Image drop table adjustments, as well as Mirror Image exercises and traction/spinal remodeling exercises to be done at home. It didn’t take long before the patient started to feel much better. The lower back pain and headaches soon disappeared, and the leg pain had reduced to such an extent that they now only get it mildly, after long periods of driving. The patient also noticed big changes in their posture and it’s easy to understand why, when you see the changes so visually apparent in the x-rays. The below changes took six months to achieve, and even though the spinal alignment is not yet perfect, it is much closer to the ideal.

With Corrective Chiropractic Care, we don’t focus on the area that is sore (as this is often not where the problem lies). We rather take a look at the whole spine to determine where the problem is. In this patient’s case, it was her neck that was the most misaligned part of her spine and this is where we saw the biggest improvements.

Looking For The Cause

We often have patients who come to us with lower back pain, but when we examine them it’s their upper back or their neck that is the actual problem. Unfortunately, as our posture or alignment changes we progressively place more strain on our spinal structures. It has been shown that a forward head posture or slouch can actually stretch the spinal cord and increase the amount of strain in the lower back, leading to lower back pains. This is why we believe it is so important to look at the whole spine and not just the area that is sore. Once we know where the problem is, we can help to fix it.

If you have pains or problems that just keep coming back, it may be because you are missing the bigger cause. If you are looking for a Durban Chiropractor with a specific focus on spinal structure and alignment, give us a call on 031 562 9180.

The Different Types of Chiropractic Care.

If you have been to see a few different chiropractors over the years, then you may have noticed that not all chiropractors are the same. Many chiropractors will focus on the areas that they enjoy, or the kind of patients or conditions that they get the best results in. For some, it’s treating sports injuries, for others its treating babies, but for me, I really like helping people improve their posture and make positive changes to their structure.

As students, we are taught a pain relief model for patient care. This basically means that our goal is to get our patients feeling good, as quick as we can. It often involves a short term “quick fix” approach.

Early on in practice, I noticed a trend – patients would come in for a few visits, feel great, but then they would be back weeks or months later with the same issues. This got me interested in why these aches and pains kept coming back.

Although there are a number of factors involved, I found that good posture or structure was a key component in keeping a healthy spine and was extremely important to the person’s overall health too.

My Experience With Corrective Chiropractic Care

After qualifying as a Chiropractor, I moved to the UK and spent over three years practicing at corrective care clinics. I was exposed to a completely different approach to patient care, from that which I was used to. I saw people make massive improvements to their posture, and their health followed. I saw the effects that better posture had on their movements and simple activities, which had been a struggle previously. I had patients tell me how they had started sleeping better, and how their headaches had disappeared. It was clear to me that helping them improve their structure and posture had a much bigger effect on them than the pain relief approach I was used to.

I believe that poor posture is linked to a lot of the common issues that many people will see a chiropractor for – lower back pain, neck pain and headaches are just a few everyday problems that respond really well when posture is properly assessed and corrected.

This is why we focus on corrective care at Align Corrective Chiropractic. We believe that it is far more beneficial to fix the cause of the problem than to merely treat the symptoms.

We take a very specific, research-based approach (often with the use of x-rays) to assess your structure and help you fix it. If you are looking for a Durban Chiropractor with a focus on corrective care then give us a call on 031 562 9180.