What
is Chiropractic?
I. Introduction
II. The Chiropractic Treatment Process
III. Answers About Chiropractic Treatment
IV. What Age Groups Can Be Helped?
Introduction
In the more than a century of its development,
Chiropractic science has grown to major stature
in the field of the healing arts and has
provided relief to literally millions of people.
With the rate of growth steadily increasing, the
Chiropractic profession has found a continuing
need to acquaint new patients with the nature of
Chiropractic care. The following information has
been prepared to serve that purpose.
The modern Chiropractor works both directly and indirectly with the nervous system. Every function of the body is under the control of this system. Every organ, tissue and cell is controlled by nerve impulses traveling from the brain to all parts of the body and back. Nerves make possible all movement. Nerves transmit all sensations to the brain. Nerves make possible all sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. Nerves maintain balance and keep the body temperature at 98.6 degrees. Nerves make it possible to swallow. Nerves make the bowels move. Nerves control the liver, lungs, spleen, pancreas, gall bladder and kidneys. In fact, the nervous system is the master system which controls all other systems of the body, including: the glandular, reproductive, digestive, eliminative, respiratory and circulatory.
Every science of healing has what is known as an
“avenue of approach”. For example, in the field
of medicine, a hypodermic needle injects drugs
through the skin or a pill is swallowed and goes
into the stomach. These are the “avenues”
through which the drugs gain access to the body.
The “avenue of approach” for the surgeon is to
gain direct access to the impacted area of the
body with a knife.
In the field of Chiropractic, the “avenue of approach” is the spine. The spine houses and protects the spinal cord, the "switchboard" of the nervous system through which nerve fibers pass from the brain to different parts of the body. The nerves leave the spinal cord through openings between movable spinal bones called vertebrae. When vertebrae become misaligned as a result of injury – an awkward slip and fall, a seemingly uneventful bump against a piece of furniture - or posture problems they interfere with the normal function of these nerves by pinching or infringing on the nerves. This misalignment causes pain and malfunction of the nervous system and is called a "subluxation." The subluxation is therefore the
cause of pain, even if the pain presents itself
in some other part of the body, for example in
the lower back, legs, or as a severe headache.
For every effect there has to be a cause.
Typically, the human body uses the feeling of
pain to announce that something is not healthy.
And treating the symptom of pain by itself – for
example, taking drugs to relieve the pain – does
nothing to eliminate the actual cause of the
pain, which in many cases is directly due to subluxations of the spine as described above.
After all, the pain is not the cause, it is a
message from the body that something is wrong.
The objective of Chiropractic care is to determine, through x-ray and examination, the exact degree of spinal misalignment that is producing the causal subluxation. Under the care of a professional, skilled Chiropractor such as Dr. Cutsinger, proper, noninvasive "adjustments" are then given to remove these subluxations and thus remove the cause of pain and malfunction – as well as, of course, the pain itself. Chiropractic care will add life to years and years to life.
If you believe that you might benefit from Chiropractic care or you have any questions, please call us at 615-778-4552 or email us at info@CutsingerChiropractic.com. Cutsinger Chiropractic is conveniently located in the Cool Springs area of Franklin, Tennessee.
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The Chiropractic Treatment Process
In order to determine the cause of your symptoms, Dr. Cutsinger will follow the following process when you come into his office.
1.) Health History
The first step for a new Chiropractic patient is
to fill out a complete health history form. Old
injuries, chronic problems and the patient's
present symptoms are recorded on the form for
study.
Please click here to download the Health History form in .pdf format so you may fill it out at home. This provides the benefits of saving time at the office and allows you to access your health information at home while you fill out the form.
2.) Consultation
After reviewing the health history, Dr. Cutsinger will meet with you to discuss your problem(s) and determine how they can best be treated through Chiropractic care. You will be asked about how the physical and mental strains of work, family and their way of life have affected your health by precipitating spinal misalignments. These misalignments, called subluxations, may be causing the pain, discomfort and decreased function that you might be experiencing. Dr. Cutsinger will be exploring all areas of your life that may be contributing to the symptoms: a “holistic” approach.
3.) The Examination
Orthopedic and Neurological tests, which include reflexes, sensory perception and spinal range of motion are a regular part of the chiropractic examination as well as blood pressure, posture, body type and dietary information. These factors help present a total picture of your health for evaluation with Chiropractic care.
4.) The Examination/X-Rays
Your Chiropractic examination may include x-rays of your spine, an important innovation of Chiropractic. These standing x-rays show your spine in its natural weight-bearing state.
Subluxations are determined by careful analysis of the x-rays resulting from years of education and experience, palpation of the soft tissue of the spine, range of motion studies and muscle testing. All of the analysis will bring to bear Dr. Cutsinger's education at the premier Palmer School of Chiropractic (founded by the founder of Chiropractic care), years of continuing education, and more than 20 years of experience in dealing with a wide variety of cases.
5.) Report of Findings
After Dr. Cutsinger has studied your health history and x-rays, he will meet again with the you to explain the results of the exam. The x-rays will be viewed and your spine and any subluxations explained to your satisfaction, including the recommended course of treatment. In most cases this will consist of a course of Chiropractic correction and treatment, but it may also result in a referral to another specialist.
6.) Chiropractic Correction and Treatment
The adjustment or correction of a subluxation is the means of care provided by Dr. Cutsinger. Chiropractic adjustments usually involve a quick thrust that helps add motion to the spinal joints that aren't moving correctly. Some methods use the doctor's hands, an instrument, a special table, or the force of gravity. Using the appropriate method, the goal is to carefully move the vertebra back into their normal position, removing the interference to your body's normal nerve control. Acute subluxations can be corrected with just a few adjustments while chronic subluxations may take frequent adjustments over a period of time to retrain the misaligned vertebrae to hold their normal, non-irritating positions. Additional care may consist of a series of stretches that you will be asked to perform at home in order to retrain the muscles that support your spine around the affected area.
Through spinal adjustments administered by an experienced practitioner such as Dr. Cutsinger, body balance can be restored, spinal misalignment can be corrected, and the condition caused by the subluxation can be relieved and eliminated - along with the pain that your body was using to signal the abnormality. When the correction is completed and the nervous system is restored to normal function, the body will cure itself: the chiropractic premise - which has worked successfully for more than 100 years on more than 100 million people.
If you believe that you might benefit from Chiropractic care or you have any questions, please call us at 615-778-4552 or email us at info@CutsingerChiropractic.com. Cutsinger Chiropractic is conveniently located in the Cool Springs area of Franklin, Tennessee.
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Answers About Chiropractic Treatment
Q.
Can Chiropractic Help Me?
A. A majority of people have the misconception that Chiropractic is only good for backaches, disc problems, stiff necks, sciatica, whiplash and other spinal related conditions. It is true that anyone who is suffering from these or similar type problems should try Chiropractic first. However, it is not generally known that Chiropractic is able to help many other problems of bodily dysfunction. Since various organs, glands and body tissues require nerve innervation for their proper function, many functional disorders of the body may respond favorably to Chiropractic adjustment.
If you are experiencing a particular problem that is either directly or indirectly related to a misalignment of the spine, it is indeed probable that Chiropractic care can relieve your discomfort. If you believe that you might benefit from Chiropractic care or you have any questions, please call us at 615-778-4552 or email us at info@CutsingerChiropractic.com. Cutsinger Chiropractic is conveniently located in the Cool Springs area of Franklin, Tennessee.
Q. Will it hurt?
A. Most Chiropractic adjustments are not only virtually pain free, they actually feel relieving. In cases of a recent injury, inflamed tissue may react to adjustments and cause some discomfort. If this is the case, bring it up with Dr. Cutsinger and he will recommend corrective action, which may be as simple as the application of ice to soothe the irritation. If you have any concerns or questions regarding the effects of your treatment, please be sure to bring them up with Dr. Cutsinger or his staff. Feel free to call us at 615-778-4552 or email us at info@CutsingerChiropractic.com.
Q.
How Long Will It Take For Me To Get Well?
A.
Chiropractic science teaches that we should
endeavor to correct the basic cause of a problem
rather than try to remove a symptom or treat an
effect which might make you think you are well
when it might only be preventing your body from
warning you about the problem. The length of
time required depends on many factors such as
age, living habits, weight, duration and your
level of cooperation.
The treatment methods used at Cutsinger Chiropractic are not just designed to make you feel better but rather to provide as complete a spinal correction as possible in the shortest amount of time. If you believe that you might benefit from Chiropractic care or you have any questions, please call us at 615-778-4552 or email us at info@CutsingerChiropractic.com. Cutsinger Chiropractic is conveniently located in the Cool Springs area of Franklin, Tennessee.
Q.
Will I Be Permanently Well Or Will This
Condition Ever Recur?
A.
There are many things that make people sick, for example, trauma: falls, jolts, strains. Chemistry: poisons, things you may be allergic to – junk food, absence of proper diet. Auto Suggestion: worry, fear, hate, jealousy. Since we are all prone to many of the above (of course not you, we’re talking here about the rest of us!) and these are just a start of the list, there is no assurance that we will not get sick as we go through life. If you are in good condition the chances are better that you will go through life with very little trouble. Periodic visits to Cutsinger Chiropractic in order to maintain a better body alignment will help keep one of the major contributors to human disease, subluxations, from negatively impacting your health. To set up an appointment or just ask a question, please call us at 615-778-4552 or email us at info@CutsingerChiropractic.com. Cutsinger Chiropractic is conveniently located in the Cool Springs area of Franklin, Tennessee.
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What
Age Groups Can Be Helped?
Infants And Young Children
Other mothers are often amazed to see a mother carrying her infant out of the adjusting room. And yet, since the delivery process itself causes a high percentage of subluxations, infants do need Chiropractic care. Obviously, children and infants are treated differently than adults. There are new, highly sophisticated methods of adjusting children and infants to insure the best possible results with the least possible discomfort. Though your infant children may not be able to tell you they’re in pain, their irritability is often a sign of the need to be checked.
Young Adults And Teenagers
More and more young adults and teenagers are getting involved in active sports. As a result, more and more of them are getting injured, requiring prompt Chiropractic care. Over half the girls in our society develop scoliosis (curvature of the spine) during puberty. Left untreated, scoliosis keeps getting worse over time. However, it can almost always be corrected when Chiropractic care is initiated in time.
Needless to say, every teenage girl should be checked regularly for scoliosis and all teenagers and young adults should see their Chiropractor regularly to make sure their newly active sports lives aren’t creating spinal problems they’ll have to live with the rest of their lives.
Adults
The world today is experiencing an ever increasing level of stress. Long work weeks, seemingly impossible deadlines and economic challenges create incredible pressures. In addition, most adults breathe in polluted air, drink chemically treated water and consume an average of nine pounds of food additives and chemical preservatives a year, putting even more stress on their bodies. One sure way to keep the stress level from causing potentially dangerous subluxations is with regular Chiropractic checkups.
Senior Citizens
Retirement age for many people has become just plain tiresome. Aches and pains, often the result of untreated subluxations, abound. Yet it hardly seems fair that having to suffer with pain or being drugged into numbness are necessary consequences of all the years of hard work. They don't have to be! Depending on the degree of subluxation degeneration, Chiropractic care can often provide help.
For senior citizens who have been fortunate
enough to have suffered minimal trauma in their
lives, virtually complete spinal recovery should
be almost as easy as it would be for younger
people.
For those who have suffered for years, Chiropractic care can often slow or stop the degeneration, making life more comfortable. It is certainly worth the effort so that our senior citizens get the dignity of health care they deserve.
Something For Everyone
As you can see, there are practically as many reasons to have regular Chiropractic checkups as there are people. Make an appointment for yourself and your loved ones soon by calling us at 615-778-4552 or emailing us at info@CutsingerChiropractic.com. Cutsinger Chiropractic is conveniently located in the Cool Springs area of Franklin, Tennessee.
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