What is a chiropractic adjustment?

At Advanced Spinal Care we do not like to use the words manipulation or “crack” when referring to treating the back but rather an “adjustment”. The latter is a specific quick and low force impulse applied to a joint in order to alter the way in which that specific joint sends signals back to the brain. When a joint in the spine displaces itself relative to normal then a cascade of reactions occur which causes abnormal mechanical stress and accelerates the wear and tear on the surrounding spinal muscles, ligaments, discs, joint and other spinal tissues. Pain, inflammation, decreased spinal mobility, muscle spasm and hypertonicity will eventually follow.

Spinal adjustments aim to reverse these reactions by restoring normal nerve communication between the affected joints and the brain and thus restoring normal range of motion, reducing inflammation and muscle spasm. Recent scientific research (Dr. Heidi Haavik) has demonstrated that Chiropractic adjustments reset the nervous system (similar to the re-booting of a computer) which improves joint position sense (proprioception), increases visual acuity and field, decreases the body’s reaction times to a given stimulus, increases brain processing, decreases muscle fatigue, increases muscle strength in the legs, restores spinal function and changes the functioning of the brain (neuroplasticity).