At one point in time, we all experience back pain.  For some, it was just exercising too hard or improperly lifting a box.  These types of back pains are usually minor and the pain will subside with time and self-care.

There are however, instances in which back pain is more serious and when medical care is needed.

When suffering from back pain, most individuals head to their primary care physician.  If this is your only option, this is fine.  But, if you have insurance or the financial resources, head to a chiropractor.  Why?  Because the care is better and safer.

What is chiropractic care?

Chiropractic care is the natural practice of medicine.  It relies on manual therapy.  This involves the use of the hands.  Medical tools, such as sonograms, x-rays, or MRIs, may be used to diagnose a problem, but the hands only usually provide treatment.  Popular procedures performed by chiropractors include therapeutic massages and chiropractic adjustments (click for Mayo Clinic definition).  This involves using precise force to thrust a joint back into place or to extend it past its current ability to move.

Treatment for Back Pain

How does treatment for back pain vary from traditional forms of health care?

If you visit your primary care physician to seek pain relief, he or she will usually tell you to take an easy and prescribe pain medication.  This only temporarily relieves the pain. Not all forms of back pain heal themselves.  A slipped disk or another spinal or joint problem may be to blame.  Pain pills and rest will not solve the problem, but chiropractors do.

They will manipulate the spine and the back to alleviate pain and improve mobility.

Does chiropractic care automatically mean ongoing care?

No.  Many people mistakenly believe that once you visit a chiropractor, you must continue going.  Some chiropractors do recommend continued care, but not always.For example, if an adjustment or spinal manipulation is used, you may need to return for a small amount of therapy or just a follow-up appointment.  During that appointment, your chiropractor will share ways to stop pain at home.

This will include showing you how to properly lift boxes, sit at a computer and so forth.  They may ask you to return in another six months to monitor the progress.

Finding A Chiropractor

How does one find a chiropractor?  Unless you already knew the benefits of chiropractic care, you might not have given chiropractors any thought.  You may have driven by two or three offices a day and never noticed.

It is easy to find chiropractors.  They are everywhere.  Your town or a nearby town should have at least two to choose from. As for how you can find them, local phone books, online business directories, insurance providers, recommendations from those you know, and by performing a standard internet search.

Choosing A Chiropractor

How does one choose a chiropractor?  You now know how to find chiropractors, but how do you choose one?

If covered by health insurance, check with your provider.  Some offer money saving discounts to those who go with special in-network providers. If not, opt for a chiropractor who accepts your insurance.  If uninsured, opt for the chiropractor with the most affordable rates or one who offers flexible payment plans.

In conclusion, if you suffer from back pain or discomfort, don’t suffer in silence any longer.  Don’t just mask your symptoms. Recurring back pain is a sign that something is wrong.  A licensed chiropractor cannot only find the problem, but treat it with no surgery, non-invasive procedures, and with no medication.

For more information, give us call at 309-685-5777 or click here to fill out our contact form.

Chiropractic history extends at least as far back as written records exist.  Writings that found their birthplaces in China and Greece spoke of chiropractic techniques wherein adjustment of the spine was used to ameliorate back pain. 

The famous Greek physician Hippocrates even weighed in on the topic of chiropractic care.  He once wrote, “Get knowledge of the spine for that is the requisite for many diseases.”  Even he saw the connection between the health of the spine, spinal manipulation, and overall health.  This connection has been identified since the start of recorded time. 

Early Years | Chiropractic History

It was not until the later part of the nineteenth century that the theories and practices of chiropractic care started to be fully acknowledged in the United States.  As the twentieth century began and progressed, chiropractic care grew as a recognized and respected part of the health care field.  There have been numerous studies inquiring into the efficacy of this type of medical care with pleasing results. 

This is excellent news considering the prevalence of conditions that can benefit from chiropractic care.  Back pain issues rank as the second most common cause of individuals visiting their doctors.  It also ranks highly on the list of reasons why individuals miss work.  In fact, approximately half of working Americans have stated that they experience some form of back pain.  Given these statistics, the burgeoning interest in chiropractic care seems to be fortuitously timed. 

Widespread Problems | Chiropractic History

This leads one to wonder what causes these widespread problems that find their source in the spine.  More than that, it leads to a contemplation of how these problems may be treated or even prevented.  Knowledge of chiropractic care leads not only to chiropractic treatment itself but also to an awareness of the importance of spinal alignment and how individuals may take better care of themselves so that pain and problems caused by spinal misalignment may be averted.

It is said that a great deal of this growing popularity is owed to the non-invasive nature of chiropractic techniques.  It is thought to be a natural, healthy alternative in some cases to the more invasive methods often favored in Western medicine.  Chiropractic care is not only though to help heal individuals but to help their bodies heal themselves.  This, in itself, is revolutionary.

Advancements | Chiropractic History

With all the advances in medical technology, one has to wonder if there is any technology so impressive, so intricate, and so effective as that present in the human body.  Its innate knowledge and ability to heal itself is not yet completely understood, and any practice that can allow the body’s ability to heal to be fully realized has almost limitless potential.

Chiropractic care seeks to assist the body’s natural healing potential, and does so in a non-invasive manner.  The implications of such treatment are extensive.  What better way to work towards healing than to help a body help itself?

“Why don’t M.D.s believe in Chiropractic?” is a question that patients may ask their neighborhood Chiropractors. Indeed, after years of the medical runaround—drugs, more drugs, perhaps surgery and more surgery patients have often reported ‘miraculous’ cures in Chiropractic offices. They then rightfully want to know why their M.D.s never suggested they go to a Chiropractor in the first place. But long ago, Henry Winsor, a medical doctor in Haverford, Pennsylvania felt that Chiropractic should be investigated.

“I wonder how Chiropractors can claim such good results” he wondered. “They claim that by ‘adjusting’ the fifth thoracic vertebrae, between the shoulder blades, they can relieve stomach troubles and ulcers, by ‘adjusting’ a lumbar vertebrae they can relieve menstrual cramps, by ‘adjusting’ the fifth cervical vertebrae they can correct thyroid conditions and so on with kidney disease, constipation, heart disease, lung disease, and many other conditions, but how can they do that? We M.D.s criticize them, but what if they really have discovered a new drugless way to treat disease?”

Dr. Henry Winsor | The Investigation

After graduating medical school Dr. Henry Winsor investigated Chiropractic and Osteopathic literature and was inspired to perform an experiment. He would dissect human and animal cadavers to see if there was a relationship between any diseased internal organs discovered on autopsy and the vertebrae associated with the nerves that went to the organs.

As Dr. Henry Winsor wrote: “The object of these necropsies (dissections) was to determine whether any connection existed between minor curvatures of the spine on the one hand (Subluxations) and diseased organs on the other, or whether the two were entirely independent of each other. Were Chiropractors right in their theory that a misaligned vertebra impinging a nerve going to the kidneys could weaken the kidneys and cause kidney diseases, or did one not have anything to do with the other? The University of Pennsylvania gave Dr. Henry Winsor permission to carry out his experiments, in a series of three studies he dissected a total of seventy-five human and twenty-five cat cadavers. What did the necropsies reveal? Was there a relationship between diseased organs and the spinal column?

Dr. Henry Winsor | The Results

“…  221 structures other than the spine were found diseased. Of these 212 were observed to belong to the same sympathetic nerve segments as the vertebrae in curvature. (Subluxation.) Nine diseased organs belonged to different sympathetic nerve segments from the vertebrae out of line, these figures cannot be expected to exactly coincide…. for an organ may receive sympathetic nerve filaments from several spinal segments and several organs may be supplied with sympathetic nerve filaments from the same spinal segment.

In other words, there was nearly a 100% correlation between ‘minor curvatures’ of the spine and diseases of the internal organs.”

Let us examine some of these disease categories:

STOMACH DISEASES Nine cases of stomach disease all had spinal misalignment in the mid-dorsal or thoracic spine (between the shoulder blades).

LUNG DISEASE Twenty-six cases of lung disease had spinal misalignment in the upper dorsal region, an area slightly below the neck.

LIVER DISEASE Thirteen cases of liver disease were associated with misalignment in the lower mid-dorsal region.

GALLSTONES Five cases of gallstone disease associated with related spinal misalignment.

PANCREAS Three cases of pancreas disease associated with related spinal misalignment.

SPLEEN Eleven cases of spleen disease associated with spinal misalignment KIDNEY Seventeen cases of kidney disease had the lower dorsal (thoracic) 10th, 11th, 12th, vertebrae out of alignment.

PROSTATE AND BLADDER DISEASE Eight cases of prostate and bladder disease had the lower back vertebrae misaligned (specifically the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd lumbar vertebrae.)

UTERUS Two cases of uterus conditions had the second lumbar misaligned.

THYMUS Two cases of thymus disease had lower neck and upper back misalignment.

Dr. Henry Winsor | The Conclusion

Dr. Henry Winsor’s results were published in the respected medical journal, The Medical Times, and can be found in any medical library. But Dr. Henry Winsor was not alone in his findings for similar studies by other researchers over the next few decades would confirm his initial conclusions.

A WELL ALIGNED SPINAL COLUMN IS ESSENTIAL FOR A HEALTHY BODY.

So, although many medical doctors are ignorant of the relationship of the spinal column to disease, the medical literature contains many examples proving Chiropractic’s theory and effectiveness.

Perhaps you or someone you care about should have their spine receive a thorough checkup. Call 309-685-5777 or email us at info@hhcpeoria.com. Serving Peoria, IL and vicinity.

All quotes taken from Winsor, H., Sympathetic Segmental Disturbances- 11. The Evidence of the Association in Dissected Cadaver of Visceral Disease with Vertebral Deformities of the Same Sympathetic Segments, Medical Times, 49 1-7 Nov. 1921!