Education
Research
Who Sees A Chiropractor?
How Long Does It take to Get Better?
When Should You Go To A Chiropractor?
Do I have to make a choice between my Medical Doctor or my Chiropractor?
What's the difference between Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Physiotherapists, Spinologists, and Bone Setters?
The unique role of Chiropractic.
Chiropractic- for your well being!
Chiropractic is a safe, all-natural, drug free method of Health Care. It is the third largest primary health care profession in the western world, next to medicine and dentistry.
What Do Chiropractors Do?

From an examination of the spine and nervous system, Chiropractors detect areas of misalignment in the spine. These spinal misalignments are called vertebral subluxations (For a complete definition of vertebral subluxation, please refer to our link for the ACC Paradigm). Using a variety of techniques, Chiropractors restore function to the body by correcting subluxations. Vertebral Subluxations are a serious health concern. Much like undetected high blood pressure, subluxations can exist without causing symptoms. The vertebral subluxation effects the spine in three ways. First, the misaligned vertebra places pressure on the spinal nerve root, which disrupts nerve flow. This disruption interferes with the brains ability to properly communicate with the vital systems, organs, tissues and muscles of the body. Spinal nerve pressure or disruption has been shown to be the cause of many different conditions. The Immune system, cardiovascular, endocrine, digestive, circulatory, respiratory and muscular systems are just some of the areas that may not function properly due to subluxation induced nerve pressure. The second area to be effected by the vertebral subluxation is the spinal bone itself. When the spinal bone is misaligned, bony friction results, which leads to permanent degenerative changes commonly called Degenerative Joint Disease or Arthritis. Lastly, due to the misaligned position, the subluxated vertebra causes an imbalance in the soft tissue (muscles, ligaments, tendons and discs). This imbalance can lead to discomforts such as aches, pain and restriction of movement. A vast majority of neck pain, headaches, back pain, arm and leg pain can be related to these "soft tissue imbalances" caused by vertebral subluxations. Contrary to popular belief, disc injury is a relatively rare cause of back pain. Discs do not "slip in or out", but bulge and tear if they are the cause of the problem. If this occurs they often heal with time and appropriate Chiropractic care, or in severe cases, require surgery. The philosophy of Chiropractic realizes that the nervous system is in essence what makes up our being. All other systems of the body are there to maintain or protect the nervous system. In turn, the nervous system controls all other systems of the body. Any break down in this pattern, through physical, chemical or emotional stress, can cause poor health or "dis - ease". Through Chiropractic care of the spine, a Chiropractor aims to return the nervous system to optimum function, and thus optimum health.
Education

Chiropractic is generally a five year, full time, graduate school University/College-based degree (under Chiropractic Council of Education standards). The Association of Chiropractic Colleges requires undergraduate studies to apply for admission to an accredited chiropractic college. Unfortunately, Ireland is one of the few remaining countries in the western world without Chiropractic legislation. All members of the Allied Chiropractic Group (ACG) have the above standards of education. As such ACG membership is the only safeguard to assure you are attending a properly qualified Chiropractor.
Research

Independent Chiropractic Research has been carried out in many countries. One such study was carried out by Professor Meade M.D., F.R.C.P., director of a Medical Research Council in England, and was published in the British Medical Journal in 1990 and 1995, showing Chiropractic to be more effective in treating back pain than hospital outpatient treatment. For up-to-date research information visit our Research link on this website.
Who Sees A Chiropractor?

Chiropractors care for people of all ages. Contrary to what people may believe, Chiropractic is a gentle form of care shown to be more safe than many other forms of treatment used for back pain, including certain medications. The majority of people who seek Chiropractic care, do so after mainstream forms of treatment have been ineffective in their case. During the course of care many patients certainly notice their present complaints go, but other previously unmentioned problems ease or disappear. In recent times, as the public has become more aware of Chiropractic, more and more people are going to Chiropractors as their first choice of care. People are realising that unless the root cause of their condition is cared for, they will only be masking the problem if they just focus on blocking off the pain through medication. Being primary care practitioners, Chiropractors will soon tell from their examination if the nature of a particular patient's problem is outside the Chiropractic scope of practice.
When Should You Go To A Chiropractor?

Ultimately, having yourself assessed is the only way to identify if there is a problem in the spine. Chiropractors are the only health care professionals trained to detect and correct vertebral subluxations, therefore chiropractors are the only health care professionals qualified to give a "chiropractic opinion." More and more people are choosing to maintain their spinal health with regular chiropractic wellness visits. Spinal Hygiene is a concept that improves bodily function and enhances human performance, increasing quality of life.
What's the difference between Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Physiotherapists,
Spinologists, and Bone Setters?


This is a difficult question to answer in one paragraph and certainly there are similarities in all of these disciplines in that they use their hands to direct treatment as opposed to medication. However there can also be vast differences in terms of level of education in an academic sense and the type of massage/manipulation used. One aspect unique to Chiropractic is its emphasis on the role of the nervous system in health and disease. Chiropractic education devotes many hours in the study of the nervous system. The nervous system involves the brain, spinal cord and all the nerves that exit from both the brain and cord. In close relation to both the cord and exiting nerves is the spine. As mentioned above the nervous system controls every aspect of human function, and the way it communicates to the rest of the body is largely via these nerves that exit from the spinal cord. Any interference at this level will ultimately compromise the ability of the nervous system to communicate with other systems of the body. It is the role of the Chiropractor to detect such areas of interference and remove them through what Chiropractors term an "adjustment".
Do I have to make a choice between my Medical Doctor or my Chiropractor?

Not at all! Chiropractic is not a treatment for disease or symptoms, but it is valuable in all conditions. Chiropractic care focuses on correcting subluxations. Vertebral subluxations can be corrected in conjunction with medical care and or physiotherapy. In some cases the pain from a spinal problem is so severe it is necessary to see your G.P. for pain medication while the Chiropractor is working on getting the movement of the spine back to normal. While all Chiropractors have had cases where patients have an almost miraculous improvement after a single adjustment, in most cases it is a consistent effort over a period of time to return normal function to the spine. Imagine a line across a piece of paper and to the right is the healthiest you can be and to the left is the least healthy you can be; namely - dead. From a health perspective you may be anywhere along that line. People with more severe health problems (i.e.. those to the left of the line) are more suitable to medical treatment which largely deals with what is termed "end organ stage" disease. Chiropractic, as with other natural health professions, often deals with people who are not at such a severe state of ill health (i.e. towards the right of the line), but still have health problems that need addressing. In a nutshell - medicine will save your life, and Chiropractic and natural health care professions will improve the quality of life. However in improving the quality of life, natural health care professions aim to minimise the chance of getting to end organ stage disease and requiring dramatic life saving intervention, whether it be surgery or medication. As such there is no conflict between medicine and Chiropractic.
How Long Does It take to Get Better?

This can usually be ascertained at the first assessment. Generally, the longer the history of the problem, the more time is required to return normal movement to the spine. However; it can be highly variable from person to person. Spinal correction does take time. If you compare spinal correction of vertebral subluxations to the orthodontic practice of correcting the teeth, the comparisons are similar. The dentist places braces on the teeth and then tightens them each month, over time, the teeth straighten. Once the teeth are straight, the dentist places a retainer on the straightened teeth to allow the correction to hold. While it is not quite as intensive to correct the spine, the analogy is similar. To find a ACG member in your area Click on the county you live in on our home page.

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