Wednesday, December 28, 2011

What Is The History Of Chiropractic Treatment?

By David Greene


History or Chiropractic Medicine

Substantial debate exist with regards to how chiropractic treatment 1st came about. Generally it is thought to have started in 1895 with an individual who had up back injury and eventually became deaf. A person named Daniel David Palmer heard about the individuals problem and performed the 1st chiropractic adjustment in history on him.

Palmers Legacy

Palmer reasoned that if a back injury was the reason for the deafness then repairing the damage in the back should cure it. So he then manipulated 1 cervical vertebra whereupon the man claimed to have recovered hearing. And so chiropractic was born.

The first licensed chiropractors came in 1913, by 1931, 39 states licensed chiropractors. Today, over 60,000 chiropractors perform their services in the United States. All 50 states and U.S territories officially recognize chiropractic as a health care profession.

Numerous other countries recognize chiropractic treatment as well including Mexico, Australia, Japan, Great Britain, and Canada.

Chiropractic Theory

Chiropractic theory is that in order for the body to be healthy everything must be in tune. When spinal misalignment occurs this could be a result of birth defects, poor posture, a car accident, and then chiropractic techniques are instituted to achieve vertebral realignment.

When the spine is misaligned it can put pressure on one of the dozens of peripheral nerves that pass through the spine and branch out throughout the body. When a vertebra is misaligned and puts pressure on one of these nerves it can cause severe pain, and chiropractic theory suggests this also disrupts normal body functions.

For instance, if the sciatic nerve has pressure on it from misaligned vertebrae this causes the leg pain known as sciatica, a very painful condition that can become so severe it makes it difficult to function normally or even walk.

This misalignment of vertebrae is referred to as subluxation, which in definition means the partial dislocation of a joint or organ, and is corrected by the manipulation of the spine either by the application of pressure by hand or by various mechanical methods. Chiropractors may also suggest a specified exercise regimen for the patient to do at home to help maintain proper alignment.

Risk Factors

Chiropractic opponents state there is no research showing chiropractic therapy actually helps. Also they state that it does more harm than good. There is some very slight evidence showing that cervical manipulations may have a slight risk of stroke.

Another rare, but serious risk of chiropractic neck manipulation is paralysis. Although very rare, there have been cases of paraplegic and quadriplegic results from improper spinal manipulation of the neck (risk of about one in a million). So, just like anything else you may endeavor upon, do your research and know the benefit to risk, and research the record of anyone before you allow them to perform spinal manipulation.




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