Chiropractic adjustments restore proper body function and reduce nerve pressure which can decrease pain and improve overall health.
What is occurring in the joints, muscles, and nervous system during an adjustment?
Dr. Scott Gardner: During the chiropractic adjustment, a specific force is applied to a restricted joint. This restores proper joint mobility and stimulates the surrounding muscles to relax. Neurologically, specialized nerve endings are stimulated, which send signals to the brain to override pain and improve overall body awareness.
Many people hear or feel the pop during an adjustment. What causes that sound?
Dr. Scott Gardner: That’s a common question. The sound that you hear is caused by a process called cavitation and that’s when the joint is slightly separated during the adjustment. The pressure inside the joint drops causing dissolved gases like nitrogen and carbon dioxide and the synovial fluid to rapidly form and collapse bubbles and that’s what makes that popping sound. So, there’s no bones rubbing, there’s no bones cracking. It’s actually more of a separation of the joint, not a compression of it.
How does adjusting the spine impact mobility and overall body function?
Dr. Scott Gardner: Adjusting the spine restores normal alignment, which improves mobility and reduces or eliminates nerve pressure. By restoring the normal biomechanics, there will be improved range of motion, decreased stiffness, decreased pain, and really supporting a healthy nervous system, which together promote long-term pain relief and improved overall health.
And in what ways do you tailor adjustments to different types of patients such as athletes, children, pregnant women, or seniors?
Dr. Scott Gardner: Every person is different and their needs are different. So, we use a combination of about 10 different techniques. No one technique is going to work for everybody. So, it’s like a recipe for each person. So, we take little pieces from each technique and put that together and that’s what forms the individual’s recipe. Some people do better and prefer more of the lighter force techniques. Some people do better and prefer more of a stronger force technique and most tend to do best with a combination of both.
For someone who has never been adjusted before, what do you wish they understood about the science and purpose behind chiropractic care?
Dr. Scott Gardner: So there definitely is no guessing. We do a very complete examination including x-rays. So, we have a starting point, and we know where we want to go. So, because of that, we have the exact position of the spine and over time we can do follow up x-rays so we can measure and compare so that we’re getting to our goal and that’s to get the spine back to its normal correct alignment. And by doing that, that is what’s going to help the person’s body to work at its highest level, be able to handle the stresses of daily living from poor posture, too much time on a computer or the phone, dealing with the stresses of daily life.
So that really is the key to getting the person to their optimal health. And again, there’s no guessing it’s very scientific because we do know the exact position that the spine is supposed to be in and we have a starting point and we can monitor over time until we’re able to get the spine back to its normal correct alignment.
Learn More
If you are interested in speaking with the doctor please visit www.gardnerfamilychiro.com or call 973-614-9256 to schedule an appointment.
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