Chiropractic care and massage therapy comprise important tools for your overall health strategy. Dietary change and nutritional supplements do not stand alone for optimizing your health, but rather need to work in conjunction with these and other complementary health methods. Though I am neither a chiropractor nor a massage therapist (and therefore am not an authority on these health practices) I have had a lot of personal and professional experience with the benefits of both. In this Update I want to better aquaint you with chiropractic and massage and give some guidelines as to when or for what they should be used.
CHIROPRACTIC HISTORY
Chiropractic is defined in the Encarta Encyclopedia as a:
“therapeutic system for curing ailments by adjustments and manipulation of various body parts, particularly the spinal column. The system is based on the theory that all disease is traceable to nervous malfunctions usually caused by misalignment of the spinal column.”
Though the concept of spinal manipulation is believed to go back to ancient times, its modern discovery is credited to Daniel David Palmer in 1895, when he manipulated a deaf man’s neck vertebrae and immediately restored his hearing.
In 1898 he opened the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. His colorful and flamboyant son, B. J. Palmer, is largely credited with the marketing of chiropractic into a major worldwide healing art.
There are today fifteen accredited chiropractic colleges teaching a variety of spinal manipulation and other healing methods. There are actually over 40 different methods of chiropractic, some of which use a lot of force in making the adjustments, and some of which use very little. Likewise the personal style and effectiveness of chiropractors varies, just as with any other kind of practitioner.
Depending on which state you live in chiropractors may have a broad or narrow scope of practice. In some states, like my home state of Washington, chiropractors are strictly limited to manipulation of the spine, while in other states, like Oregon, they may be involved in a wide range of healing practices more akin to naturopathic physicians.
Chiropractors generally attend four years of chiropractic college with a curriculum similar to that of a medical school, minus the drug and surgical training and plus the training in manipulation, physical therapy, nutrition and other subjects generally not taught to conventional medical students.
SPINAL SUBLUXATION
Generally, the term you will most often hear in connection with chiropractic practice is subluxation, referring to misalignment of the spinal vertebrae with resulting impairment to nerve function. Different manipulative techniques are used to mechanically move the vertebrae back into proper place. The “high force” type of chiropractic adjustments most often associated with chiropractic, what I call “snap, crackle and pop,” are fine for some people, but not tolerated well by others. Depending on your need and preference you may prefer a lower force chiropractic adjustment.
WHAT’S IT GOOD FOR?
For what problems would you likely be helped by chiropractic? When it comes to injuries such as whiplash or other accidents, chiropractic is generally my first suggestion. Statistically speaking, chiropractic provides quicker, more effective, and less expensive relief than conventional medical therapies.
Probably more often chiropractic is useful for relieving tension in the neck, shoulders and back which may be causing pain, headaches, numbness, tingling, fatigue, or a host of other symptoms. Chiropractic’s basic theory of restoring nerve function throughout the body, can at least indirectly help almost any health problem.
CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT APPROACHES
There are basically two kinds of chiropractors: First, those who try to set you up on a program of coming in at a regular interval (daily, two or three times a week, weekly, etc.) for a several month treatment plan, and those who do not. In some cases it is reasonable and appropriate to have repeated chiropractic adjustments over several weeks or months, especially in the case of injuries. In other cases this is simply a marketing method that’s helping the chiropractor a lot more than the patient. As with any practitioner, you should keep in mind the idea that you alone are ultimately in charge of your health care. Therefore, you must decide whether a suggested course of treatment is reasonable and appears to be helping.
Another factor that is distinguishes chiropractors is the amount of time spent with patients. Some, primarily from again a marketing point-of-view, deal with patients on an assembly line basis, quickly adjusting them and going on to the next patient. I know of one chiropractor that bragged to a friend of mine that he was only spending two minutes with each patient, and he thought he could get it down to only a minute and a half! I find that unconscionable.
By contrast the chiropractors I’ve seen over the years, and the ones I refer clients to, take time with each patient to individualize the treatment. Good chiropractic care, just like any other healing approach, requires listening and spending sufficient time with the patient.
In chiropractic’s early days, it was often represented as a “cure-all” for everything from the common cold to cancer. Even as a teenager, my brother knew a chiropractor that told him chiropractic would cure his juvenile onset diabetes. This same chiropractor refused to take one of his children to a medical doctor with an extremely high fever, swearing that chiropractic alone would bring her through. Fortunately, most chiropractors today do not hold such fanatical views of chiropractic, but rather recognize their practice as one of many important elements in dealing with health. If you do run across a chiropractor telling you chiropractic alone can cure diseases unrelated to the spine, find another chiropractor.
As much as I have personally benefited from chiropractic, I recognize it doesn’t stand alone. Nutritional deficiency correction and working with the muscles through massage therapy make chiropractic more effective.
MASSAGE THERAPY
While chiropractic technically just works on the spinal vertebra, the various types of massage therapy work on the muscles. It’s always seemed to me that just moving the vertebra around without addressing the muscular tension that often causes the spinal subluxations, isn’t very effective. Muscles are attached to those vertebra, and if they’re tight, expect vertebral misalignment.
Most people are pretty stressed these days, and most of us store that stress in our muscles. According to the individual there may be a particular muscle area that tightens up when you’re under stress. The neck and shoulder areas are favorites, though many people have problems with the mid or lower back as well.
Muscular tension need not be caused by emotional stress, though. It can also be caused by pure physical stress. If you work in a particular position doing a particular repetitive motion, you’re very likely to develop muscular tension. Massage therapy can help, along with ergonomic changes in your work setting, taking breaks from repetitive activity, and special exercises.
Though all chiropractors have some training in massage, few are actually trained or licensed in massage therapy. Consequently, most chiropractors refer appropriate patients to a massage therapist, typically one that works out of the chiropractor’s office.
In some cases massage therapy may be preferable to chiropractic. In many cases a combination of both chiropractic and massage therapy is appropriate.
TYPES OF MASSAGE THERAPY
Not surprisingly, there are many different styles of massage therapy. Most massage therapists are trained in several different approaches and will vary the approach depending on the client and their particular problems. So, as is the case with chiropractors, if one practitioner’s method doesn’t seem to be working, try another one.
In addition to what I would call “general massage therapists,” there are a number of special types of massage therapy requiring a specialized training. I’ll mention two of these that I have personally experienced — Rolfing and Feldenkrais.
FINDING A GOOD PRACTITIONER
A final question is probably, “How do I find a good chiropractor or massage therapist? Referrals from friends or other health practitioners are usually the best. Just picking a name out of the phone book is usually not the best way to go! At Pacific Health Center we are aquainted with a number of chiropractors and massage therapists to which we regularly refer clients. Feel free to ask us about the appropriateness of chiropractic or massage therapy for your situation. We would be happy to refer you to a good practitioner.
Better Health Update is published by Pacific Health Center, PO Box 1066, Sisters, Oregon 97759, Phone (800) 255–4246 with a branch clinic in Portland, Oregon. E-Mail: drkline@pacifichealthcenter.com. Monte Kline, Clinical Nutritionist, Author. Reproduction Prohibited.
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this publication is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose illness nor prescribe treatment. Rather, this material is designed to be used in cooperation with your nutritionally-oriented health professional to deal with your personal health problems. Should you use this information on your own, you are prescribing for yourself, which is your constitutional right, but neither the author nor publisher assume responsibility.