Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. Chiropractic care is used most often to treat neuromusculoskeletal complaints, including but not limited to back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, headaches, and dizziness/vertigo.  The most common therapeutic procedure performed by doctors of chiropractic are manipulations and mobilizations. Collectively, these procedures are referred to as a chiropractic adjustment. 

The purpose of the adjustment is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into the joints of the spine and/or extremities that have become hypomobile – or restricted in their movement – as a result of a tissue injury. Tissue injury can be caused by a single traumatic event, such as improper lifting of a heavy object, or through repetitive stresses, such as sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture for an extended period of time. In either case, injured tissues undergo physical and chemical changes that can cause inflammation, pain, and diminished function for the sufferer. By adjusting the affected joint and tissues, spinal mobility is restored, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, and allowing tissues to heal.

Doctors of Chiropractic – often referred to as chiropractic physicians – are non-surgical spine specialists whose expertise is focused on the diagnosis and management of spinal disorders without the use of medication or surgery. Doctors of chiropractic assess patients through clinical examination, laboratory testing, diagnostic imaging and other diagnostic interventions to determine when chiropractic treatment is appropriate or is not appropriate. 

Chiropractic physicians readily refer patients to the appropriate health care provider when chiropractic care is not suitable for the patient’s condition, or the condition warrants co-management in conjunction with other members of the health care team. In addition, when other medical conditions exist, chiropractic care may complement or support medical treatment by relieving the neuromusculoskeletal aspects associated with the condition.