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Contents
Introduction
What will a chiropractor do
What does treatment consist of
What next?
The Spine
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Introduction
Like a telephone network, your spinal cord delivers messages to and from
the brain and the body through the nervous system. As everyday movement
goes on, a loss of proper function (movement) in the vertebrae may
interfere with the healthy working of the spine and nervous system. As
well as pain, this interference can slow down healing and impair
performance.
Chiropractic aims to restore normal function in the joints, muscles and
nerves, and helps with control, co-ordination and strength.
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What will a chiropractor do?
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Take
a full medical history and discuss the major problem(s)
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Carry out a visual inspection, including assessing posture.
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Assess the range of movement, the gait, the smoothness and
co-ordination of the movement
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Examine the spine, looking for symmetry, quality and quantity of
movement, heat, spasm, imbalance and loss of muscle tone
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Explain the findings to you
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Carry out appropriate treatment
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Advise on aftercare; what to expect after care, further treatment,
stretches and exercises etc
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Contact the referring clinician, if necessary.
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What
does chiropractic treatment consist of?
Treatment consists of a wide range of manipulative techniques
appropriate to the specific condition, known by Chiropractors as
“adjustments”. Adjustments are designed to improve the function of the
joints, relieving pain and muscle spasm. Chiropractic treatment consists
of specific adjustments done by hand to free stiff joints and reduce
spinal nerve irritation. In addition, the chiropractor may use other
techniques to aide the success of treatment; these may include dry
needling (a form of acupuncture), massage, ultrasound, exercises etc.
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What
next?

Why do you get your car serviced even when it’s running well? To keep
it running well and extend it’s working life! The same applies to the
spine.
Chiropractic doesn’t chase symptoms. Chiropractors specialise in
finding and correcting loss of function, which, undetected, may lead to
pain and reduced strength.
You don’t have to wait until your car breaks down to get it serviced.
You don’t have to wait for pain to return to get a check-up.
Chiropractic can speed up the recovery from an injury, enhance
performance and help to prevent future problems.
Unlike painkillers, chiropractic gets to the root of the problem.
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The Spine

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The
spine is a series of bones called vertebrae that fit together to allow
movement, provide support for the body and protect the spinal cord.
Think of your spine; it allows you to bend, twist, look either side and
arch backwards. An animal’s spine functions in a similar way. The
vertebrae join together to form a bony canal called the spinal column.
The
spinal cord runs through the spinal column with nerves that emerge at
intervals along its length. These nerves divide into various branches
and go to the joints, muscles, internal organs and skin.
Nerve impulses
travel from the brain and spinal cord, out of the spinal nerves to all
parts of the body. Similarly, sensory information (sound, sight, touch,
body position etc) travels back to the brain via the sensory nerves.
Every single part of your body relies on the nervous system to tell it
what to do…what would happen if the nervous system didn’t work 100%?
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Sometimes a joint between two vertebrae may become fixed, restricting
the normal range of motion and decreasing flexibility.
Both
humans and animals can suffer from joint restrictions which can cause
nerve irritation and subsequent dysfunction.
Muscles
may become sore and spasm, or reduce in size through disuse. Similarly,
coordination may be reduced and subsequently performance may decline.
Pain is often the first sign, but the restrictions may develop some time
before they are the cause of obvious symptoms.
Chiropractic adjustments can restore movement and allow the
nervous system to function properly again.
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