How can a Chiropractor help you?

How can Chiropractors help you?

Chiropractors focus on diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on nervous system function and general health.

Whilst concentrating on the spine and its mechanics, Chiropractors take a thorough medical and complaint history before moving on to a focused examination, undertaking further diagnostic tests, including radiology if indicated.

Once completed, an appropriate treatment plan best suited to provide symptomatic relief and maximise biomechanical function is explained to the patient prior to commencement of treatment.

How do disc injuries occur?

Two basic mechanisms for lumbar disc herniations have been suggested (Adams & Hutton 1981, 1982 and 1985): acute hyperflexion loading of the disc, and cumulative trauma leading to a gradual prolapse. The latter, which is suggested to be the more common mechanism, occurs through repetitive or prolonged loading by, for instance, sitting and bending.

It has been demonstrated that sitting and forward flexion increases the intra-discal pressure to a greater extent than rotation, placing particular stress on the posterior annulus which is the most common location for the disc herniation to occur (Adams & Hutton 1982).

Experimental studies on healthy tissues have shown that it is extremely difficult to cause traumatic rupture of the nucleus pulposus even if an artificial track is created by cutting the annulus. The biochemical and biophysical properties of the nucleus pulposus need to be altered to make it possible i.e. internal disc degradation. A likely cause of internal disc degradation is traumatic compression injury causing end plate fracture and exposing the nucleus pulposus to the circulation. This initiates the degeneration of the nucleus pulposus leading to internal disc disruption (Bogduk 1990).