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Branchville Family Chiropractic Frequently Asked Questions

question marks on a notebookommon Answers to Questions We Hear

At Branchville Family Chiropractic, we realize that a big part of our responsibility in health care is in helping people to understand their body’s needs and how to best take care of themselves and their families so they can experience a greater degree of wellness. Here, you’ll find some of the questions we get most often about chiropractic care. We want to make sure you have the answers to make informed choices about your health.

Do you have any questions that aren’t answered here? Contact us today and let us answer all of your questions.

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Is a chiropractor a real doctor?

Absolutely. A Doctor of Chiropractic is a highly educated specialist in the mechanics of the spine and its relationship with the nerve system. Chiropractors help the body to achieve improved health and well-being by removing vertebral subluxation, which is a misalignment or malfunction of the bones in the spine. It creates interference in the function of the nerve system.

By the proper application of a chiropractic adjustment, chiropractic care allows the body to heal naturally-without the use of drugs or surgery. Chiropractors are the only health care professionals trained to detect and correct vertebral subluxations.

Chiropractic education is a postgraduate program with over 4800 hours of study. Chiropractic education is comparable to medical education, except that chiropractors spend more time studying diagnosis, neurology, radiology and orthopedics as well as chiropractic techniques.
To be licensed, chiropractors take four rigorous National Board exams and then must be licensed in each state that they practice. Most states require ongoing continuing education for licensure.

What are some of the conditions chiropractic care can address?

People suffering from many different conditions and challenges find great benefit from chiropractic care. Chiropractic is not, however, used for the treatment of diseases and conditions. It is concerned with restoring proper function to the body by correcting misalignments of the bones of the spine, called vertebral subluxations. Correcting subluxation and removing nerve interference allows the body to function at its best and optimize healing, regardless of symptoms or conditions.

Ultimately, it’s not about how you feel; it’s about how you heal. A body free of nerve system interference heals better.

What is a vertebral subluxation?

A vertebral subluxation is the term chiropractors use when a spinal bone, or vertebra, misaligns and creates pressure or tension on the spinal cord or spinal nerves resulting in nerve system disturbances.

When this occurs, communication between the brain and body is altered or interrupted, resulting in altered body function or loss of health. Chiropractors are trained to locate, analyze and correct vertebral subluxations in the spine by use of the chiropractic adjustment.

Learn more about vertebral subluxation.

Do adjustments hurt?

Most often, you will feel great during and after a chiropractic adjustment. Correcting subluxations removes stress from the spine and nerve system, allowing the body to heal while reducing pain and inflammation.

Rarely, you may experience a slight discomfort during or after your adjustment. If you have a fresh injury of a spinal joint, there may be inflammation of the muscles or tendons surrounding the joint or irritation of the nerves in the joint that could make any motion, including the adjustment, painful.

In the case of a chronic condition, as the bones, muscles and ligaments begin to move again, you may feel some discomfort afterward, much like how your muscles feel after starting a new workout routine. This effect is only temporary, however, and most people quickly experience positive changes in how they feel, in their energy levels and their overall health.

Is it possible to hurt somebody by adjusting their spine, particularly their neck?

After a thorough history and evaluation of the spine, a chiropractic adjustment performed by a trained and licensed Doctor of Chiropractic is arguably one of the safest, most beneficial things you can do for your body.

An adjustment moves the stuck bone within its normal range of motion and unlocks the vertebrae from their stuck position, so the body is able to restore harmony and balance to the nerve system. When free of interference, the body is better able to heal.

Can’t I adjust myself? I saw a guy on the bus this morning twisting his neck until it ‘popped’ Can’t I just do that?

We are chiropractors. We know how to adjust, where to adjust, and when to adjust, but wouldn’t adjust ourselves. If someone who is trained and skilled at performing adjustments can’t do it on themselves, it would be unlikely you can do it either. Many people attempt to do so and can injure themselves. Never allow anyone who isn’t a properly trained chiropractor to try to adjust your spine.

Once you begin chiropractic care, do you have to come forever?

We hear this one a lot. How you take care of your body is a personal decision. Like the decision to brush your teeth “forever” because it makes sense, many people choose to include chiropractic care as a regular part of their health regimen. These people understand the purpose of chiropractic and how it helps them get well and stay well for the long haul-because it makes sense.

We regularly educate our patients about how chiropractic works and what chiropractic care does to help their bodies to function better. We also empower our patients to make informed health choices and yes, many choose lifetime care.

At what age can you begin chiropractic care? And, at what age is chiropractic care no longer safe?

Chiropractic care is safe for every person. What we mean by this is that chiropractic adjustments are beneficial for anyone from immediately after birth up until the final moments of life. If a subluxation is present, the body is better off without the subluxation and the nerve system interference that it causes than with it-no matter how young or old.

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Branchville Family Chiropractic FAQ | (973) 948-5556