About Us
What is Chiropractic?
“Chiropractic is a health profession specialising in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on the functioning of the nervous system and general health.”- CASA
Chiropractic care is not only limited to patients with pain, stiffness, joint conditions, trauma or neurological conditions, but the healthy, pain-free individual as well. Chiropractic care can contribute to a healthy lifestyle for the whole family. Patients of any age can visit a chiropractor from a young baby to an elderly person in their nineties.
Chiropractic treatment is one of the most commonly used alternative, drug-free and noninvasive treatments with a holistic approach to healing. Chiropractors are highly trained professionals specialising in the spine and joints of the arms and legs. Their treatment consists of manual therapy and auxiliary therapeutics.
What is an adjustment?
An adjustment is a high velocity, low amplitude thrust applied to a facet joint. It is a safe and effective treatment for joint restrictions. The spine is an interlocking chain made up vertebrae and between each vertebra are soft, cushion-like discs known as intervertebral discs.
These discs act as shock-absorbers in response to the forces our spines sustain every day. On the sides of the vertebral bodies are joints known as facets joints, which allow us to move our spines by twisting and bending as well as, providing stability for each motion segment.
At these joints in the spine, there can sometimes be a restriction in
movement, which can irritate a nearby spinal nerve either directly/indirectly and may result in pain in the neck, arm, shoulder, lower back, gluteal region or calf.
What is the "clicking sound" when I get an adjustment?
Chiropractors adjust the facet joint (apophyseal joints/zygapophyseal joints) of the spine. The facet joint has a synovial capsule which gives it lubrication and nourishment. The capsule is surrounded by fluid and gas bubbles. The fluid in the synovial capsule is made up of gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The clicking sound that you hear when you receive a chiropractic adjustment is a result of gas bubble coalescence, or gas bubble collapse and fluid movement within the synovial capsule of the facet joint. This is known as a cavitation.
It is a safe and effective treatment for restricted joints, meniscoid entrapments, back pain arising from the spine and various other conditions related to the spine. Adjustments/manipulation can also be performed in the extremity joints, such as the knee and shoulder. There will sometimes also be a cavitation in the extremity joints when you receive an adjustment.