Adjustment vs. Manipulation… Choose Wisely
Chiropractic adjustment vs. manipulation. What’s the difference? The difference is in everything that the Chiropractor does. Understanding spinal imaging and neurological testing is to comprehend what to adjust and what not to adjust. Something that is “moved wrongly” is considered a manipulation of the spine. The difference between these words is based on the understanding and science of what they actually mean in the Chiropractic world.
What Is an Adjustment?
A Chiropractic adjustment is a specific force applied to the spine by the Chiropractor’s hands to facilitate the body in realigning a subluxation towards its proper position. Proper alignment restores optimal nerve supply to the damaged tissues and cells of the body. By removing neurological interference, the body can initiate healing without external intervention.
What Is a Manipulation?
Manipulation – “The action of manipulating someone in a CLEVER or unscrupulous way.”
A manipulation is a guess. Some type of nonspecific, general, posterior to anterior spinal manipulation with no thought as to the location or direction of the spinal subluxation. It’s an experiment on one’s spinal structure that is based off of subjective analysis. Without objective analysis, over-diagnosing and improper care will continue.
Adjustment, Please!
Sure, people “feel” good after a manipulation because your body can be in a state of shock. Imagine you have a sprained ankle and someone rips and pulls on it. Immediately afterwards, your body goes into a state of protection and hormones surge all over the body. An adjustment is not designed to make you instantly “feel” good, it is designed to make you instantly begin healing and adapt to create a normal physiological response in the body. The Palmer School of Chiropractic introduced the use of x-ray in chiropractic practice in 1910. The objective for doing so was to “verify or deny palpation findings and to verify or deny proof of the existence of vertebral subluxations.”
We don’t guess when it comes to your health, and neither should you! Avoid being manipulated; get checked, and get the right adjustment for YOU.
