Chiropractic is the second largest healing art in the United States and is also a growing profession in the rest of the world. Chiropractors go through the same rigorous education as a medical doctor but with an emphasis on natural healing instead of pharmaceuticals. Chiropractors are licensed primary health care physicians in all 50 states and have the same level of responsibilities as a primary medical physician (M.D.) or osteopath (D.O.)
Chiropractic was founded in Davenport Iowa by Dr. D.D. Palmer in 1895. Over the past 100 some years it has developed and changed, like medicine, but the main premise of chiropractic remains the same: If we have a fully functioning nervous system, the body is able to coordinate all its functions, self-correct and adapt to the environment.
The nervous system: the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves is the master control and coordination system that regulates all other systems in the body: your digestive system, respiratory system circulation system, immune system etc.
If your brain, which is an amazing “computer”, can properly detect and coordinate all body functions, the body will be healthy and all is well.
So why do chiropractors focus on the spine? Your spinal cord in the “Super highway” of constant communication between the brain and the peripheral nerves, that has exits between all your 24 vertebrae and branches out to every cell of your body.
If there are misalignments of the vertebrae (Chiropractors call these subluxations) pressure or irritation can occur to the nerves, where they exit the spine. This can, of course, at times cause pain, but it can also block the nerve flow information to and from the brain, kind of like a kink in a water hose, the water can’t get through or is limited to a trickle.
Just as a water hose with a kink can’t do a good job watering a lawn, and the grass will dry out, a “kinked” nerve will not be able to feed information from the brain to the organs or tissues it supplies. Consequently, that part of the body will function less well and disease can develop.