FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions About Chiropractors & Chiropractic Treatments
Chiropractic is the science of detecting and correcting interference to the nervous system caused by spinal misalignments. It is a natural health care system based on 3 scientific principles:
- Your body is a self-healing organism under the control of the nervous system.
- Spinal misalignments cause nervous system interference.
- Interference to the nervous system can cause pain or other health problems.
What is Orthospinology?
Orthospinology is a specialty within the chiropractic field that utilizes a precise instrument adjustment for a gentle, painless correction. The correction is mathematically calculated for each patient, according to the misalignment of your spine. This specific adjustment is designed to remove interference from the spinal cord and restore body balance.
What is “body balance”, and why does it matter?
To understand body balance, you must understand what body imbalance is. Body imbalance is misalignment of the head and neck area of the spine, which in turn creates postural distortions in the head, shoulders, lower back, and hips. This imbalance also causes a functional short leg on one side and muscle spasms in the neck and back.
Body imbalance is often caused by:
- Accidents
- Falls
- Bending and Lifting
- Birth Trauma
- Athletic or Exercise Injuries
- Poor Sleeping Habits
- Excessive Stress
How do we determine if you have body imbalance?
Body imbalance or postural distortion is determined by:
- Leg length measurement – In a lying down position, the leg lengths may differ as much as one-half inch.
- Posture Analysis – A head tilt, low shoulder, hip distortion, spinal curvature or other improper biomechanics.
- Infra-red scan – a computer generated diagnostic test to measure how the spine and nervous system is functioning based on the amount of infrared heat emitted from the body.
- Mathematical x-ray analysis – We take 3-dimensional x-rays and measure the degree of spinal misalignment.
- Scanning palpation of the spine – muscle tension and spasms in the neck can indicate spinal misalignment and imbalance.
Upper cervical chiropractic is based on the scientific fact that your body is a self-regulating, self-healing organism. The body’s functions are controlled by the brain through the spinal cord and all of the nerves of the body.
If the nervous system is impaired, it can cause malfunction of the tissues and organs throughout the body and is known as a subluxation.
Upper cervical chiropractic is the science and art of locating interference to the nervous system (subluxations) and removing them so that the body can function optimally and health is more likely to be restored.
An accident, injury, or trauma at some time in a person’s life causes their spine to misalign. It is not necessarily an injury that you would remember, as today’s hectic lifestyles are a constant source of body imbalance.
Examples of life events that often cause spinal misalignment:
- A difficult or traumatic birth
- Childhood falls
- Falling off a bicycle
- Car accidents
- Sports injuries
- Bumping your head getting into or out of your vehicle
- Twisting or popping your neck
- Roller coaster riding
- Yard work injuries
- Prolonged desk and/or computer work
- Persistent stress causing muscle spasm and tightness
Once body imbalance has been determined, precise x-ray analysis, utilizing the laws of physics, is used to calculate a mathematical formula for each spinal correction. Each Orthospinology formula is calculated for that individual patient and no two spinal corrections are exactly alike.
Once body imbalance has been determined, precise x-ray analysis, utilizing the laws of physics, is used to calculate a mathematical formula for each spinal correction. Each Orthospinology formula is calculated for that individual patient and no two spinal corrections are exactly alike.
We have never known of a case that had their misaligned spine correct itself. Fortunately, our bodies have the ability to compensate and adapt to a misaligned spine. However, many times the body can no longer deal with the spinal imbalance and pain and/or body dysfunction occurs. That’s often when patients decide to see an upper cervical doctor and have their body balance restored.
Once body balance is restored, the body has a much greater ability to maintain this balance and clear problems up on its own.
Yes. The Orthospinology adjustment is extremely gentle, safe, and effective. The precise and gentle nature of our upper cervical correction requires NO POPPING or TWISTING of the neck and back. To ensure safety, a thorough initial exam can identify the rare person for whom upper cervical chiropractic care might be unsuited.
By avoiding drugs and risky surgery, chiropractic care enjoys an excellent track record of safety.
It has been estimated that over 10,000 combinations of upper cervical misalignments exist. Each combination requires a different, precise spinal correction, which is determined from the detailed analysis of the patient’s x-rays.
The number of adjustments needed from person to person varies. This variance is caused by several factors, including:
- Amount and severity of accidents and traumas prior to treatment
- Patient compliance, i.e. following the doctor’s recommendations
- How much damage there is to the spinal structures
- The shape of your spinal bones
- Exercise habits
- Emotional and physical stress
- Spiritual health
Absolutely! Precise spinal x-rays are imperative for our adjusting procedures. We are often dealing with spinal misalignments as small as ¾ of a degree. The precise x-rays that we take allow us to calculate the correct method to restore the misalignment to a better position, thus allowing your body to begin the healing process.
The radiation exposure is extremely low with our upper cervical x-ray series, due to special lead filters that block out a majority of the radiation. The NAS (National Academy of Sciences) considers a single exposure of the whole body of 50,000 mrems (50 rems) to be a high level dose.
Our average patient will experience some relief within 2 weeks of care. 50% of our patients notice some relief in their symptoms on the same day as their initial correction. 90% of our patients can feel a difference in their posture the same day as the initial correction. Many factors are involved with you feeling better, including:
- Type and severity of the condition(s)
- How long you have had the condition?
- What other treatments you have had?
- Medications you are taking
- Compliance with the doctors recommendations
- Age
If we do not see indications that our methods are working, we will inform you as to what the next step could be. One of our core values has always been, “If we can’t help you, we’ll tell you.”
We take care of many children with a variety of conditions. In children, we have seen results with the following: ADHD, colic, ear infections, seizures, difficulty sleeping, poor digestion, neck and back pain, and postural distortion just to name a few. Anyone of any age can be a candidate for our services if their spine is out of alignment.
Yes. Imbalance in the upper cervical spine, may result in non-painful symptoms such as insomnia, poor digestion, chronic sickness, or vertigo.
We recommend that you don’t base your decision to get care on an insurance company’s coverage. Your quality of life is your responsibility, not your insurance company’s. As a courtesy, we will provide a receipt and you can file for out-of-network benefits and most likely receive reimbursement. Co-payments, co-insurance and deductibles are paid at time of service, if applicable.
Your health affects everything you do and everyone you know. It is your most valuable possession. Yet, each of us is free to place a different value on our health. It’s convenient when an insurance company or third party pays the bill. But be careful! Don’t allow the profit motive of huge corporations to make the decision about your quality of life for you. It is you that needs to live with your body the rest of your life, not the insurance company.
Medicare does cover a large portion of the chiropractic adjustments provided in the office. Our staff will submit the services to Medicare Part B but you will be responsible for any co-insurance or services not covered by Medicare.
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Location
39 Lance Street – Suite 6
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
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