Caring for your Heath often involves matching the appropriate solution to the problem. Modern medicine primarily uses pharmaceuticals (drugs) and surgery to treat ailments. If your problem responds well to these forms of treatment, it is a good match. But what happens when a particular problem doesn’t fit either of these solutions? Many problems that don’t fit the tools above can be successfully treated by a branch of healthcare called Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Chiropractic is one of these specialties that does not use drugs or surgery in treatment. As a Chiropractic physician, I am trained in diagnosis but my focus of treatment is different. Let me share a bit of who I am and how I think.
Chiropractors are conservative in treatment methods. That means we do not rely on treatments with pharmaceuticals or surgery. Instead, we use hands-on treatment called adjustments, and we often use physical therapy methods like ice packs, hot packs, and muscle work.
We are holistic in our approach to Health care. This means we evaluate and treat each patient as a whole person. Besides evaluating a person’s physical body, we also look at what a person does, what they eat, what stress is in their life, and how to they cope with it all. That is why I write about so many topics in this blog. We are complicated beings. What affects one part of your body, affects all parts of your body.
My Brand
Like Medical Doctors, every Doctor of Chiropractic has their own personality. In the same way as all of our patients are unique, each doctor presents a unique style of patient care. Logan University, my Chiropractic Alma mater, provides a diverse offering of adjusting techniques.
My style of practice is based primarily upon the Chiropractic techniques called Sacro-Occipital Technique (SOT) and Logan Basic. Both are concerned with the body’s systems and how all of the parts work together.
SOT is a low-force adjusting technique that is noted for the use of foam wedges. The wedges are placed under the hips to use gravity and the patient’s own breathing to make changes to the joint alignments. However, as a truly holistic discipline, SOT focuses on balance between structure and function. Adjusting involves the whole spine, from the skull (the cranium) to the base (the sacrum). This is why the adjusting is sometimes referred to as cranio-sacral adjusting. Imbalances between the skeleton, brain, muscles, and organs can all contribute to problems that bring a patient in for care. Even lifestyle choices can express themselves as physical complaints. Chiropractic care is about restoring balance.
Logan Basic is an amazing form of Chiropractic treatment. I had the honor to study with the late Dr. Beatrice Hagen, DC who was one of the first students of Dr. Hugh B. Logan, DC, the founder of the school and developer of the adjusting technique. Outwardly, Logan Basic is different from other ways of adjusting. It is a non-force adjusting that focuses on light touch and the relaxation of muscles. Inwardly however, Logan Basic is a gentle restorative change that encourages the body to make modifications from the inside out. Appropriate for all individuals, from pregnancy and newborn all of the way through elder years, Logan Basic has helped generations of patients get and stay Healthy.
Chiropractic Controversies
In all fairness, while there are generations of people who love Chiropractic, there are also negative opinions of the Chiropractic profession. As with any health care profession, Chiropractic has a history. Differences of opinion and practice are bound to come up because we are all individual human beings. Some ideas are defensible and supported by fact. Others are great ideas but perhaps more wishful in nature. The sale of snake oil has been around for centuries and not exclusive to any particular profession.
If you are interested, please look into these arguments and share your questions. Some of the disagreements are over important things. Many of them are just old emotional grudges. They all however, provide perspective on the profession. Warts and all.
The important thing is to use reliable information to develop your own informed opinion, especially when it involves the Health of you and your family. Making choices based on education, instead of following someone else’s interpretation of matters, is a great way to stay healthy and happy.
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