Question
QUESTION: Hello. About 4 months ago I began going to a chiropractor because I supposedly have an "anterior cervical subluxation of the c5 vertebrae" (not sure if it is the c5, its in-between my shoulder blades and my shoulders line up with the cervical subluxation-like if you were to put a ruler across both my shoulders, the vertebrae that is subluxated is in the middle of the ruler). Anyways, the first day I came to this chiropractor he basically checked all of my Range-of-Motion's and asked me a few questions. At the end of all this, I asked him how long it would take to correct this subluxation, because it is scary bizarre: the vertebrae is pushed halfway into my body for god's sake! He said he wasn't sure how long it would take to fix the subluxation, but he estimated about 3-5 visits. Therefore, I thought to myself, 'hey, that's awesome! 3-5 visits? I'll be able to play football in no time!' So it turns out, I have visited him about 15 times already over the span of 4 months, and my vertebrae still feels EXACTLY the same as it was the first day I came in (pushed inward half way and I can still barely feel the vertebrae's point jutting out like usual). I think he is a 'mixed' chiropractor because everyday I come in, the assistant chiropractor says "on a scale of 1-10 how ya feel'in today bud?" I always say 1 because it never hurts, I just want it to be fixed before something bad happens. Also, I have heard things like "subluxations are the silent-killer", which gives me another reason why I want it to be corrected AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Unfortunately, my chiropractor doesn't seem to be doing this as soon as possible. Every time I come in to his office he does the same thing. First, his assistant asks me how I feel and puts me on a massaging/warming stretcher machine. Second, after about 15 minutes on the massaging machine, the chiropractor calls me to this other room and puts me on a chiropractic stretcher and raises this adjustable part of the stretcher under my neck (when im laying face down on it) and SLAMS it back down over and over about 5 times. Then after that, he just cracks/pops the bones up and down my back. After this, he tells me to sit up and rest my head on his hand and then he swiftly jerks it to the left and to the right cracking/popping some bones in my neck. After that, he says "Alright! We're done for the day! I am seeing some GREAT progress out of you every time you come here! Keep up the good work sport!" Then, I pay my 40$ that is required after every visit and leave. I just find this process VERY bogus. EVERY TIME I come in he does this SAME EXACT process that I just described about 3 sentences ago. I am beginning to not trust him anymore, because he doesn't seem very professional if ALL he does is crack my back a few times and put me on a comfortable massaging machine EVERY TIME I visit him. I really feel like he is leaching off my money-it is 40$ a visit for god's sake! 15 visits times 40$ = 600$?! And this subluxated cervical vertebrae still feels exactly the same to the touch?! Seriously, what should I do? Is this chiropractor worth it? Should I go to another doctor? Please help!

Thank you very much,
Victor

ANSWER: Dear Victor,

Thank you for your question.  If I understand you correctly, you have given me some details about your unsatisfactory experiences with a chiropractic office and wish to get some advice on what you should do about it.  You抳e also used some terminology in your question that seems to indicate you have done some research of your own already.  That抯 a wonderful start!  The key for you will be to sort the accurate and valid from the false and misleading.  

If you抳e read prior writings of mine, some of what follows may be a review for you.  I抎 rather be redundant than have something presumed and go misunderstood as a result.   

The first thing to know is that there are two branches or schools of thought in chiropractic.  Briefly, they are differentiated by whether they deal with the limited therapeutic approach for aches and pains (commonly termed "mixed" chiropractic because it represents a mixture of a chiropractor with a non-chiropractic matter) or a non-therapeutic approach to optimum body performance (termed "straight" chiropractic because there is no mixing of chiropractic with anything else).  My expertise is in non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.

Therapeutic "mixed" chiropractic is the older approach based on a split from the founding principles of chiropractic about a century ago.  I agree with you that the office you抳e visited is of the mixed therapeutic viewpoint.  

Non-therapeutic "straight" chiropractic is the more modern of the two.  It deals with a particular, common situation called a vertebral subluxation. Based on the information you抳e given me, this may not be a new term to you, though it appears the office you抳e visited uses it in a manner different from how we will talk about it here.  

The spine is made of many bone segments which house and protect the spinal cord and the smaller spinal nerve branches that come off the spinal cord and exit between the bones.  These nerve pathways carry vital information or messages between the brain and the cells of the body.  These messages are essential for the life of the cells.  Without brain messages, the cells immediately begin the process of dying; i.e., they can no longer function the way they should to maintain life.

Because the bones are moveable, they can misalign in such a way as to interfere with the messages and, ultimately, the ability of the person to function at their best or express their optimum potential.  These are the basic elements of a vertebral subluxation.  Of course, people with vertebral subluxations are not able to get all they can out of life.

Vertebral subluxations can be caused by a wide variety of factors, what we'll generally call stresses.  These stresses can be physical (such as accidental trauma, sleeping posture and mattress condition, the birth process, sneezing, falling down, etc.), mental / emotional (in its many forms, probably the most familiar use of the word stress), or chemical (such as pollution, drugs, etc.), which are, unfortunately, regular parts of daily living for all age groups.  In short, a vertebral subluxation can occur for a multitude of reasons.

Tragically, vertebral subluxations are rarely obvious to the individual they affect.  They usually have no symptoms.  The reason is that most of what goes on inside you happens without your awareness.  As an example, try to "feel" your liver.  What's it doing right now?  You can't know, so you can't know if it's functioning at its best or something less.  To complicate things, nerve pathways that carry messages of control (termed "motor" nerves) have no way of transmitting ache or pain messages, so your body function may be far from perfect and you'd not have any alerting signal whatsoever.  The branching of the nerve pathways is complex and extensive, making it exceedingly difficult to predict or determine exactly how the person will be affected.  In a very real sense, the symptoms that you reported are not valid or reliable indicators of the presence of vertebral subluxation.  In order to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have that person抯 spine checked by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor using a method of "analysis."  When a vertebral subluxation is detected this way, it is obviously important to correct it as soon as possible.

Since vertebral subluxations are caused by so many different things, people choose to go to a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor on a regular basis to enjoy the most time free of the life-robbing effects of vertebral subluxation. There's a saying that straight chiropractic is not about your back, it's not about your pain, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life.  With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

A key question to ask for your purposes, then, would be, Is someone better off with vertebral subluxation / nerve interference or free of subluxation / with the nerve channels open?  It is easy to see that having all the available nerve messages getting through is better than only some of them getting through, regardless of the person's situation otherwise.

As I mentioned earlier, not all chiropractors adhere to this and it is important that you be able to distinguish which ones do if you're going to seek this type of service.  Please understand very clearly that the practice objectives of therapeutic mixed chiropractic and non-therapeutic straight chiropractic are quite different, as described above.  What I can tell you must not be interpreted from the mixed viewpoint.  

In discussing vertebral subluxation earlier in this message, I used the word misalignment.  I am not talking here simply about an anterior vertebral position, however, and it is not interchangeable with the term subluxation.  The misalignment that I address is that of a specific segment of the spine in such a way as to interfere with the vital nerve messages.  Technically speaking, we have to get even a bit more advanced in what is meant by misalignment to make this clear.  The question is, Misaligned with respect to what?  It is possible to describe the body geometrically, reasoning that we are bilaterally symmetrical and concluding that there is a measurable 搈idline?or that our hips and shoulders should be 揵alanced?on a perpendicular line to this proposed 搈idline,?or that there should be certain curves or other geometry if we view the spine from the side.  The problem with this thinking is that it assumes we are simply machines and ignores that we are alive, capable of movement, adaptation, growth, etc.  At any given moment, there is an optimum state for us to carry out life to our best abilities.  That optimum state will vary depending upon the circumstances, both within us and of our environment.  There are many examples to illustrate this.  If you carry something heavy with one hand, you must lean away from it, putting something of a curve into the spine, to keep yourself balanced.  Does that mean the body is failing because there is imbalance or a curve, or is it instead being quite successful in adapting you to the situation?  In another example, consider that those who argue for geometric balance or symmetry would be hard-pressed to explain why the carpenter who swings a 28-ounce hammer all day with his right arm only would have certain physical adaptations that favor his right side.  Should the carpenter have some of the tissue removed from his arm, hand and back?  Or is he merely adapted to his circumstances?  The point I抦 getting at is that there is an individually determined, innately normal position for the body that cannot be described by geometry.

The term for the procedure of correcting vertebral subluxation is 揳djustment,?a word you used in your question, but, since this may not have been a non-therapeutic straight chiropractic office, it is not certain that this is exactly what you had done.  You may have experienced manipulation.  Manipulation of any kind is not an equivalent and it the terms adjustment and manipulation are not interchangeable.  Adjustment is a very specific term of art.  The procedures used with you may not be the equivalent of adjustments of vertebral subluxations.

From the non-therapeutic standpoint, an adjustment is not a process that requires a series of visits; it is a procedure that is accomplished immediately.  Repeat adjustments are made if and when a subluxation is detected ?and only then.  There is no schedule of adjustments involved nor is there a specific amount of time that must pass.  It would require prophetic powers to know with any certainty when and where someone would be subluxated in the future, even though the causes are very common and, therefore, being subluxated is certainly a likely event.

With that said, it would be wise to have your spine checked for subluxations by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor on an ongoing basis if it is your desire to have an opportunity to realize your full potential, living the most time possible free of vertebral subluxations, even if you also elect to have therapeutic attention elsewhere for forcing a particular geometry into your spine.  Most non-therapeutic straight chiropractors typically have fee systems that make regular lifetime visits possible for all people of many different financial circumstances.  If such is not the case, then one might question the chiropractor抯 commitment to and belief in the value of all individuals living free of subluxation!

Ultimately, you will have to weigh your confidence in the chiropractor抯 ability to properly evaluate you for vertebral subluxation and then effectively and safely effect the correction of identified vertebral subluxations.  From the information you provided, it seems you have more doubt than confidence.  

It may be that the chiropractor you visited fits the non-therapeutic straight chiropractic model, but that seems unlikely based on what you抳e told me.  Because the objectives and techniques of mixing are not my area of expertise, I will not be able to offer an opinion on the effects and circumstances you described.  If, however, you are interested in finding out how to locate a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor in your area, please contact me at this site again or at [email protected].  

Victor, I wish you the best in sorting out the world of chiropractic.  It has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear James W. Healey, D.C.

I definitely would like to know where to locate a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor in my area then. Because if what you said earlier--From the non-therapeutic standpoint, an adjustment is not a process that requires a series of visits; it is a procedure that is accomplished immediately--then I would absolutely, most definitely, would want to find a different chiropractor. Because it has been a LONG time, and if this was suppose to be corrected a long time ago... Then that kind of angers me. Please help me find a non-therapeutic straight doctor. My area is Marietta GA, 30066. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REPLY ASAP!

Thank you very much!

Answer
Dear Victor,

Thank you for your follow-up question. I am glad the information about non-therapeutic straight chiropractic was useful to you.  

I want to be clear that the matter of choosing to visit a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor should be for the purpose of being free from vertebral subluxations for as much time as possible through your life.  It抯 not that the process of treatment is quicker; in fact, as we saw in our first correspondence, it抯 not about a treatment goal, so to speak, at all!  You might want to re-read it so you are able to make the best decisions possible for yourself in how you use chiropractic.  

Unfortunately, I do not know of anyone that I can recommend to you as a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor for you in or near Marietta.  That doesn抰 necessarily mean there isn抰 one available, even thought there are many offices to choose from, it抯 just that I抦 not directly familiar with one to be able to refer you with certainty.

There is, though, an interview method for locating a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor without the benefit of a direct referral, in case you find yourself in a situation where that becomes necessary, such as this.  I encourage you to review my initial response to your question so that you can approach this as a well-informed consumer.  Use the local telephone directories for this interview process:

1.   Call the office and ask, 揑s this a straight chiropractic office??or 揂re you a straight chiropractor??br> 2.   If the answer is, 揘o,?go on to the next phone listing and repeat step 1.  If the answer is, 揧es,?ask, 揥hat do you take care of??or 揥hat sort of conditions do you deal with??br> 3.   If the answer is, 揤ertebral subluxation only,?or 揘erve interference due to misaligned spinal bones,?or some similar answer that indicates this, then make an appointment.  Otherwise, go on to the next listing and repeat step 1.

The reason you would ask these two questions in this order is because not all chiropractors are non-therapeutic straight chiropractors, though some will erroneously identify themselves as such.  The second question helps you know if they truly understand and practice according to those principles.

Victor, I hope you are able to find the right chiropractor for you.   

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.