Question
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Followup To

Thank you for such a thorough answer.  As you state, it is curious that one would go to a provider with a list of procedures he wants done, however, we have found it necessary to be pro-active with our health.  We, many times, are limited in our health care by the insurance companies who limit our choice of providers.  Many of these providers want to cure all ills with powerful drugs and/or surgery, which forces us to depend on our own research (as limited as it is) to, at least, have a better understanding of what our options are. Which is also why I am corresponding with you.  I guess I needed assurance that if I do have a herniated disc that seeing a chiropractor would not be harmful (as I have been told by those meaning to help).
Thanks again,
Barbara Woolfenden

Question -
I have 5 years of chronic back pain and frequent episodes of muscle spasms.  I suspect a herniated disc(s) as I have pain radiating into my hips and legs.  Recent episode started 3/12 and I can still barely walk today, 3/15.  I don't know whether to see a chiropractor (I saw one 5 years ago who did nothing but put me on some kind of rolling machines, which did not help), a physiatrist or orthedpedic surgeon.  I believe I need an x-ray or MRI for a proper diagnosis.  I have heard that MRI is better than x-ray if it is a disc. Please advise.  Thank you.
Answer -
Dear Barbara Woolfenden,

Thank you for your question about your chronic back pain and past experiences with a chiropractor.  In order to answer it properly, I'll first need to give you some background on anatomy and physiology and how they relate to the chiropractic profession.  I'll then offer my thoughts on how this may relate to the situation you describe.  

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.

Non-therapeutic "straight" chiropractic is the more modern of the two.  It deals with a particular, common situation called a vertebral subluxation.  This is not the same as the things you mention as your suspicions, but they may exist together.  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 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, whatever that may be.  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 sports, exercise routines, 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, food additives, etc.), which are, unfortunately, uncontrollable and 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.  For this reason alone, it is impossible for anyone to give you reliable answers as to a connection between the spine and specific symptoms of any kind, including backaches, despite the location of the spine in the back.  Certainly, every part of the body must have connections to the nerve system so that vital information may be transmitted between the brain and the cells.  There are some who would attempt to review the possible nerve connections between a nerve root and specific organs or tissues, but this ignores the multitude of variables that determine the expression of function.  The question of how your individual body carries out the myriad of activities just to maintain life is enormous and would require your Creator's (or creator's, for the agnostic) knowledge, or at least far more than our educated knowledge of the complexities of life.

Now that you have more information about the body and vertebral subluxation, how do you make use of it?  Well, first understand that this is not an explanation of why you have a backache or whether it is related to vertebral subluxation.  Are there reasons for what you are experiencing?  Even though they may be beyond our ability to identify, yes, there are; but pinning them down is not relevant to the matter of whether you would benefit from being free of vertebral subluxations.  Vertebral subluxation is, in and of itself, detrimental to your life.  It is not valid or reliable to try to connect it to backaches or any other organ or tissue conditions.  These are not relaible indicators at all.  In order to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have that person's 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.  The term for this procedure is 揳djustment.?br>
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 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 with the symptoms you report 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.  It's not that you should see a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor FOR backaches ?you should visit one in an effort to be free of vertebral subluxations, even WITH those symptoms.  Non-therapeutic straight chiropractic is not about diagnosing and/or treating these complaints or any therapeutic-model or medical condition.  It is entirely separate in its goal.  

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.  You need to 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.  It is likely, from the limited information you provided, that the chiropractor you had visited previously was of the therapeutic mixed viewpoint.  It is quite understandable, then, why he/she would rely on therapeutically intended procedures and base all opinions on such information as you provided here about your pain.  

Regarding your statement that you believe you need to have an MRI performed, first understand that this is a therapeutically-oriented procedure, not something that would be valid in an analysis within non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.  In a general sense, however, I think it would be better for you to ask that of the individual practitioner you ultimately choose.  The reason I say this is that MRI is only a tool.  It is the purpose for which it is to be used that determines which tool is best suited.  Your belief is based only on a suspicion you have developed, not on a reasoned, supported conclusion.  I see this as a curious trend in our society that consumers go to therapeutic providers with a list of procedures they want done instead of first asking the provider for an opinion based on expertise and then having the provider recommend a course of action.  

That said, it would be wise to have your spine checked for subluxations by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor even if you still elect to have therapeutic attention for your therapeutic concerns with another provider, whether that is with an orthopedist, a physiatrist or if you wish to continue with a therapeutic mixing chiropractor to do so.  Only you can know whether the type of doctor you choose for relief is actually providing it and in a way that you accept.  I cannot comment on the need for therapeutic measures or on which type of doctor would be best suited for this.  Remember, the two objectives are not the same.  The non-therpaeutic straight chiropractor will use methods of analysis, as I mentioned, to determine whether you have any vertebral subluxations, and effect necessary adjustments.  

If 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].  You may also visit www.gschiro.com, a site that represents non-therapeutic straight chiropractic organizations on a state level.

Barbara, I wish you the best in understanding what non-therapeutic straight chiropractic has to offer.  It has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.  

Answer
Dear Barbara Woolfenden,

Thank you for your follow-up.  I understand your point clearly and support your conclusion entirely about needing to be a well-informed, proactive consumer.  

Also, I received your message to my private e-mail address and will correspond with you shortly about finding a chiropractor in your area.

I am glad that you were able to make use of the information thus far and wish you the best.

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, DC