Blog 170 Chiropractic Adjusting Can Help Spine, Thyroid, Kidneys, Intestines, and More

There are many types of Chiropractic adjusting.  Some are quick and forceful.  Others involve moderate force and speed.   Some are very light, and hardly can be felt by the recipient.  Yet others involve no force at all, but rely on the patient’s breathing, heartbeat, or cerebrospinal fluid movement.  When adjusting this last way, the Chiropractor may simply rest and angle their hands on the patient and thus amplify or resist the subtle shifts the patient’s body naturally experiences.  Some methods that use this type of technique are Sacro Occipital Technique, Cranial Adjusting, and Cranial Sacral Technique.  Activator Method can also be gentle, and does not use manual adjusting, but instead uses a small instrument that delivers precise, localized force to very specific areas of the spine or extremities (arms, legs, hands, feet, ribs).  Chiropractors may also adjust the fascia around internal organs, sometimes by pulling-pushing and sometimes by barely touching and letting that contact guide the way the organ functions.  For example, gentle palms-down contact over the kidneys or thyroid can be helpful in stimulating internal function.  Also, placing one palm down over the area and lightly tapping the back of that hand with the fingers of the other hand can help stimulate blood and lymphatic circulation or drainage, neurological function and more.  Those same techniques can be used over other internal organs.  These types of techniques may be used on infants, the very elderly, the seriously ill, injured or emotionally fearful.  I remember once a woman came right from the hospital emergency room to my office.  Large knife gashes on her calf and along her rib cage had been stitched up and dis-infected.  She had also suffered a concussion when a man grabbed her as she was walking to the bus early that morning.  He repeatedly banged her forehead into the sidewalk and also stabbed her twice.  A passerby rescued her and called an ambulance.  At my office, it quickly became clear that the lighter the contact, the calmer she became and the better were treatment results.  Cranial adjusting, especially applied to the frontal bone (forehead) and almost non-touch near the knife wounds were the most effective methods for her.  After about a half-dozen treatments, she had no headaches and told me she was feeling much better.  She was able to talk about the attack calmly.  

Sometimes, spinal vertebrae, cranial bones, the bones in the foot, or other areas of the body can become “stuck” together, due to various reasons, including habitual poor posture, soft-tissue adhesions because of injury, or extended periods of inactivity.  In these cases, once an injury is sufficiently mended, more forceful adjusting may be the most appropriate approach.  When Activator is used, it may have to be used repeatedly to break up the subluxation or fixation.  Manual adjustment may have to be quick, to avoid a person’s resistance.  Strong adjusting must be precise in both location and direction of thrust.  Before I had entered Chiropractic school, I remember walking up a flight of stairs with a friend to see an old-fashioned, highly recommended Chiropractor.  For the past two days, her head and had been stuck – twisted to the right.  This is called torticollis.  She also experienced right arm weakness, discomfort and swelling, which radiated all the way down to her hand.  She filled out a patient intake form with my help and then stood in front of a plumbline. After watching her for a few minutes, Dr. Shepperd stood behind her, cradled her head in his hand, and delivered a quick, precise thrust to her upper neck.  I heard a loud “pop” – this was the first time I had actually heard a chiropractic adjustment.  Immediately, her head and neck righted themselves.  He told her to sit down for 20 minutes.  At the end of that time, her arm and hand swelling was almost completely gone.  “When should I come back?” she asked.  “You’ll know,” he said.  I don’t remember what she paid him, but his charge was reasonable.  And she never needed to return.  I have never seen anyone with torticollis respond so dramatically since that day.

Chiropractors also frequently use moderate or gentle force adjustments.  They likely are what you envision a Chiropractor doing and what you have experienced in my office if I have adjusted you.  Gentle adjusting is usually best for infants and small children, as well as for the elderly, or those with osteoporosis (low bone density).  Sometimes, Acupuncture or Massage therapy are good supports for Chiropractic adjusting.  Therapeutic exercises, such as dead bug, cat-camel, and plough may all be helpful in strengthening and stabilizing the musculoskeletal system.  Appropriate, deep breathing techniques that engage the abdominal, spinal and rib muscles can also help with internal organ function, especially lungs, bladder and intestines.  Many Chiropractors instruct patients in therapeutic and breathing exercises.  Even nutritional supplementation and improved diet support Chiropractic therapy.  Without enough protein, your body cannot build muscle.  Optimal levels of minerals and vitamins, such as selenium, magnesium, zinc, and C, D and B complex help support energy level, hormonal balance, wound healing and much more.  Whole, unprocessed carbohydrates and fats also help support vitality and health, including the circulatory and nervous systems.  Unprocessed foods are rarely packaged.  They can be found in the produce, meat, dairy, seafood and bulk parts of a grocery store.  Organic or Biodynamic foods are usually better than conventionally raised foods;  grass-fed and wild-caught are usually better than conventionally farmed.

So, like everything else in life, many factors interact to support the best results when receiving Chiropractic adjustments, Acupuncture therapy, Physical Therapy, and other healing modalities.  This also applies to the optimization of Herbal therapy, Pharmacology, Surgery, and more.

This Blog’s offer: feel free to contact me with questions and request a consultation regarding musculoskeletal issues.  May this Spring be the start of a better, more peaceful year.