Physical Health

*Please note that this is not medical advice. Everything I write about are things I have learned and have come across in my journey in searching for answers to my own health problems. They are simply meant to be ideas to consider and to potentially look into. Please do your own research, take everything with a grain of salt, and always consult a qualified professional for help.

Everything You Need To Know About Chiropractic Care- A Beginner's Guide

Sections:

Conditions and Symptoms Helped By Chiropractic
Is Chiropractic Safe? Or Is Chiropractic Dangerous?
Is Chiropractic A Placebo?
The Basic Idea of Chiropractic
How Do Chiropractors Treat Patients?
Chiropractors Are Not All the Same! Differences In Chiropractic Philosophy
Chiropractors Adjust Differently From Each Other
The Different Chiropractic Techniques
How To Choose A Chiropractor
Still Hesitant or Unsure?

Written By Alan

Do you deal with headaches, dizziness, anxiety, digestion issues, back pain, neck pain, or any other combination of symptoms? If you've tried medication and other treatments with limited to no success, there is a good chance that chiropractic might be able to help you find relief. You probably don't realize it, but chiropractic can effectively help with a variety of issues- beyond just back and neck pain- that you may not have been aware of.

Sadly, there is a lot of misinformation and fear mongering surrounding chiropractic which prevents people from getting the help they need. I experienced this first hand, so I will try to clear up as many misconceptions as possible.

In this article, I will go over the symptoms chiropractic can help with, and everything a patient seeking care would need to know. It is essentially a collection of things I wish I knew when I was considering it (and when everyone was scaring me out of it). Hopefully, it will give you a much better idea of what it is and isn't, so you can make a better decision for yourself.

Conditions and Symptoms Helped By Chiropractic

Chiropractors are not legally allowed to claim to treat or cure any illnesses or diseases. Instead, they simply restore function to the spine and nervous system. Given the actual importance of the nervous system however, chiropractic care can affect and can help almost anything that is bothering someone.

Chiropractic can help with symptoms associated with:

Headaches- Tension, Migraines, Cluster
Occipital Neuralgia
Trigeminal Neuralgia aka the Suicide Disease
Sinus Issues and Allergies
Neck Pain
Back Pain
Numbness, Tingling, and Body Pain- Knee, Shoulder, Foot, Ankle, and Every other Body Part.
Sciatic Nerve Pain
Herniated Discs
Dizziness
Anxiety
Depression
ADD and ADHD
Sensitivities and Neurological Issues
Fatigue and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Carpal tunnel Syndrome
TMJ Dysfunction
Post Concussion Syndrome and Brain Injuries
Digestion Issues and Acid Reflux
Sexual and Reproductive Issues
Sleep Issues

And More

Since everything is controlled by the nervous system, literally anything in the body can be affected when it isn't functioning optimally.

Is Chiropractic Safe? Or Is Chiropractic Dangerous?

My Experience

As someone whose life was saved by Chiropractic care, I wanted to tackle this question in the beginning, since it was the biggest concern I also had as a potential patient.

I was absolutely petrified of trying Chiropractic. For one thing, every doctor and medical professional I asked told me that it was a potential risk, or that it probably wouldn't make a material difference for my symptoms.

Even worse, things I read on Chirobase, Quackwatch, and countless other sites had me thinking that chiropractors are quacks, chiropractic is pseudoscience, chiropractic is not evidence based, and that chiropractors are just selling snake oil.

It also had me in genuine fear that I would get hurt if I tried it. So I didn't- for almost 14 years.

It wasn't until I decided to kill myself, that I worked up the courge to give it a try as a last resort. It ended up being the one thing that helped me, and has literally and figuratively saved my life.

I have since met countless others who have also been helped by chiropractic as a last resort. In fact, in researching whether I should apply to chiropractic school or not, over a third of chiropractors and chiropractic students I've spoken to and met, decided to pursue the profession after personally being helped by it.

What Do The Sources Say?

While my experience may certainly be encouraging, at the end of the day, it is still just my own experience. It can be biased, and it can be an anomaly. So what do other sources say? Here are some:

According to the Mayo Clinic, "Chiropractic adjustment is safe when it's performed by someone trained and licensed to deliver chiropractic care. Serious complications associated with chiropractic adjustment are overall rare, but may include..."
According to a study published on the NIH- "Our analysis shows a small association between chiropractic neck manipulation and cervical artery dissection. This relationship may be explained by the high risk of bias and confounding in the available studies, and in particular by the known association of neck pain with CAD and with chiropractic manipulation. There is no convincing evidence to support a causal link between chiropractic manipulation and CAD."
In another study on the NIH- "Manual therapies including spinal manipulation are generally safe. Side effects tend to be benign: minor and self-limiting with short duration (eg, mild postmanipulation soreness).24–26 Severe complications have been associated with spinal manipulation but are extremely rare.25 For example, cauda equina syndrome can be as rare as 1 in 100 million following lumbar manipulations.27 Cassidy et al28 reviewed approximately 100 million person-years of records to evaluate stroke risk associated with cervical spinal manipulation and medical care. The authors concluded that the risk was extremely small and there was no excess risk from chiropractic care compared with medical care for neck pain and headaches. They hypothesized that the equivalent risk for chiropractic and medical care suggests that a stroke prodrome can lead to care seeking for these conditions. It is unlikely that manipulation of the neck is causally related to stroke."

There are many other studies that demonstrate the safety of Chiropractic. Nonetheless, it is important to keep in mind that regardless of how safe it is, there will always be some inherent risk- as there is with any type of treatment.

One thing to keep in mind when weighing the risks of chiropractic, is the importance of weighing them against the risks of any other potential treatment. Medication, surgeries, and medical procedures are typically more invasive, and generally involve an even higher level of risk. Everything is relative, so it is important to understand the whole picture so that you can make a better decision.

Is Chiropractic A Placebo?

One of the things I heard over and over again from critics responding to success stories of chiropractic is that it's all a placebo effect.

I have two main thoughts about that claim based on my experience:

I tried a lot of things in my 14 years of searching for an answer. Everything from prism glasses, to building a zapper so I could send different frequency pulse waves through my body, to briefly joining a cult who claimed they could cure me. If it existed medically or as an alternative therapy, I tried it.

Every single new thing I stumbled upon was something I embraced wholeheartedly and excitedly, because this would finally be the thing that helped me and gave me my life back. Northing did.

Out of every single thing I tried, chiropractic was the only thing that gave me relief and helped. So my question is this- what is it about chiropractic that was able to cause the placebo effect to take place, that all the other things I tried couldn't?

I'm sure there are many potential reasons and theories people will try to bring up, but based on Occam's Razor, my theory would simply be because chiropractic works.
For argument's sake however, let's just assume that the success I achieved and the success that every other chiropractic patient has ever achieved was indeed a result of the placebo effect. So what?

If the treatment was able to provide me the outcome that I desired, does it really matter what the actual mechanism was? Pain is subjective to begin with, so success from any sort of treatment or therapy (medical or otherwise) would always be a perceived benefit regardless.

Obviously from a scientific standpoint and out of my own innate curiosity, I still wanted to understand what was happening to me. But it got to the point where I was in so much pain it no longer mattered. I just wanted it to stop- regardless of how. If you told me summoning an invisible fairy to fart into my head would make everything stop, great. I'm all for it. As long as it stops. Anyone who disagrees with this and says otherwise has never been in real pain.

So if chiropractic was indeed a placebo effect that achieved what no other treatment or therapy could, so be it.

The Basic Idea of Chiropractic

*Please Note- There are chiropractors that disagree with this premise completely. Please see the section Differences in Chiropractic Philosophy below for more details.

Spine and Nervous System

Chiropractic is focused on one primary thing- the health of the spine and nervous system. The most basic premise of chiropractic at its core is that a healthy spine leads to a healthy nervous system, which in turn leads to better overall health.

Out of all the different parts of the body, the brain is the most important one of all. It is the master computer for the body, and controls every organ in the body, every system in the body, and every function in the body. The brain literally controls every single life process that occurs.

In order to do so, the brain needs to be able to communicate with the rest of the body, and does so through the nervous system. Messages from the brain go down the spinal cord, and out through the nerves, which connect with every organ, gland, tissue, and cell in the body. Input and information going back to the brain utilize the same network. Without this network in place, the brain would not be able to analyze and coordinate any of the necessary functions in the body.

Given the importance of the nervous system, the human body evolved to make sure that this system was protected. The brain sits inside of your skull, while your spine is encased in a network of individual bones called vertebrae, which make up the spine. Nerves connected to the spinal cord emerge from the gaps between the vertebrae, and connect with the rest of our body, forming this communications network of the body.

Symptoms

Safe?

Placebo?

Basic Idea

Spinal Cord and Nerves

Vertebra, Spinal Cord, and Emerging Nerves

Consequences of an Unhealthy Spine

One of the most fundamental principles of chiropractic is the belief that this communications network can be disrupted or impeded if issues with the spine press on, or put pressure on any of the nerves that exit the spinal cord. This usually happens when there is a misalignment of the vertebrae, and is also known as a subluxation. In addition, bulging or herniated discs- as a result of injury or poor spine health- can put pressure on the nerves as well.

One of the consequences of impinged nerves is pain, which is what most people think about when they think of a chiropractor. Beyond that however, there are also many other health implications from a nerve that is functioning suboptimally

A classic example chiropractors use is a garden hose. When there are no kinks in the hose and nothing pressing against the hose, water is able to pass through freely, providing water to the flowers that need it. If you step on the hose however, this water supply suddenly becomes much smaller and slower, and the flowers are not able to receive the water they need and may no longer be able to flourish to their full potential. As a result of this, all your organs, glands, tissues, cells, and all of the life processes that depend on this network can become affected.

Chiropractic aims to help by correcting any subluxations in the spine, allowing your nervous system to function optimally, and allowing your body to flourish to its highest potential.

Nerve Compression Can Happen Even Without Pain

The Nervous System

Muscle Health

In addition to the importance of Chiropractic for the health of the nervous system, chiropractic also looks at the health of soft tissue and muscles, which also play a huge part in pain and overall health.

In order to illustrate how muscles and soft tissue can have an impact on pain, health, and wellness, let's use a simple example using the bicep muscle. The bicep is the muscle that bulges after Popeye eats a can of spinach, and is a muscle that most people are probably familiar with.

In this scenario, let's imagine that you are trying to pick up your bookbag from the floor so you can see if your folder is inside. In order to accomplish this, your bicep muscle contracts and the muscle fibers shorten, bringing your forearm up towards you- and ultimately bringing your bookbag closer to your face. If you hold your bookbag up for a few minutes, unable to find your folder, you will probably notice that your bicep starts to get a little tired. Once you find your folder and put your bag down however, your bicep goes back to its relaxed state, starts to feel better, and you forget all about it after a few minutes.

Now imagine that instead of putting your bag down, you continue to hold it up. First for 5 minutes, then for an hour, then 10 hours- without putting it down at all. As your bicep remains in this contracted state over time, the initial fatigue or discomfort you feel in your bicep will become worse, evolving and changing as the minutes and hours pass. You may start to feel burning, and actual pain in the muscle itself. Over time, the bicep may start to spasm, and other muscles in your shoulder and back are affected and become painful as well, as they aid in keeping your arm up. You may start to feel numbness and tingling down your arm along with a shooting, nerve type pain, as the strain and tightening of the muscles potentially impinge on nerves and blood vessels.

As mentioned earlier, if you finally put the bag down at any point, the muscles finally get to relax, and everything eventually heals. But what if you never put the bag down? What if the muscles never get to relax? Let's use this example to see what happens in other areas of the body.

Contracted Bicep Vs. Relaxed Bicep

Muscles, Nerves, and Blood Vessels of Upper Arm

The Neck

Now let's imagine this exact scenario, but in the head and neck. The neck is made up of multiple bones or vertebrae, which are surrounded by an intricate network of muscles- much more extensively than the arm. These muscles allow you to do everything from turning your head, tilting your head sideways, looking up and down, and much more. Like the bicep muscle, each muscle- or set of muscles- is designed to perform a specific task. If you want to turn your head, the muscles responsible for this specific action will contract, allowing that movement to be carried out. Once you are done turning your head and bring it back to neutral, the muscles relax.

In a healthy spine that is free of restrictions, misalignments, or subluxations, and where the spine and the vertebrae are in alignment, this cycle is carried out with ease. Muscles contract when you want to move your head or neck, and the muscles relax when you are done.

In a body that is balanced, your head is able to rest comfortably on top of your spine, and you are able to hold up your body with minimal effort and strain.

In a spine that is misaligned or subluxated however, things are very different. Misalignments in your spine result in your head and other structures of the body deviating from its optimal neutral state, shifting your center of gravity. In order to compensate for this, muscles that would normally be relaxed must now be recruited in order to help hold the body up against gravity.

Normal motion also becomes impeded as a result of misalignments. As a result, the body must now find a way around it and compensate. For example, if the upper portion of your neck is restricted and doesn't turn as freely as it should, the body will have no choice but to recruit your lower neck to turn more than it should. Doing this requires muscles that aren't typically meant to turn your head for extended periods of time now having to engage and work overtime every time you want to turn your head.

Over time, the compensating muscles keeping you up against gravity and muscles compensating to carry out movements become overworked. Much like the bicep muscle, this starts to wreak havoc over time. The muscles start to spasm, causing pain, numbness, tingling, and a variety of other issues.

The web and layers of muscle of the neck are also interwoven by an intricate network of nerves that go into various parts of the head, face, and body, and are responsible for a variety of tasks. There are also numerous blood vessels in this web of muscles. Tightness and spasms of the muscles push on and irritate these nerves and blood vessels, further complicating the problem. Headaches, facial pain, and even dizziness can occur as a result.

About Alan

I started A Matter Of Health to help others based on my experiences. I write about everything I've tried and learned in my search for answers to my headaches, dizziness, anxiety, digestion issues, and more for 14 years.

Different Layers of Neck Muscles

Deeper Layer of Neck Muscles

Nerves Of the Neck

Nerves Weaving Around Muscles

Although we are primarily using the neck to illustrate our example, this same principle applies to any other part of the body. An affected area (such as the neck) will also affect every other seemingly unrelated part of the body (such as the lower back), as the body is one system that works together.

By bringing the spine back into alignment and restoring proper movement, chiropractic is able to reduce and minimize strain both on the nervous system, and on the muscles. In a sense, it allows you to finally put the bookbag down.

If you are interested in learning more about some of the basic mechanics, here's a video from a chiropractor that explains it in a bit more detail.

How Do Chiropractors Treat Patients?

Chiropractic Adjustments

Chiropractors aim to restore health to the spine primarily through chiropractic adjustments (sometimes referred to as spinal manipulations). There are different types and many different ways to perform an adjustment, but for most people, the type of adjustments that come to mind are the quick thrusting motions followed by a cracking sound. These types of adjustments are the most well known and the most common type of adjusting, and typically involves a high velocity low amplitude (HVLA) force. With an HVLA adjustment, there is typically a quick thrust that is short (low amplitude) and quick (high velocity) that aims to restore motion and realign an affected joint.

One of the most common concerns people have with this type of adjustment is the cracking sound. This actually isn't a cracking sound and isn't a sound of bones rubbing together. The sound is known as a cavitation, which is simply a release of built up air bubbles in the joint. Another concern with HVLA adjustments is risk of injury, because let's face it, getting your neck cracked can be a pretty scary thought. In fact, that was the main thing that made me hesitant to try chiropractic.

One thing to keep in mind is that an adjustment is performed within the joint's normal range of motion, and does not go past it. As a result, the joint is never pushed to the point where injury will occur. The other thing to keep in mind is that there typically isn't a lot of force that goes into an adjustment. The adjustment is performed using speed (high velocity), rather than trying to force the joint with strength. As a result, the risk of injury is very low.

There are also many different types of adjustments that are delivered with the assistance of tools, and adjustments that use soft touch that are much gentler. We'll talk more about those below.

Electric Stim, Muscle Work and Other Therapies

Some chiropractors may also incorporate electric stimulation, muscle and soft tissue work, massage therapy, and some methods utilized by Physical Therapists to help them achieve their goals. Not all chiropractors do this though, so make sure to keep that in mind if that's something you're looking for.

Corrective Exercises

Chiropractors may prescribe corrective exercises in conjunction with chiropractic adjustments. Corrective exercises are typically exercises you perform on your own. They aim to retrain your body and muscles to work as they are supposed to, and help you overcome any weaknesses or deficits you might have posturally or in your movements. Like muscle work and electric stim, not all chiropractors follow this philosophy, so make sure to keep that in mind.

Chiropractors Are Not All the Same! Differences In Chiropractic Philosophy

The biggest misconception about chiropractors is that they are all the same, which couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, there are actually two factions within chiropractic that are greatly opposed to each other- mechanistic chiropractors, and vitalistic chiropractors. They have greatly differing philosophies, and approach patient care in very different ways.

Mechanism

Mechanists typically view the body as a collection of parts, or more like a machine. They believe that these parts can be broken down as individual components, and that fixing or replacing the individual part is enough to help restore the machine to its desired function.

Many Mechanists do not believe that subluxations (or the vertebral subluxation complex) can be proved or that it exists. They do not believe that misalignments can cause interference to the body and can not cause the symptoms or conditions that result from this interference. Instead, they tend to view the body more segmentally. They believe that joint restrictions and dysfunction do exist, but that the consequences are much more localized- mainly loss of motion to the joint resulting in pain, and inflammation and irritation to the muscle and tissues to the immediate area.

Mechanists sometimes call themselves evidence based chiropractic or science based chiropractic in an attempt to differentiate themselves from Vitalists. Many Mechanists align themselves more with the conventional, or Allopathic medical model. Some Mechanists consider Vitalists quacks and completely oppose Vitalism or the Vertebral Subluxation Complex.

Vitalism

Vitalists tend to view the body more as a complete system, and that the whole is greater than just the sum of its parts. They believe that the body needs to be taken care of as a whole, rather than just by the individual components. Many Vitalists also tend to believe that there is an innate intelligence that runs the body, and that ultimately heals the body.

Vitalists subscribe heavily to the notion of the Vertebral Subluxation Complex, and believe that removing these subluxations will restore the body's life expression, and allow the body to heal itself. They believe that almost anything that ails a person can be helped by removing subluxations, or at the very least, give the body the foundation it needs to overcome or best deal with these issues.

Vitalists tend to adopt a more holistic or full body approach. Some will adopt methods and techniques that may be questionable to Mechanists, but which a lot patients swear by. Some Vitalists consider Mechanists as sellouts to chiropractic's founding principles, and consider Mechanists to be Medipractors.

So Which Is Right?

The battle between Mechanists and Vitalists in chiropractic has been going on for a long time, and each has their own idea of which direction the field of chiropractic should be headed. In fact, this division can even be found in chiropractic schools themselves. Some are strictly Evidence Based, while some are primarily Vitalistic or "Principled." Other schools fall somewhere in the spectrum in between. In addition to just an education, where a student decides to attend school can very much determine (or heavily influence) the type of chiropractor they end up being.

As a patient trying to figure out which one is right, it really depends on what resonates with you, and what your personal philosophy is overall. Most people will choose a chiropractor without even considering whether the chiropractor is Mechanist or Vitalist in nature and if it doesn't matter to you, then there's no need to really delve into it. If this is important to you however, you now have the awareness that they exist, and can do the research to find the one that works for you.

Just keep in mind that this article and a lot of things I write about regarding chiropractic are skewed towards vitalism, as that's what I find myself more aligned with. I've always tried to approach my health from a holistic perspective, and by chance, started receiving Chiropractic care from a very vitalistic chiropractor. If that's not what resonates with you, that's completely ok. The most important is to understand all the perspectives, so you have the knowledge necessary to make an informed decision.

Chiropractors Adjust Differently From Each Other

Further adding to the confusion and differences between chiropractors is the fact that chiropractors perform a variety of different techniques from each other. In fact, there are over 100 different techniques, each with their own philosophies on how a patient should be treated, and each with their own technique of actually delivering the adjustment. Furthermore, many chiropractors mix and match different techniques based on what they've found to be useful and beneficial to their patients. As a result, all the different techniques and different combinations of techniques can make one chiropractor completely different from the next.

So what does this mean for you as a patient? I know this can make it even more overwhelming, so I'll provide some tips for choosing a chiropractor in the next section. For now however, the biggest takeaway from all this is that all these differences between chiropractors means that there are differences in level of care and relief you will receive from one chiropractor to another. If you've been to a chiropractor with limited or no success, it may not necessarily mean that chiropractic won't help you. It may be that a slightly different approach is needed.

Every body is different, has different needs, and responds differently to different approaches. Some may respond better to one technique and chiropractor, while someone else may respond better to a different one. Healing is a process, and this sometimes requires a bit of trial and error before you find the thing or combination that's right for your body.

In addition, there are different levels of chiropractors. There will be good chiropractors, and there will be bad chiropractors- just like in every other aspect of life. If you don't experience the results you were hoping for, it may also be a possibility that the chiropractor you're seeing is simply not that great, and not the right match for you.

It may be worth trying a different restaurant instead of completely giving up on an entire cuisine based on one chef's cooking,

The Different Chiropractic Techniques

If you're interested in understanding the differences between the different techniques, knowing where to start can be overwhelming. In order to help you better understand the differences between them in an introductory way, I broke them down into 4 categories.

Please note that this is a very general overview, and does not reflect how chiropractors view themselves. It is simply the way I think about it as a patient, and is broken down based on the things most important to me and the differences I wish I knew as I was searching for a chiropractor.

Full Spine Adjustments

For the sake of simplicity, I generally categorize everything that doesn't fit into the other three categories as Full Spine Adjustments. A lot of the Full Spine adjustments involve a high velocity low amplitude adjustment, and is the type of adjustment with quick thrusting motions that most people are familiar with.

It is a bit of a disservice to lump them all into one category since there are so many and a lot of them are very different from each other, but for the sake of simplicity, it probably makes the most sense for those who are not familiar with chiropractic at all. People usually gravitate towards the other three categories of chiropractic for specific reasons- such as wanting something gentler, something more focused on the upper neck, or something more energetic in nature.

If none of that matters to you and you're completely comfortable with getting more conventional adjustments, then you can probably skip the rest of this section. Simply go to the next section if you are unsure of the best way to go about finding a chiropractor.

If you're interested in learning more or researching however, some of the more common and major full spine techniques include Diversified, Gonstead Technique, Thompson Drop Technique, Chiropractic BioPhysics, and BioGeometric Integration.

Upper Cervical Chiropractic

Upper cervical chiropractors typically only focus on the top most part of your neck known as the atlas (and the axis). Upper cervical chiropractors who exclusively practice Upper Cervical believe that adjusting the atlas is the most powerful adjustment. It is believed to affect the rest of the body, and is typically the only part of the body they will adjust.

Most Upper Cervical Techniques do not involve any twisting, bending, cracking, or popping of the neck, which makes it easier for apprehensive patients to try. Some use very gentle force, while others use very gentle instruments to perform the adjustment. Since I was terrified of anyone popping my neck, my first chiropractor was an Upper Cervical Doctor. That was literally the only way I was going to let anyone touch my neck and the only way I would give chiropractic a try. Given its nature, Upper Cervical may also be a great place to start for someone who has heavy neurological issues or is very sensitive.

Another benefit of Upper Cervical is that some of the techniques- such as NUCCA- follow uniform procedures and methods in patient treatment. All patients are examined in the same way, and adjustments are performed using a standardized system. As a result, if a patient moves or needs to travel, they can go from one NUCCA doctor to another NUCCA doctor and receive the exact same type of care.

The biggest drawback to Upper Cervical is that it only addresses the upper neck and nowhere else. The body is very dynamic and my personal opinion is that other areas of the body will need to be addressed. Upper Cervical (NUCCA specifically) helped me tremendously, but my progress eventually hit a roadblock. Switching to a Full Spine helped to build upon the progress I made and helped me progress even more. That being said, there are a lot of people who've had stalled or limited success elsewhere, only to experience great results after switching to Upper Cervical. Again, the most important thing to keep in mind is that every body is different and responds differently to different things.

There are tons of Upper Cervical techniques, but some of the most common ones include NUCCA, Atlas Orthogonal, Blair Upper Cervical, Toggle Recoil, Grostic, and more. You can also search for Upper Cervical chiropractor to find Upper Cervical Chiropractors.

Low Force and Instrument Assisted Adjustments

If you are interested in more of a full body chiropractic experience but want something gentler than conventional thrusting adjustments, low force techniques may be a perfect fit for you. Low force techniques are exactly that- low in force. They are typically much softer and gentler, and usually do not involve the twisting, turning, and thrusting that most people are scared of. In addition, some people may have contraindications that make low force techniques a better match.

Some of the most common low force techniques utilize an extremely low force adjusting tool to deliver the adjustment. Oftentimes, the adjusting impulse is barely felt by the patient, but is enough to cause a change in the body. These techniques can include using an Activator, the Torque Release Technique (which uses an instrument called the Integrator), the Koren Specific Technique, and many others.

There are also low force techniques that do not utilize adjusting tools. If you're interested in learning more, simply google the term low force chiropractic for more information.

Tonal Chiropractic

Tonal is one of the most interesting and most unique types of chiropractic. Chiropractors critical of it may label it new agey bs, while chiropractors and patients of tonal chiropractic will tout it as revolutionary.

In general, tonal chiropractic is concerned with the tension or tone of the spinal cord and nervous system, along with the rest of the body by extension. Rather than focusing on the dysfunction or misalignment of individual joints as the primary cause of disruption, tonal is based on the premise that removal of tonal imbalances within the nervous system itself will bring the body back into balance and heal.

Much like low force adjustments, tonal adjustments are typically very very gentle in nature and do not involve any thrusting. In fact, a lot of tonal adjustments are done by simply applying gentle pressure to specific contact points on the body. Others may utilize a very low force instrument.

Tonal chiropractic aims to restore the mind body connection, and can also be considered more energetic in nature by some. As a result, tonal may resonate well with those who are more spiritual or in tune with their body. Many Tonal Techniques also have an emotional component to them, and aim to release old or unresolved emotions. Tony Robbins is a huge supporter of Network Spinal Analysis, which is a form of tonal care.

For more info, you can simply Google Tonal Chiropractic.

How To Choose A Chiropractor

With all these considerations, choosing a chiropractor might seem like a full time job. It certainly felt like it for me. Looking back on everything I've learned throughout the years however, these are the three simplest ways I could think of to finding a chiropractor, based on how detailed you want to be and what you're ultimately looking for:

Asking People You Know For Recommendations

This is the most hands off way, but is still one of the most effective ways for someone who does not have the time or desire to do research. Someone you know in your life has probably gone to a chiropractor or is currently seeing one, and has one they can recommend to you. They have first hand experience with this chiropractor, and can answer any basic questions you might have about the chiropractor, their treatment protocol, and give you their honest opinions. The main limitation to this approach however, is that you're basing everything off one person' experience. Their needs may be completely different from yours.

Searching By Reviews

If you're a bit more hands on or prefer to know a bit more about the quality of service you're going to get, searching by reviews is probably the best way to go about it. It's as easy as going to Google and typing "chiropractor near me," or going on Yelp and searching for a chiropractor in your area. You'll be able to see what others have to say about the chiropractors that pop up, and can then go and check out their individual websites to learn more about the ones that interest you.

A lot of chiropractors will have some sort of background information about themselves, as well as how they approach patient care on their website. Going through their sites can help you find the one that resonates the most with you. And regardless of philosophy or technique, good reviews means that past patients have benefited consistently, and that you have a much better chance of getting favorable results for yourself.

Searching by Youtube and Social Media

Another way to search for a chiropractor is to search Youtube and social media. More and more chiropractors are putting videos of patient adjustments online, and this is a great way to actually get a sense of how the chiropractor operates, and if they resonate with you. The biggest drawback to this is that while more and more chiropractors are building an online presence, there is still a very limited number that do so. In addition, most chiropractors with a heavy social media presence will have long wait times for appointments as a result of their popularity.

Breaking It Down By The Type of Chiropractic or Technique

*If you're comfortable with getting Full Spine type adjustments and don't really care about the type of technique, then using the previous three searching techniques should be sufficient.

The third and most complex approach is to first decide the type of technique you're interested in based on your preferences and needs, and then searching for the best one in that category for you. Go through the different types of techniques in the previous section to see if there is one that speaks particularly to you, or if there is one that has something important to you.

Most people who have an interest in either Upper Cervical, Low Force, and Tonal techniques are usually drawn to it over the others. If that's the case for you, do as much or as little research on that specific type of technique to get a better sense of whether it works for you or not, and the differences between them. If you decide to go with that one, then you can simply search for that type of technique and narrow by reviews.

For example, if you want to try Upper Cervical, but don't really care much beyond that, simply search for upper cervical chiropractor near me on Google or Yelp, and pick the ones with the best reviews. If you did a bit more research and settled on a specific type of Upper Cervical Chiropractor, then simply search for the specific technique (Ie. Best NUCCA chiropractor near me, best Atlas Orthogonal chiropractor near me. etc.) and find the ones with the best reviews that you like.

If you're interested in Full Spine adjustments but want to know more about the differences between them, then researching the different types listed in the previous section would be a great place to start. If you're interested in learning about even more full spine techniques, searching for "list of chiropractic techniques" or some variation on Google will usually bring you a lot more results. Then, simply search for chiropractors in the specific technique you're interested in.

Regardless of technique, the most important thing is to simply start getting adjusted. After a certain point, there is a thing as too much research. There is no way to know if a specific technique will be the best for you until you try it. If things don't go the way you hope, then you can start to look for alternatives and pivot.

Still Hesitant or Unsure?

If you're still hesitant or scared of giving chiropractic a try, I can completely relate. It was a very scary prospect for me. One of the things that really helped me become more comfortable was watching patient videos. Fortunately, a lot more chiropractors have videos online of patients actually getting adjusted. If you're unsure or scared about chiropractic, watching these videos might be able to help you get a better sense of what the adjustment process is like, and to see how actual patients respond to the adjustments. Getting a first hand view will give you a better sense of whether chiropractic care is the right choice for you.

One thing you will also notice as you watch the videos is that many of the chiropractors have very distinct styles from each other. Some adjust a particular way, while others might use tools or different tables. There are a lot of chiropractors online, so here are some of my favorites that I think would be worth checking out!

Dr. Brett Jones
Dr. Alex Tubio
DrJason
Advanced Chiropractic Relief
Dr. Doug Willen: House of Chiro
Dr. Beau Hightower
Mondragon Chiropractic
Mclaughlin Chiropractic
Lifespring Chiropractic

Treatment

Philosophy

Differen Adjustments

Techniques

How To Choose

Hesitant?

About Alan

I started Inspired Wellness to help others based on my experiences. I write about everything I've tried and learned in my search for answers to my headaches, dizziness, anxiety, digestion issues, and more for 14 years.

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