What is Chiropractic? The simplest way to look at Chiropractic Care is to understand that the injured area of your body has more mechanical stress on it than the other areas. This could have been due to a sudden injury like a fall or car accident, or could have developed over time. Either way, this extra mechanical stress will cause soft tissue in or around the injury site to stretch and tear and thereby cause the pain and swelling you feel. Normally, when the spinal joints (or any joints) are moving properly, the muscles and ligaments surrounding that joint can move within their normal injury-free range.  When they move beyond that range, they tear and cause the majority of the pain we feel in classic back pain. Sometimes, the nerves can become involved which leads to pain that runs down the legs or into the arms, or even the head.  A Chiropractor will do an exam and find the areas that aren't moving correctly, usually, but not always, the painful area, and gently get things moving better. By taking stress off the injured area, the body can start healing and you feel better. It's like if you have a cut on your finger, and you keep pulling at it, it will never heal correctly. But by taking the stress off the area by "unsticking the joints", the injured soft tissues (i.e. muscles, ligament, tendons) can start healing which means less pain and stiffness. The basic chiropractic treatment involves gentle re-alignment of the misaligned bones and restricted joints. These specific manipulations, done only by chiropractors, are called "Adjustments". Chiropractors are the only health practitioners qualified to diagnose and treat subluxations. Chiropractors perform adjustments on other joints of the body, as well as the spine, to treat foot, ankle, knee, wrist, elbow, hip and shoulder problems. While other factors affect the total health of an individual, elimination of subluxations is the single most important thing to living a happier, healthier, and pain-free life. Pain is your body's way of telling you something is wrong. Medication often just masks the symptoms, and does not address the real cause of the problem. If the oil light came on in your car, would you cover the light with tape? Of course not. You would fix the problem and prevent major problems in the future . It is exactly the same with your body, only far more important.