Not all chiropractors are alike. Although they go by the same name, Chiropractors today differ greatly in technique and philosophy. There are basically two types of Chiropractors: musculoskeletal chiropractors who work on symptom relief; and the traditional wellness chiropractors , who works on subluxation and structural correction. This straightforward comparison of the two will help you make an informed decision regarding your own chiropractic care and overall plan for health and wellness.

1. Musculoskeltetal Chiropractor

Length of treatment is dictated by the patient’s symptoms, or insurance coverage. Monitoring patient’s progress by symptoms and insurance coverage, usually means shorter overall treatment time, but still leaves the patient far short of correcting the cause of the symptoms. The patient may feel better temporarily, but since the spine remains structurally misaligned, it degenerates silently and results in damage and dysfunction to discs, joints and nerves.

When symptoms improve, the patient assumes their spinal alignment is fixed. In most cases the spinal joints have merely been decompressed and pain is temporarily relieved.

2. The Traditional/Wellness Chiropractor

Dr. Jumper is this type of Chiropractor where we actually correct the spinal alignment back to its normal model and show you the results with pre and post digital x-rays. In most cases, If we were to stop care when your symptoms are gone and took another x-ray you would see that your spine is not fixed.

Length of treatment is determined by the severity of the patient’s structural alignment not just merely symptoms alone.

Symptoms may be gone long before the spine is at its maximum corrected position.

Once the spine is at its maximum corrected position we teach YOU how to maintain it so you don’t have to keep coming back. When spinal alignment is restored to its normal model, not only are symptoms relieved, but long lasting stable correction is achieved for better stability and function. So five, ten years from now you are not suffering with disc, joint and nerve related problems and possibly permanent damage.

When choosing a chiropractor, your decision should be based on your healthcare philosophy and goals.

If your health philosophy is to only treat symptoms and conditions when they arise and not worry about the cause, choose the musculoskeletal symptom-relief chiropractor.

On the other hand, if your health philosophy is wellness, maintaining optimum health potential to prevent dysfunction and disease, choose the wellness chiropractor for maximum correction and maintenance of your spine and health. Patient Review

The choice is yours.

Q: Why does my spine keep “going out”?

A: Spines do not go “in and out”, and chiropractors don’t put bones “in”. Otherwise your doctor would be able to take an x-ray of your spine after the adjustment and show you its fixed. The fact is, adjustments decompress joint pressure, signal nerve receptors to override pain, and change the nerve muscle memory on how muscles contract and relax. The feeling of “going out” is based on the joint pressure, disc or nerve compression that occurs when muscles are pulling harder on one side than another due to the habits of nerve muscle memory. Once nerve muscle memory is changed, the spine stabilizes and doesn’t feel like it’s “going out”.

Q: If I’m fixed why do I still need adjustments?

A: Everyone has “postural listings” or “habits”. Even though spinal alignment may be corrected, periodic adjustments must be done to maintain the spinal alignment throughout a lifetime. Computers, prolonged sitting, driving, injuries and poor ergonomics all contribute to recurrent subluxations from the body’s adaptation to these habits. Moving parts require maintenance. If you maintain your car, your teeth and your lawnmower, you should maintain your spinal alignment for life.

Q: How does your spine “hold” once its fixed?

A: There has been a change in nerve muscle memory in a corrected spine. Just like body building, learning gymnastics, or playing piano once a level is achieved maintenance is all that is needed.

Q: Why should I fix my spine if I have no symptoms?

A: Spinal subluxations cause nerve interference to whatever part of the body the nerve supplies ( heart, lungs, digestive system, muscles, joints ect.) Like most health problems subluxations are usually silent for a long time. After enough damage occurs to the disc, joint or body part the nerve supplies a symptom occurs. Correction and prevention of spinal subluxations should be a part of everyones health care before symptoms arise.

Q: Should my kids get their spines checked?

A: Most problems start in childhood, especially postural problems. Past postural habits, falls, and hereditary postures can effect a child’s spine. Correcting spinal alignment is usually easy, cost effective, and will save your child a world of problems and pain in the future. Many childhood problems like bedwetting, headaches, colic, learning disabilities, asthma, allergies, scoliosis and digestive problems are helped with chiropractic. In addition, kids don’t only look like parents from the outside they have their nose, hair color, heart problems, allergies, and spinal misalignment.

Q: Why do you need to get adjusted so often?

A: It takes time to correct imbalance just like it takes time to straighten teeth, lose weight, or build muscle from weight training. All require repetition and consistency. Repetition causes the body to adapt. When the spine is subluxated, muscles become imbalanced and begin to memorize the abnormal position. With repetitive spinal adjustments, and exercises, the nerve muscle memory is changed to restore the spine and posture to its normal alignment.

Q: Why can’t I just do exercises to correct my spine?

A: There are two types of nerve receptors that trigger nerves to fire to control posture, fast and slow. Spinal exercises trigger the slow ones and adjustments trigger the fast ones. Both must be stimulated for optimum spinal correction.

Q: What are the best types of exercises for spinal correction?

A: Isometric. Postural muscles respond differently than phasic muscles. When injured phasic muscles go flaccid where postural muscles spasm. In turn phasic muscles strengthen with isometric exercises. This is why you can see a body builder with symmetrical phasic muscles, but be grossly misaligned in their spine.