Is chiropractic care only for pain?

There is no doubt that chiropractic adjustments are extremely effective for correcting common musculoskeletal conditions like back pain, neck pain, headaches, and other joint issues. It’s important not to underplay the importance of hundreds of thousands of people avoiding surgery, discontinuing pain killers, and saving thousands of dollars every year. BUT going to a chiropractor just for pain is like having Gordon Ramsey in your kitchen and asking him to microwave your leftovers. 

At the core of chiropractic care is the nervous system. It coordinates and controls all other functions of the human body, and the central nervous system is the only body system fully encased inside of bone (the skull and spine) to protect it. It is inherently paramount for the function and adaptation of the human body. The only reason chiropractors have become known as “spine specialists” or “back doctors” is that their focus on the spine is due to its interrelationship with the nervous system.  The only reason chiropractors care about the spine is that it’s a vehicle for them to impact the nervous system. 

The spinal bones that are designed to protect the nervous system can shift out of place. When this happens, it causes a few things: it causes stress signals that go to the brain, which creates a chronic fight or flight (sympathetic) response; it distorts signals going from the brain to the body; it impacts the muscle activity of the muscles around the spine and restricts spinal motion. 1-4 Ironically, spinal misalignments have been found to cause pain in only about 20% of cases.5 This means 80% of people with this neurological tension and irritation have no pain, but it’s impacting their day-to-day life and overall health in major ways…

A fight or flight response caused by a spinal misalignment will impact every aspect of health – it’s not important to reproduce if you’re being chased by a bear. It’s not important to sleep if you’re being chased by a bear, it’s not important to digest food if you’re being chased by a bear, and it’s not the best time to sit still in a classroom and learn if you’re being chased by a bear. If this spinal misalignment is left uncorrected for a long time, it will impact the wiring of the brain. If you’ve been running for your life for 3 months nonstop, will this impact the way you plan for your future? Will it impact your ability to adapt to other stresses at work or in relationships? Will it impact your ability to problem solve? In reality, we aren’t talking about 3 months, we are talking about 3, 4, or even 5 decades!

People have found ways to temporarily put water on the “fight or flight” fire. The most common way is food. Eating large meals can temporarily calm down the fight or flight response, but carries the major consequence of unhealthy weight gain with it. Other reward-based cascades like gaming, sugar, drugs, alcohol, and many others will create a temporary calm of the fight or flight response. 

Chiropractors are the only healthcare professionals uniquely trained to locate and specifically correct spinal misalignments that impact the function of the nervous system. One of the challenges people face with beginning chiropractic care is the “quick fix” mentality. One chiropractic adjustment is going to have about the same net impact as one workout at the gym. Repetition is truly key to getting the most out of chiropractic care. It takes time and repetition to rewire the brain to help it optimally adapt to its environment. The longer the initial problem has been there, the longer it will take to correct – if it’s correctable. In some cases, people wait too long, and the spinal joints will break down in a process commonly known as degenerative disc disease. If you’ve been waiting to get into a chiropractor, sooner is better. As the colloquial saying goes, “the best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago, the second best time is today.”

Sources:

  1. Kent C. Models of vertebral subluxation: a review. J Vert Sublux Res. 1996 Aug;1(1):1-7. 
  2. Kent C. Research on purpose. A three dimension model of subluxation. J Chiropract. 1998 Jun;12(9):38-40. 
  3. Lantz CA. The vertebral subluxation complex part 2: neuropathological and myopathological components. Chiro Res J 1990;1(4);19. 
  4. McCoy M, Carrino AJ. Wellness and the chiropractic lifestyle. In: Anrig CA, Plaugher G, editors. Pediatric chiropractic. 2nd ed. Rev. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Williams; 2013. 
  5. Kwon C, Binongo J, McCoy M. Secondary analysis of a dataset to estimate the prevalence of vertebral subluxation and its implications for health promotion and prevention. Ann Vert Sublux Res. 2024 Feb;15-26.