99 Cracker Barrel Drive, Suite 200
Barboursville, WV 25504
(304) 733-4616
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Chiropractic?
If you ask any chiropractor they will give you their own version of what chiropractic is and what it’s about.
⁃ According to Merriam Webster: a system of noninvasive therapy which holds that certain musculoskeletal disorders result from nervous system dysfunction arising from misalignment of the spine and joints and that focuses treatment especially on the manual adjustment or manipulation of the spinal vertebrae.
⁃ World federation of Chiropractic: Chiropractic is a health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health.
⁃ Dr. Luke's definition: Chiropractic is a science, art, and a philosophy about healing the body through adjusting the spine, treating subluxations that causes nerve interference and inflammation that lead to dis-ease.
Chiropractic is a preventive health profession to keep people healthy, but that doesn’t mean we don’t treat patients that aren’t in pain or unhealthy.
What is a Subluxation?
If you’ve been to a chiropractor you have probably heard the word subluxation before but might not have had that explained.
Subluxation is when a misaligned vertebra that is fixed (stuck) in a position that causes the disc to budge and become damaged/deranged. This causes an inflammatory response around the nerves of the spine and causes irritation/pressure on the nerves which leads to altered function and disease.
We as chiropractors treat this subluxations to restore proper function/health to the body and better biomechanics on the spine.
What is that Popping Sound?
Some people think the popping neck, especially for neck adjustments, is 2 bones snapping across each other to make that sound. Then they will make the conclusion that adjustments will damage the neck if those bone keep snapping across each other and then won’t want their neck adjusted. Sometimes even the sound itself is unpleasant to some people.
Well that’s wrong - you have multiple joints in your neck that contain/build up with gas bubbles when you move. When we make an adjustment we are rapidly decompressing that joint which causes those gas bubbles to pop and release all at once. Often, a deeper popping sound occurs when the vertebral disc is set back in its normal position.
For example, if you pull your finger and it pops, you're not snapping the joint together, you are rapidly changing the pressure in that joint causing the gas to be released.
This doesn’t damage the joint it is simply releasing the pressure built up inside. Professional Chiropractors are able to safely perform neck. adjustments, and if you don’t like your neck adjustment, tell your doctor - chiropractors have multiple ways to treat the neck.
Do I have to keep coming after I feel better?
This depends on the kind of care that you want.
We recommend that patients continue to come after a full recovery once every month or every few months for maintenance care/improvement care to enhance quality of life. Some patients choose to leave as soon as their pain is gone; this can take anywhere from a week to a couple of months depending on different factors like age, weight, severity of trauma, length before visit, etc.