Chiropractic

Chiropractic is a branch of health care that is based upon improving the body’s function by removing interference to the nervous system. The skull protects the delicate tissues of the brain. The moving bones of the spine protect the vulnerable communication pathways of the spinal cord and nerve roots. If the nervous system is impaired, it can cause malfunction of the tissues and organs throughout the body.

Chiropractic is the science of locating offending spinal structures, the art of reducing their impact to the nervous system, and the philosophy of all things natural.

Chiropractic works by restoring your own inborn ability to be healthy. When under the proper control of your nervous system, all the cells, tissues, and organs of your body are designed to resist disease and ill health. The chiropractic approach to better health is to locate and help remove interferences to your natural state of being healthy.

A chiropractor is a health care professional focused on the diagnosis and treatment neuromuscular disorders. The most common therapeutic procedure performed by doctors of chiropractic is known as “spinal manipulation,” also called “chiropractic adjustment.” Manipulation, or adjustment of the affected joint and tissues, restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, and allowing tissues to heal.

Chiropractors do not treat symptoms. They find the cause of your symptoms and treat the cause. When the nervous system interference is gone, the body is more able to heal itself naturally, the way it was created.

After an adjustment, you can expect one of three things to occur. You may feel better, feel the same or actually feel a little sore. Your muscles are used to your spine being in a certain position. The adjustments are moving your spine into a position that your body is not used to so it may aggravate your muscles and you may feel a little sore.

It is very common for a patient who has just begun chiropractic care to feel worse before they feel better. Most of the time, a patient beginning care in their adult life have had years and years of accumulated spinal misalignments. If misalignments that have been present for years are suddenly being corrected, it is expected that the body may ‘complain’ somewhat at first. It takes time for the muscles, ligaments and joints to re-adapt to the vertebra’s new and improved position.

Remember that the purpose of chiropractic adjustments is not to relieve symptoms, but to help your body function at its optimum level by removing interference from your nervous system. Once the interference is gone, your life energy is able to flow to all parts of your body as it is needed.

Be sure to inform Dr. Pearce about the sensations you are feeling throughout your treatment program, and rest assured, Dr. Pearce is closely monitoring your body’s responses in order to adapt your health care to give you the best chance of alleviation of your discomfort and restoration of your health in the most pleasant way possible.

YES! Children are actually the best patients to be in a chiropractic office because they respond so well and so quickly to care because they do not have the years of damage to their spine that an adult has. Many childhood illnesses have seen remarkable results with chiropractic care. Many adult health issues actually started in childhood, possibly as early as the birth process. Children have the opportunity to grow up with minimal or no health concerns when chiropractic care is accompanied by a healthy lifestyle.

The chiropractic adjustments performed on children of any age, are much gentler than in adults and are completely safe and natural.

Massage is a very important component of chiropractic. Massage helps relax the muscles and to keep joints working in sync with each other.  This reduces the chance that bones will be pulled into mis-alignment as well as increases the chance that an adjustment will “Hold”.  In addition, massage of trigger points in the muscles and draining lympahtic swelling normalizes muscle tone and flexibility, eliminating stiffness.  Acupressure, massage based on the Acupuncture meridian system is very helpful to restoring normal tone and health.

Craniopathy, separately discovered by Chiropractor Nephi Cottam and Osteopath William Garner Sutherland, is a specialty within both the chiropractic and osteopathic professions. The skull is made up of multiple bones held together by joints.  This allows for minute movement of each bone in response to changes in pressure within the cranial vault (the encasement of the brain). The skull responds to the pulsing of blood pressure and nerve cells with a slight expansion and contraction just large enough to be felt by trained hands. Craniopaths move the bones of the skull and restore normal motion.  This pulsing circulates the Cerebral Spinal Fluid that nourishes the brain and also pumps the master glands of the hormone system that sit in the fulcrum of movement of the skull behind the eyes. When the bones don’t respond to these motions migraine headaches, cluster headaches, hormonal problems, and subtle brain dysfunction ensues. Distortions of the cranial vault are thought to play a role in developing scoliosis, Parkinson’s disease, autism, ADHD, and ADD. Distortions in the alignment and movement of facial bones and temporal bones can cause jaw joint problems, dizziness, vertigo, facial pain, and Bell’s Palsy. Less than 10% of either profession is trained in this art as it takes years to master. Dr. Pearce was very lucky to have this training from nationally recognized experts Virginia Handly, D.C, Marc PIck, D.C., and Major DeJarnette, D.C. while still an intern. During his internship, Dr. Pearce performed his first chiropractic miracle using Craniopathy to enable a child who could not sit up unsupported due to Cerebral Palsy to walk. The Craniopathic treatment also enabled her to breathe through her nose.  Since Dr. Pearce uses Craniopathy for treating patients with migraines, he has only had 3 in over 300 hundred headache patients that he has not completely cured.  Upon demonstrating craniopathic treatment of sinusitis in China, Dr. Pearce was offered a professorship in a Chinese Medical School.

Exercise therapy is very important to successful chiropractic and acupuncture treatment as exercise is an essential part of staying healthy.  All animals are designed to move.  Movement is especially important to the human spine since most of the nutrition to the discs between each bone not through blood flow, but through movement of the fluids in the disc in response to movement of the spine.  Mobile spines don’t degenerate.  Keeping spines mobile is one of the most important preventative medicine therapies chiropractors can do. “Exercise keeps the chiropractor away”.

Traction is very important for treating degenerative spine conditions and ruptured discs because the rupture or bulge is “sucked” back toward the center of the disc, away from nerves by traction. Mechanical traction devices are used for cervical disc injuries but are generally not powerful enough or specific enough in direction of traction to be of help for low back disc injuries.  For low back ruptured discs, Dr. Pearce uses manual traction with modification of the direction of pull to reduce spasm and direct the ruptured material back into the center of the disc. Having used this technique for over 30 years on hundreds of ruptured discs, Dr. Pearce has had to refer only three patients to surgery.

Electrical Muscle Stimulation is sometimes used to keep muscles from atrophying (wasting away) when the nerves to them are injured. All other uses of western physical therapy style electrical muscle stimulation are not usually used by acupuncturists because electroacupuncture is so much more effective.

Physiotherapy modalities, such as, ultrasound, microwave and heat and cold packs, play supplemental roles in treating arthritis and helping patients relax for other treatments.