Services
Chiropractic and Posture
Dr. Barrett's View on Spine Care
Your body has an innate intelligence and provided with the optimal environment, it will heal itself from the inside out. Your central nervous system is the communicator between your body, including all its organs, tissues, and cells, and the brain, where the messages are created.
The Central Nervous System
What is its function?
“The nervous system controls and coordinates all organs and structures of the human body” (Gray's anatomy 29th ed. Pg 4).
What is it made up of?
The brain, the spinal cord, and peripheral nerves make up the nervous system.
What does Chiropractic have to do with my Nervous System?
Protecting the spinal cord are vertebrae (bones), supported by discs made up of a gelatin-like substance. When there is a subluxation, which is a bone out of place pinching a nerve, the organs can work too quickly or too slowly to compensate; in other words, normal function cannot occur. Most all diseases are caused by organs, glands, or tissues functioning abnormally.
Think of nerve irritation like a dimmer switch on your lights. If the dimmer is turned down, the lights are still on, but the light is low. If it is turned up too high, the bulb may burn out prematurely. The tissue or organ still receives the nerve impulse, however it is altered. This helps to explain why when nerve irritation exists in the middle back region; an individual may experience indigestion or an upset stomach. When a vertebra is out of place, one may or may not experience symptoms because symptoms are only experienced when enough tissue damage occurs. Therefore, even if one does not experience symptoms, the organ is still compromised, and this can eventually lead to disease. A chiropractic adjustment is one of the only methods of returning the vertebrae to its normal position where there is no interruption in the nervous system.
How do we get in trouble?
There are three types of stress that influence the nerve system and therefore the entire body and its overall health: physical, mental/emotional, and chemical. While all of these influence the nervous system, we most commonly focus on physical stress. Physical stress comes in the form of accidents, trauma, and posture. The majority of physical trauma occurs in childhood as we are typically less coordinated coupled with a much greater activity level. Postural changes are generally cumulative and seen later in life. In other words, one may not experience the consequences of injuries and bad posture until the later part of one's life even though the problem has existed and been impacting the body throughout one's life.
What are discs and joints?
All joints need motion to stay healthy. In fact, they are designed for movement; movement is their purpose. In the spine the joint consist of two vertebrae and one disc. The disc has no direct blood supply after 12 years of age which would normally bring in nutrients and remove toxins. As an adult, disc stay healthy through motion which pushes out toxins and draws in nutrients much like a sponge. When the bones become misaligned or posture worsens, normal motion between the vertebrae is lost and the discs become damaged. There are many reasons why joints lose normal motion such as accidents, posture, lifestyle i.e. desk jobs, and time. A damaged disc will initially bulge and eventually herniate, rupture, and ultimately dehydrate. During this degenerative process the nervous system is compromised, muscles and ligaments undergo abnormal strain (e.g. tight muscles) and arthritic changes occur.
How do I fix my problem?
Chiropractic is unique from all other professions in that our purpose is to restore normal motion to the joints of the body. By doing so, the nervous system and spine function better and discomfort can be reduced. There are many Chiropractic techniques which are utilized to accomplish this; however, with years of practice and research behind us, we have decided to utilize the Pettibon technique. After ten years of practicing only chiropractic adjustments, we noticed that patient's symptoms almost always improved; however, their posture and x-rays generally did not. For permanent results, normal posture must be regained. If not physical, subluxating stresses remain.
The Pettibon system of spinal correction consistently and predictably changes spinal structure. The goal is to correct the spine and retrain the muscles so that one maintains a normal posture. In turn the vertebrae are more likely to stay in the correct position and not pinch the nerves (thus not compromising the body's flow of communication from the brain to the body). Discs become healthy through specific exercises that exchange toxins for nutrients. This system allows us to provide very specific spinal corrective exercises that the patient can use at home to correct strengthen and maintain spinal integrity. This is unique to the Pettibon system and SIMPLE.
What if I have too much damage?
Before you consider surgery, we may recommend non-surgical spinal decompression. It is a new breakthrough in medical technology, which relieves pressure and symptoms of herniated and bulging disc, sciatica, stenosis, and degeneration by working directly on the disc itself. A vacuum is created in the damaged disc thus drawing in fluid and reducing bulging and herniating discs. Bulging discs cause ligaments to stretch and deform making them week. By drawing the disc into its normal position the stretch on the ligaments is relieved allowing them to heal normally and prevent future occurrence.
Commonly Asked Questions
Will my insurance cover chiropractic care?
Most insurance policies do cover a portion of chiropractic care. Depending on the insurance company and the specific plan, one may be completely covered and able to receive chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and non-surgical decompression therapy for a small co-pay, other insurance policies may not cover the care we offer in our clinic.
How much will it cost me?
If insurance covers all or a portion of your care in our clinic, you would be responsible for the co-pay or co-insurance, which is determined by your insurance. If your insurance does not cover care in our clinic or you do not have health care, we have cash discounts which make our care affordable.
Is it painful to be adjusted?
Dr. Barrett is highly trained, very gentle, and intuitive. He is sensitive to pain and the chiropractic adjustment should not be painful.
Will I have to come for the rest of my life?
Dr. Barrett's goal is to free someone from needing chiropractic care. He encourages everyone to learn exercises that actually retrain the muscles along the spine to have better posture and so that one experiences less subluxations. After the initial period of retraining the muscles, Dr. Barrett may encourage patients to maintain the structure of the spine that they have worked hard to regain, and that might mean coming in for monthly or bimonthly visits.