Chiropractic is a hands-on profession. My hands are trained to deliver healing by solving problems in the musculoskeletal system.
So, how do chiropractors know where to adjust? It’s not a guessing game. Through various explorations, we find the source of the problem and then address the root cause with manipulation, adjustment or other techniques employed by our profession to deliver pain relief.
This post is about the secret sauce of the chiropractic profession – where to adjust.
Hands – our guides
I don’t want to get all mystical about this. Chiropractors use the same diagnostics other health practitioners do to get to the truth about physical pain. But our hands help us do that, so in a manner of speaking, the chiropractor’s hands are primary diagnostic tools.
Palpation is chief among the techniques used by chiropractors to determine where patients need help and where to adjust. Using our hands, we test the patient’s response to pressure and manipulation, seeking trouble spots.
We also look at your range of motion and gait as clues to determine where we need to work with your body to get you feeling better.
Palpation
Motion in the body has three physical planes – frontal, sagittal and transverse. Sagittal is the division of the body from front to back. Transverse divides the body in two – top and bottom. Finally, frontal is the front/back division. Motion palpation uses these divisions of the body to determine whether motion is impeded in just one plane or in all three.
Static palpation gauges impeded motion while the patient is completely still, as opposed to motion palpation, which monitors the body in motion. Tenderness is a key facet of static palpation, but changes in muscle tone and the response of ligaments also have roles in pinpointing the problem.
Diagnostic thermography
As I said, chiropractors use standard diagnostic tools in addition to our hands. The role of diagnostic thermography is to find points of nerve pressure, using this sophisticated medical imaging tool. When the nerves are compromised, heat will register as a signature on the skin, easily detected with this diagnostic.
While this infrared imaging tool isn’t employed in all chiropractic offices, it’s one of the most reliable ways to determine where your need to be adjusted, as it provides information about nerves which are suffering because of dysfunction in the spine.
But I’m a chiropractor, so I need to tell you that I trust what my hands are telling me when I’m finding out where you need to be adjusted. They’re my frontline information officers!
Back & Body Medical
I’m proud to work with a multi-disciplinarian team at Back & Body Medical, where we’ve broken new ground in the war on pain.
My team here includes acupuncturists, physical therapists and sports medicine practitioners, supporting my chiropractic work with collaborative care that brings our patients the vanguard of pain management and relief.
If you’re dealing with pain issues, you have a one-stop 360-degree resource in Back & Body. Our award-winning work has now been brought to New Jersey from Manhattan. Contact us.
