One question that I often get asked as a student at Palmer College of Chiropractic is: “Why chiropractic?” To answer this question, we must travel back to way before I was born. My late grandfather, whom I hadn’t had the opportunity to meet, was a chiropractor. Which means that chiropractic has been in my family for my entire lifetime. It is in my blood. He had a successful practice in Streator, IL and worked there until his passing in 1998, just two years before I was born in 2000. I don’t really know much about my grandfather, but around the second weekend in August of 2019, when Palmer had their Homecoming weekend, I had the opportunity to speak to several chiropractors who were in the same graduating class as my grandfather and who knew him personally. As I was speaking to these wonderfully gifted doctors, all I could think in my mind was how lucky they were to have a chance to know him. Not only would he have been a mentor to me, he most definitely would have grown to be one of my best friends because of our deep passion and adoration for chiropractic.
The thing about chiropractic is that it is not just a practice of medicine, it is a philosophy and a lifestyle. I have gotten chiropractic adjustments since I was a newborn child. I am your typical “never been vaccinated, natural medicine, hippie child,” and while some may be angered by the retaliation of the drug-pushing society we live in…I am nothing but proud to be who I am. To me, chiropractic is more than a five-to-ten-minute appointment with your doctor. Chiropractic is an initiative and a mindset to give oneself a better quality of life. When I say that, some question how going to the chiropractor can better one’s life. Let me enlighten you in the simplest way.
Picture a computer. Now picture a computer without the motherboard. Without the motherboard, the computer cannot conduct any impulses throughout its system, and it will not function correctly. Now picture your body. That motherboard is your nervous system and spine. Now many of us know that the spine houses the spinal cord, which connects to the brain and extends into all the nerves in our bodies, which then makes up the central and peripheral nervous systems, but why is all this tissue and all of these connections so important? When the body undergoes a stressful situation, such as birth, stumbling over a rock, or even a sneeze, a subluxation is likely to occur and that is what chiropractors work to fix: subluxations. But many are unaware of what exactly a subluxation is. The basic definition of subluxation is a partial dislocation, but what is important about this dislocation is that when a vertebra or vertebrae is/are subluxated, pressure gets put on a nerve and from there it is a domino effect. The pressure on the nerve, depending on which area of the spine it takes place, can cause problems in the body because without receiving the correct nerve supply, that area of the body cannot function to its full potential. This could be like having a subluxation in the upper (cervical) spine and acne problems arise or having a subluxation in the lower (lumbar) spine and menstrual periods are irregular and cramps are more painful than usual. The irregularities in body function are associated to the region of spine that the subluxation is in. This can be stated and supported by the Father of Chiropractic, Daniel David Palmer, in the following words:
“Displacement of any part of the skeletal frame may press against nerves, which are the channels of communication, intensifying or decreasing their carrying capacity, creating either too much or not enough functionating, an aberration known as disease. The nature of the affection depends upon the shape of the bone, the amount of pressure, age of patient, character of nerves impinged upon and the individual makeup.”
Daniel D. Palmer
Many people choose to go to a chiropractor upon an accident or injury, but that theorization would be like only taking your car in for a check-up or oil change when it breaks down or when you get in an accident. Just like cars and many other machines, your body needs check-ups regardless of if you have suffered an injury or have experienced an accident. You could be the healthiest person you know, and your body still needs a tune up.
Chiropractic is a beautiful method that should be deeply considered to be the source of that tune up. These are some of the main principles that I formulate my beliefs about chiropractic on. I believe in this philosophy so deeply that I know, within the innermost regions of my soul, that it is a part of me and who I am. I want to share my passion and this philosophy with everyone I meet and I want them to pass it on to everyone they know and so on and so forth. I wish to better the lives of others by utilizing what I have discovered to be my calling. Although chiropractic care can at times battle the Western methods of medicine that are used on a day to day basis, I can sense the uprising of consideration towards Eastern and more natural methods. I am not saying that Western medicine should be disregarded and disowned, I am merely saying that both forms of medicine should be equally considered and even combined. So, even if you have no back pain and you think that you are feeling 100%, do your beautifully structured body a favor and look up your local chiropractor and schedule an appointment. You won’t regret it. Stay healthy and mindful. Xx
“Pressure on nerves causes irritation and tension with deranged functions as a result. Why not release the pressure? Why not adjust the cause instead of treating the effects? Why not?”
Daniel D. Palmer
Young, Mixed, and Scholarly 