Portland, Oregon chiropractic, nutrition, functional medicine, functional movement and clinical hypnosis

Manipulations and adjustments lie at the root of chiropractic care; which was first developed by D.D. Palmer over 100 years ago.  The chiropractic adjustment, as it is commonly called, is the key element in mobility problems of just about every joint in the body.

The chiropractic adjustment works by restoring normal joint function, position and helping to reduce pain. If a joint does not have full, pain-free range of motion, other joints adjacent or within the same functional unit will have to compensate. This compensation can occur a number of different ways; by altering its position or range of motion or by sending improper signals to the brain about its position in space. In addition, these compensatory patterns can cause important stabilization muscles to reduce their activity and other, more powerful yet less precise muscles to increase their activity. This can all lead to pain and dysfunction and can put you at risk for developing injuries elsewhere.

Joint alignment is extremely important because their position determines how efficiently they work. According to James Cyriax, a British orthopedic surgeon, a mal-position of as small as 1mm in between your vertebrae will change the articular function and congruity by 98%!  This means that the amount of contact surfaces between joints changes dramatically with very little mal-position.  This lack of congruity can cause early degenerative changes as well as all of the problems mentioned previously.  Think of a mal-position like stacking a bunch of similar bowls on top of each other. If you move one bowl aside 1/4 of an inch, the whole stack s affected.

It is important, for the sake of keeping the bowls from falling, that they stay positioned correctly. This same type of congruity is important in joints throughout your body; not just your spine.  By restoring alignment and joint function, chiropractic manipulative therapy the first line of therapy when treating joints sprains, muscular strains and other degenerative conditions.

Manipulation is generally a painless procedure and it can be provided through a variety of techniques.  To be therapeutic, the adjustment must be directed in a very specific direction or plane of the joint. It is a process, whereby, the joint in question is moderately distracted while a very fast, yet shallow thrust is applied through the joint space to restore normal positions and function of that joint.  This thrust moves the joint into what is known as “the paraphysiological space”.  A common side effect of the manipulation is an audible ‘popping’ sound.  This is simply a pressure change within the joint when it moves into the paraphysiological space, where C02 or nitrogen, in liquid forms, transforms into a gas form under pressure change.  This same type of popping sound results when you open a can of pop or other carbonated beverage.  Common misconceptions are that this popping sound is the sound of bones moving against each other. It is not as this type of movement would be painful and not therapeutic whatsoever. After the manipulation the distance between the joint surfaces art increased, reducing joint compression;  pain is usually reduced and the joint now moves more freely allowing your muscles and adjacent joints to work the way they need to.

At Optimum Function, I look at a complex balance between mobility and stability. As I just wrote about, mobility is wonderfully and efficiently improved by the chiropractic adjustment and other techniques. Stability comes from orchestrating the concert of all of you small (intrinsic) and larger (extrinsic) muscles s they can create the beautiful music that is pain-free optimal movement. From there, things like performance, power speed and strength can be built onto a stable and moveable base.

To find out more about my Optimal Movement screen and treatments, you can click on this link Portland, Oregon Functional Movement Program or go to www.OptMovement.com.  To learn more about all o the programs offered at Optimum Function including; chiropractic, nutrition, diet therapy and food plan generation, body transformation, functional medicine and clinical hypnosis, you can go to www.OptFunction.com or click on this link Portland, Oregon Chiropractor. If you wish to email or call you can do so at info@OptFunction.com or call 503-866-9739.

Yours in Health,
Tim Irving DC, MScan., LMT, CKTP, CHt, Nutritionist, Body Transformation Specialist.
Optimum Function: Portland, OR, 97214
Optimum Function = Optimum Health

Chiropractic, Precision Nutrition Programs, Functional Medicine, Clinical Hypnosis

Share on Facebook