Can A Chiropractor Align Your Spine?

Millions of patients seek care from chiropractors each year and ever growing research supports the effectiveness of chiropractic care and its ability to decrease pain, decrease muscle spasm and increase mobility.  Chiropractors work with the musculoskeletal and nervous systems to restore normal function.  Improving spinal alignment however is not as simple as a single bone out of place and “popping” it back in.  Chiropractors look at both global and intersegmental ranges of motion to determine which areas are hypo-mobile (not moving enough) compared to those which are hyper-mobile (moving too much).  Areas which are considered hypo-mobile benefit from chiropractic manipulative therapy (CMT), AKA an adjustment, whereas hyper-mobile areas benefit from stability inducing rehabilitative exercises.

While chiropractors are widely known for adjustments, the modern chiropractor also uses a heavy emphasis on soft tissue work to improve spinal alignment.  The vast majority of spinal alignment issues are postural and a result of habitual and/or repetitive stressors.  One of the most common examples of this is Upper Crossed Syndrome, AKA “Tech-Neck.”  The average person spends 10-12 hours per day either working on a computer or looking down at their phone.  Over time, a muscle imbalance develops which causes a forward head carriage and rounding of the shoulders and upper back.  In addition to chiropractic adjustments, this imbalance requires the correct set of muscle works to loosen the tight musculature and activate/strengthen the weak musculature.  Tech-neck is just one of many postural imbalances which can affect spinal alignment.

So, can a chiropractor align your spine?  The simple answer is, yes.  However, contrary to popular belief it is much more than pushing a bone back into place. It takes a combination of chiropractic adjustments, soft tissue manipulation, rehabilitative exercises and most of all time and consistency.