I must admit I cringe a bit every time I introduce myself as a chiropractor and someone says, "I love getting my back cracked."
The reason it is so disappointing is that "joint mobilization" (aka cracking) is the most insignificant part of what we do. In fact, the only reason that anyone should receive a chiropractic adjustment is if there is pressure on their nerve system.
Why? Because the nervous system controls and coordinates every aspect of your body. The millions of messages are transported from your brain down your spine, out to your organs, tissues and cells. The purpose of a chiropractic adjustment is to clear any interference in that pathway.
Just this month, we have had reports of an infertile couple conceiving, depression lifting, painkillers being thrown out, better sleep, numbness and tingling gone, sinus infections eliminated, improved digestion and better breathing. This doesn't happen by "cracking a back." This only happens when pressure comes off the central nervous system and the body begins to heal itself.
It's also important to create an environment where you can be encouraged to be your best. Reactive health care is failing and we are seeing more degenerative disease (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis) than ever before. We must be pro-active and optimize our health so that we too don't follow that path.
Research tells us that genetics accounts for only about one-third of how long and well we live -- the rest is under our control. In other words, our state of health is a result of how much we do to be healthy.
Drugs and surgery aren't designed for health. They are for sickness and disease. Health is built by lifestyle choices -- day in and day out. Chiropractic adjustments, exercise, nutrition, stress reduction, de-toxification -- these all lead to optimum function and less chance of disease.
We want you at your best. Engage with us (read our blog, like our Facebook page for health tips and articles, check out the list of recommended sites) and we will walk you down the path to your best life. It is only getting better and better.
If Dr. Braglia can point us to scientific studies that show that chiropractic manipulations can affect these conditions (infertility? sinus infections?), I'd be eager to read them. The "reports" he lists appear to be anecdotal evidence. This is not how science works. The plural of anecdotes is not data. "Chiropractors think that by adjusting the misalignments they can thereby restore the nerve signals and cure health problems." "This idea was first propounded in 1895 by D. D. Palmer (1845-1913), a grocer and magnetic healer from Davenport, Iowa. Palmer was a vitalist who considered intelligent energy to be conveying information among various body parts. There is no scientific evidence to support these ideas. . .Palmer claimed that he cured a deaf man, Harvey Lillard, who was a janitor by trade, by manipulating his spine. As Dr. Harriet Hall comments: 'This makes no anatomical sense.'" – Robert T. Carroll, Ph.D., The Skeptics Dictionary For the rest of this article, please go here: http://www.skepdic.com/chiro.html
"If Dr. Braglia can point us to scientific studies that show that chiropractic manipulations can affect these conditions (infertility? sinus infections?), I'd be eager to read them." All it takes is a couple of minutes on PubMed to find research. As this was simply a blog post and not an in depth scientific review of literature - I did not list any... However, here are just a few: Chiropractic and Sinuses: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22036532 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7706959 Chiropractic and Infertility: http://chiropracticpediatrics.sharepoint.com/Pages/2012_1176_infertility.aspx http://www.chiro.org/research/ABSTRACTS/Resolution_of_Infertility.shtml http://www.chiro.org/research/ABSTRACTS/Two_Reports_of_Resolution.shtml As for scientific evidence that chiropractic affects the nervous system, there is ample evidence in the literature. Maybe you're aware of the study showing chiropractic adjustments lowering blood pressure: http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/news/20070316/chiropractic-cuts-blood-pressure Or this study, showing how chiropractic adjustments affect regional cerebral glucose metabolism related to sympathetic relaxation and pain reduction: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=japan+cerebral+study+after+chiropractic+manipulation&fb_source=message Thanks again for reading.
I’m also sure you would agree that the very best studies are large, peer-reviewed, double-blinded studies conducted by professionals who have no economic stake in the outcomes. Here’s what you offered. Infertility: One study involved a single person and was written up by two DCs. Another involved two patients who were not ovulating and was written by a DC. Another involved a single patient and was written by two DCs. Sinus: One study involving 14 patients written by a physical therapist. Another study involved a single patient and was written by a faculty member of the Western States Chiropractic College in Portland, OR. Cerebral glucose metabolism: 12 patients. Blood pressure: A placebo-controlled study for 8 weeks with 50 patients written by an 84 year old DC, Marshall Dickholtz, Sr. of the Chiropractic Health Center in Chicago who states, "We are not doctors. We are spinal engineers. We use mathematics, geometry, and physics to learn how to slide everything back into place." While these studies might be suggestive of some effects, I submit that they are two small to be considered definitive. No medical doctors are listed as having participated in them. If this is your best evidence, I respectfully remain unconvinced about your claims.