What is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is a health care discipline that emphasizes the body's ability to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery.

Chiropractic is the science, art, and philosophy dedicated to caring for the axis of our body, the spine, and the nervous system protected by it.

The profession began in 1895 in Davenport (Iowa, USA) when Daniel David Palmer made the first adjustment of the spine. One of the cleaners in the building where he worked, a man who had suffered from deafness and back pain for 17 years, had a protrusion in his neck. Dr. Palmer pressed the protrusion, and the employee regained his hearing instantly. It was a vivid example of the relationship between the nervous system and the spine.

Chiropractic is one of the most widely used natural health professions worldwide. In universities in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Brazil the obtainment of a Chiropractic degree requires seven years of study and one year of clinical internship under the supervision of another experienced Chiropractor.

What is a Subluxation?

Due to physical stress (poor posture, repetitive movements, falls, car accidents); chemical agents (smoke, pollution, dust); or emotional disturbances (problems in a relationship, at work, etc.), a vertebra can move and press on the nerve that passes through it. This is referred to as a subluxation, and it causes interference in communication between the brain and the rest of the body.

The nervous system constantly sends and receives thousands of orders and information between the brain and the rest of the body. About 10% of the nerves leaving the spine are related to pain and movement. The other 90% go to the organs vital to the body’s functioning (i.e., the heart, lungs, stomach, etc.).

What is an Adjustment?

The job of a Doctor of Chiropractic is to locate, reduce, and correct subluxations in order to restore the nervous system’s normal functioning. By correcting subluxations, the body regains its innate ability to heal itself.

The manual adjustment applied by a Chiropractor is gentle, specific, and requires precise force on those vertebrae that are subluxated, as determined by the age and physical condition of each person. The adjustment is performed with the person lying on a specially designed table and after having undergone a complete examination of the spine.

Who Benefits from Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is aimed at families who desire natural health care to enhance recovery and optimize overall health. People of all ages, from newborns to the elderly, can benefit from chiropractic care, regardless of their physical or mental state.

Chiropractic helps a variety of conditions: Musculoskeletal problems, including low back pain, herniated discs, migraines, dizziness, scoliosis, and discomfort due to pregnancy; Organ-related problems, including asthma, psoriasis, digestive problems, enuresis, and colic; and Emotional problems, including anxiety, depression, stress, hyperactivity, and attention deficit.

A Doctor of Chiropractic does not directly treat the aforementioned conditions; However, by correcting subluxations through manual adjustments, these and many other conditions have been improved due to the body's increased performance. Additionally, being free of subluxations, one usually experiences more energy and vitality.

Scientific Evidence

The Spanish Chiropractic Association (AEQ) has a Scientific Committee in charge of collecting and updating the most important scientific evidence on chiropractic from specialized and accredited journals. Likewise, the Chiropractic Research Network (RIQ) was founded in collaboration with the Jiménez Díaz Foundation and Alcalá de Henares University in order to support the scientific research of Chiropractic within Spain. As a result of this work, the Dossier of Scientific Evidence on Chiropractic was presented in September 2021.