frequently asked questions

Not everybody experiences a “popping sound” and it is not bone rubbing on bone. When people get a chiropractic adjustment, there can be a release of nitrogen gas through the joint space called cavitation. When a joint is gapped, or opens up, the gas is released and that’s when you hear the popping sound. It’s very similar to the release of gas bubbles when you open a champagne bottle. The popping noise has very little to do with the true purpose of chiropractic in restoring proper joint alignment and nerve flow.

Absolutely not! Millions of Americans routinely opt for chiropractic care as a means of preventing disease and maintaining health. Some symptoms and problems that can be relieved by chiropractic care include: Stress, headaches, carpal tunnel, sciatica, fibromyalgia, fatigue, knee pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, allergies, etc. You also don’t need to come in only when you’re feeling hurt or sick, you can get adjusted to prevent any problems you might have in the future. Chiropractic care can help your body to maintain its healthy state, and regular spinal checkups can help and prevent spinal stress due to subluxations.

No. In fact, it is a very important time to get adjusted. Studies have shown improved immune system function following chiropractic adjustments. Also, don’t think that missing one adjustment will not impact your care. The frequency and timing of your adjustments is very important to fix the problems going on in your spine. If this frequency and timing is interrupted or altered, we can expect progress to decrease or stall out.

A chiropractic adjustment is a manual procedure that utilizes the highly refined skills developed during the doctor of chiropractic’s intensive years of chiropractic education. Our doctors typically use their hands or an instrument to adjust the joints of the body, particularly the spine, in order to restore or enhance joint function. This often helps resolve joint inflammation and reduces the patient’s pain. Chiropractic care is a highly controlled procedure that rarely causes discomfort. The chiropractor adapts the procedure to meet the specific needs of each patient. Patients often note positive changes in their symptoms immediately following treatment.

There are 3 phases of healing: Phase I is the Relief Phase. During this stage, our goal is to get you out of pain. Phase II is the Corrective/Strengthening Phase. Our focus is to break up the pain patterns your brain has stored and create properly functioning healthy pain-free patterns. During this stage, we will give you at home stretches/exercises to help speed up your recovery and continue the healing process. We recommend you commit up to at least phase II. Phase III, the Wellness Phase is completely up to you. Your spine should get checked periodically just like your teeth and eyes. This is to catch small problems before they become big problems. You should continue to exercise and eat healthy. The better you take care of yourself the less adjustments you will need. Some people say that the chiropractic adjustments are addictive. While people might be addicted to not hurting, having better range of motion and just generally feeling good, chiropractic care is only the means to an end. Once the person has improved and is meeting goals from their treatment plan, the treatment frequency is reduced. At this point, people have been weaning off of treatment and they don’t need adjustments like they did at the beginning when they were really hurting.

Yes, it is harmful, because there is a fixation or jamming of the spinal joints (subluxation) causing pain and discomfort. People often associate the cracking or popping of one’s neck with a chiropractic adjustment. The two are not the same thing. If a person has the desire to pop his/her neck or back, it is usually because part of the spine is fixated and misaligned causing other parts to move too much and pop. It’s the fixated part that must be properly adjusted by way of a specific force given by a chiropractor so that the rest of the spine will stop being so movable and noisy. Even chiropractors can’t adjust themselves. When you crack your neck you’re relieving tension for a little while, but not giving yourself an adjustment. If you are not getting chiropractic care, after a while the urge to crack reappears because the spinal tension hasn’t been corrected.

A chiropractic adjustment should never be painful, and each patient’s care is considered individually after a thorough exam. Unfortunately, many people will wait until they have pain to seek chiropractic care as an option. Chiropractors are trained to identify and treat the misaligned vertebrae without grabbing, pulling, twisting or other invasive procedures. The chiropractic technique is a gentle one.

A science, philosophy and art of natural healing. Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system, and the effects of these disorders on general health. Chiropractic care is used most often to treat neuromusculoskeletal complaints, including but not limited to back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, and headaches. The most common therapeutic procedure performed by doctors of chiropractic is known as “spinal manipulation,” also called “chiropractic adjustment.” The purpose of an adjustment is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile – or restricted in their movement – as a result of a tissue injury. Tissue injury can be caused by a single traumatic event, such as improper lifting of a heavy object, or through repetitive stresses, such as sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture for an extended period of time. In either case, injured tissues undergo physical and chemical changes that can cause inflammation, pain, and diminished function for the sufferer. Manipulation, or adjustment of the affected joint and tissues, restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, and allowing tissues to heal. Chiropractic adjustment rarely causes discomfort. However, patients may sometimes experience mild soreness or aching following treatment (as with some forms of exercise) that usually resolves within 12 to 48 hours. In many cases, such as lower back pain, chiropractic care may be the primary method of treatment. When other medical conditions exist, chiropractic care may complement or support medical treatment by relieving the musculoskeletal aspects associated with the condition.

Absolutely! Not only is chiropractic care safe for a pregnant woman, in some cases it can actually alleviate the headaches, nausea, back pain and leg pain which are common during pregnancy. We see many expectant mothers every day and we use a safe and gentle techniques that helps to balance out the pelvic and abdominal musculature to eliminate intrauterine constraint. It has been reported that approximately 50% of all pregnant women experience back pain during their pregnancy and 50% to 75% of women experience back pain during labor. However, only 21% of pregnant women with back pain seek consultation with their medical physicians. According to the 2005 Job Analysis of Chiropractic, surveyed chiropractors reported that they rarely treat pregnant women. However, of the pregnant population that the respondents did encounter in their practices, chiropractors reported that 72% were likely to have benefited from chiropractic care.

Yes. Chiropractic is a drugless and preventive approach to good health. For babies, the birth process could cause trauma to the neck and spine, and if left uncorrected, could disturb the function of muscles and organs. And the number one “illness” in children is accidents. You may not realize it, but youngsters take numerous tumbles — learning to ride a bike, or even just jumping and running around. These underlying injuries, if left uncorrected, can cause serious problems as the child grows into adulthood. Chiropractic is one of the safest forms of children’s health care. A chiropractor does not adjust a baby or a child the same way as he or she adjusts an adult. A baby’s spine is very supple during the first few months of life, so the doctor of chiropractic applies only a slight pressure to make an adjustment. For older kids whose spine is still made of mainly cartilage, slight pressure followed by a gentle push is all that is required to put the vertebrae back in place.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Subluxations are like cavities in your teeth. You may have them long before physical symptoms surface, and that’s why maintenance check ups are important.

The word “subluxation” is derived from the Latin words meaning somewhat or slightly (sub) and to dislocate (luxate). A vertebral subluxation is a misalignment of the spinal joints that causes interference in the vital nervous system. Pain and disease conditions, not only in the back, but elsewhere in the body may result from vertebral subluxation.

Chiropractic is a natural healing art and science. A chiropractor will never prescribe drugs.

At Finnell Chiropractic we treat the body as a whole. We feel that health and wellness are more than just addressing symptoms, but rather treating the underlying cause of those symptoms. We examine the physical, chemical and mental/emotional imbalances to determine the most effective treatment plan for each patient to help them achieve optimal health and wellness.

The typical applicant for chiropractic college has already acquired nearly four years of pre-medical undergraduate college education, including courses in biology, inorganic and organic chemistry, physics, psychology and related lab work. Once accepted into an accredited chiropractic college, the requirements become even more demanding — four to five academic years of professional study are the standard. Doctors of chiropractic are educated in orthopedics, neurology, physiology, human anatomy, clinical diagnosis including laboratory procedures, diagnostic imaging, exercise, nutrition rehabilitation and more. Because chiropractic care includes highly skilled manipulation/adjusting techniques, a significant portion of time is spent in clinical technique training to master these important manipulative procedures. In total, the chiropractic college curriculum includes a minimum of 4,200 hours of classroom, laboratory and clinical experience. The course of study is approved by an accrediting agency that is fully recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.