Pain is just not fun! When suffering with back and neck pain, fibromyalgia, TMJ, knee problems, carpel tunnel syndrome, cervical spine issues or discomfort with your wrist or ankles, sometimes all you can think about is getting RELIEF! While some will take any medication, regardless of the side effects, just to relieve the misery; others are looking for alternatives for pain relief. It was such a search for a natural back pain relief: in particular, upper back pain relief and a non-invasive treatment for lower back pain that led me to discover chiropractic adjustment tools. My friend, who suffers greatly with fibromyalgia, finally experienced some relief for her back and neck pain through the regular treatments using chiropractic products. Specifically, through massages and the use of the chiropractic adjustment tool properly and regularly administered, she began to improve. She improved so much that they personally purchased a chiropractic adjustment tool (C.A.T.) and her husband was trained to administer the treatments to his wife. She describes the therapy as taking the stress off the muscle when hurting and taking the edge off the pain of the fibromyalgia.

One night at a small dinner party around the pool, another friend began to describe the relief she was getting from the use of a small device called the chiropractic activator, which she described as a “clicker,” but turned out to be another description for the chiropractic adjustment tool! She suffers with constant back muscle pain as well as neck pain. In the past, she had visited a back pain specialist, but the only back pain remedy he offered was muscle relaxers that would literally put her to sleep and left her feeling groggy the next day. In her search for back pain cures, she took yoga, which didn’t hurt, but it didn’t help either. Then one day a co-worker described back pain treatments she was receiving from her chiropractor to relieve her back pain which was very effective! She began to describe these gentle, non-invasive treatments, so my friend had to try it. She was glad she did.

Do you ever wonder if someone is trying to tell you something? So I began to investigate. How do these chiropractic adjustment tools work? Will these chiropractic tools hurt me? Will I continue to experience back and neck pain after these treatments?

Treatments using the Chiropractic Adjustment Tool, the Chiropractic Activator or the Activator Gun have been developed, studied and tested for thirty plus years and have been found quite successful. This tool (which fits in the palm of the hand) is a small, well-designed machine used to re-align the bones of the body without painful manipulations. Because it’s neither big nor loud, there is no need for fear, which makes these treatments ideal for children, the elderly or the seriously injured. It does sound like a “click.” The treatments are delivered to specific targets with controlled, measured low-force adjustments.

Chiropractors frequently will have the patients lie on a table and perform a leg length inequality assessment. Different movements are requested during the session after which the chiropractic adjustment tool is administered in specific areas with the final outcome of the session having leg lengths equaled with the goal of the body becoming totally aligned.

While controversy continues about alternative methods and medicines, there is great merit and value in the exploration of non-invasive procedures that might eliminate pain with limited side-effects. Perhaps someone is trying to tell you something?

Chiropractics is a non surgical and non drug medical profession practice that through spinal manipulations treats disorders of the nervous and musculoskeletal system. Each year millions of people make a visit to a chiropractor for treatment, most often for help with back pain.

Chiropractic care has been shown to be safe and effective for people who suffer from lower back pain. In fact, studies have shown that chiropractic spinal manipulation is one of the very few means that can effectively treat lower back pain.

Nearly 90% of the population at one time or another suffers from lower back pain. It is one of the most common reasons for people miss work. The cause of back pain is often undetectable. When a cause is known however, it is most often in relation to having pinched nerves, injury to the muscle, injury to the nerves of the spine, slipped or ruptured discs or arthritis. A well educated and practiced chiropractor is able to easily determine the root cause of the pain. After determining the cause they are able to make spinal adjustments to alleviate pain and discomfort.

Some people are hesitant to visit a chiropractor, mainly because they don’t know what to expect. On a typical first visit, a full patient health history is taken. Patients will also be given a chiropractor exam where the chiropractic Doctor will perform an examination focusing on the spine. Sometimes, but now always, patients will be sent for a spinal x-ray before their first manipulation.

For first time patients chiropractors will almost always take the time to educate them on what chiropractic care is and how it works. They will go over procedures and help patients to feel at ease. This education is especially important for those patients who are apprehensive about chiropractic treatment.

On most first visits chiropractors will give the patient their first chiropractic adjustment or manipulation. The manipulation will be the first of many for those undergoing treatment for back pain. Chiropractic adjustments reduce subluxation. After the adjustment patients should experience increased range of motion and a reduction in nerve pain. Most patients, when adjusted will experience joint cavitations or cracking, but not always. If not, this is often because the patient is tense and unable to relax enough for proper treatment. In such cases, chiropractors during recurrent treatment sessions will treat the patients with stimulation, heat or massage prior to the adjustment.

During the first visit, a treatment plan will also be recommended. With lower back pain, patients will typically need to be adjusted a few times a week, at least in the beginning. Over time, when pain starts to diminish manipulations can slowly become further apart. While most patients seeking chiropractic treatment for lower back pain do report great results, a minority few will not see any benefit. If no improvement is noted within 4-6 weeks it is generally recommended to stop treatment.

Chiropractors will generally also work with patients to prevent further lower back pain and injury. Most patients will be sent home with some rehabilitative exercises to focus on. It is also recommended that people who suffer from lower back pain exercise regularly, that they wear comfortable low heeled shoes, have lower back support in any chairs they sit in, make sure that any work table or desk they use is at a comfortable height, be careful when lifting and to use a limber corset if they lift heavy items for their job or on a regular basis.

Besides help with lower back pain, chiropractics can also help with neck pain, middle and upper back pain and even headaches. Often chiropractors can offer patients additional services besides chiropractic manipulations. Many have additional training and degrees and are able to provide information on diet, weight loss and living a healthy lifestyle. Many also sell dietary and nutritional supplements that they recommend to their patients.

The chiropractics profession has been around a long time and over the years dozens of different spinal manipulation methods have developed. Two of the most commonly used techniques are the Gonstead Technique and the Activator method. Which one is better for you? The following information may help you decide.

The Gonstead Technique

This technique was started by Dr. Clarence S. Gonstead of Wisconsin when he became a chiropractor in 1923. His idea of chiropractics references all body misalignments to the pelvic girdle, the body’s foundation according to the Gonstead theory.

Just like a building’s foundation needs to be level and firm to support the top of the building, the body’s foundation of the pelvic bones and the lower back bones needs to be level and in balance for the rest of the body to be secure and functioning well.

If these base bones become out of place at all through accidents or just abnormal movements, the whole body can be thrown out of whack. When the body is unable to naturally correct these misalignments, chiropractics is the key to setting things straight again.

Those using or following this concept will look carefully for misalignments in the upper back, but especially in the lower back near the pelvic bones. Manual techniques are often accompanied by spinal X-rays to get a complete understanding of the spine’s shape.

The theory then is once the exact problem vertebra is located, that problem area and nothing else should be adjusted back into place. Everything else will naturally fall into alignment when the root problem is fixed.

The Activator Method

This technique was created by Arlan Fuhr in the early 1960s with the introduction of his spring-load tool called the activator. The tool is used to replace manual manipulation of the spine and is often less jolting on the patient.

This is because the activator is used to pop misaligned vertebrae or joints back into place individually. In this procedure, the chiropractor has the patient lay flat, face down on a table while the doctor compares the length of the patient’s legs. If one leg appears shorter than the other, the chiropractor will press on individual vertebrae on the back to see if that makes a difference in the length of the leg.

That vertebra is then adjusted with a special tool and the doctor repeats this process until all necessary vertebrae have been realigned.

This is a very popular treatment in the United States today. A National Board of Chiropractic Examiners survey from 2003 found that almost 70 percent of American chiropractors employed the activator procedure in their practices. And this technique is taught is most of the chiropractics schools around the country today.

Both these procedures have many ardent followers among chiropractors and patients. Both have plenty of people who love each style and claim it works the best. You may need to try each method for yourself before you can determine which the best solution for your back troubles is.