Imagine a modern healing art whose goal is not the treatment of disease but the enhancement of one's inborn self-curing ability so one can heal themselves.

Imagine a natural way of helping entire families to maintain their health, to avert disease and sickness, using no drugs and no surgery at all.

Imagine millions of people, from infants to the elderly, who, having suffered from illnesses of all kinds, owe their health and sometimes even their lives to this innovative approach to healing.

Imagine an alternative to drug therapy, which, growing in popularity every year, is awakening in ever-increasing numbers of people a renewed understanding of their inner healing ability.

You've Just Imagined Chiropractic!

Chiropractic has spread from its discovery by one practitioner in 1895 to over 50,000 practitioners worldwide in less than one hundred years, to become the largest drugless, nonmedical health care profession in the world. Although it has been a blessing to millions otherwise condemned to a life of sickness, disease and disability, to too many people chiropractic remains a mystery.

With such an abundance of health care specialists, many people get stuck "Doctor Shuffling", scurrying from doctor to doctor hoping he or she is "The One" that will handle their particular complaint. The Doctor of Chiropractic can eliminate the shuffle from doctor to doctor. In the U.S., where I am from, a doctor of chiropractic is also known as a portal of entry physician, meaning I can be the primary entry point to eliminate the "Doctor Shuffle." A well qualified chiropractic physician can handle 90% of your medical direction and additionally, have the expertise to recognize if your problem requires another specialists attention. For medical care, you will be referred to one of our medical referral doctors, who will see to your care in the proper manner.

What the Chiropractor Does

The doctor of chiropractic locates and removes one of the most severe forms of interference known to healthy body function - a condition that puts pressure on the nerves and related structures, unbalances our body, generates fatigue, lowers our resistance to disease, and weakens the body in general - in short, affects all the elements of our natural healing ability. This condition is known as vertebral subluxation.

The Vertebral Subluxation

Vertebral subluxations are structural misalignments in the spine that create imbalance and put pressure on the nervous system. A vertebral subluxation interferes with and unbalances the flow of energy and information throughout the body, creating "dis-ease" (a term used to denote the loss of body harmony). The saddest thing about this condition is that, although it is usually painless, it can damage us to the point where, unaware of the cause, we watch our life, health, and well-being silently and slowly fade.

How Do We Get Vertebral Subluxations?

Vertebral subluxations have many causes. They may occur as early as infancy as a result of a difficult birth, the use of forceps, or questionable obstetrical procedures. Childhood falls and injuries take their toll on our spinal columns; emotional stress gradually weakens our spines throughout our lives.

Automobile Accidents And Sports Injuries

Although the spinal column is well protected by muscles and interlocking joints, sudden traumas - automobile collisions, sports injuries, on-the-job accidents - may upset the spinal structure and cause subluxations.

In our society vertebral subluxations have proliferated to the point where they can be termed a "hidden epidemic," affecting nearly everyone on a lesser or greater scale. It is for that reason that everyone needs to have him/herself checked for the condition by a doctor of chiropractic.

Chiropractic Today

When you walk into a chiropractor's office today, you will most likely be in the company of people suffering from a wide variety of conditions: children with colds or ear infections; women with menstrual problems; men and women with spinal pain or disc problems, arthritis, insomnia, stress or anxiety, vision or eye problems, headaches, allergies, high blood pressure - the list is long! And yet, as we have been discussing, the goal of the doctor of chiropractic is not the treatment of disease, but rather the enhancement of health and wholeness through the reduction of interference to the nervous system in the form of vertebral subluxations.

What is Optimum Health	Why Chiropractic
Ancient History	Symptoms
Philosophy	Herniated Discs
Chiropractic Education	What Do I Do
Chiropractic is Based on the Following Principles	The Body/Mind Connection
Do's & Don'ts	Lifetime Care
Frequently Asked Questions	Health Evaluation
Raising a Drug Free Family

Special thanks to the author of this article, Dr. Tedd Koren, D.C.