NEW YORK—The chiropractic profession was built on the idea that health comes from within and that if the body has the proper physical, chemical, and mental environments, it has no choice but to express health.
Chronic pain is seen as a symptom, caused by interference to the body’s environment.
The chiropractic profession has historically been mostly concerned with removing structural interference to the nervous system at the level of the spine. It considers the nervous system to be the master system that coordinates and controls all other systems, and the spine is the most likely area where there can be physical interference with nerve system function.
Throughout the 20th century, chiropractors focused on restoring the proper position and function of spinal bones (vertebrae) with a technique called an adjustment. In recent decades, however, chemical interference has become an increasingly large cause of health issues, including chronic pain, and chiropractors have had to adapt and adopt new approaches to giving care.
Because chiropractic medicine is a natural health care profession, chiropractors are able to respond to new research more quickly than the modern medical community. Because of the nature of testing, developing, and approving medication, often today’s cutting-edge research will only produce medicines 10–20 years from now.
Metabolic Approach to Pain Relief
In the 21st century, chiropractors have incorporated into their treatments inexpensive diagnostic testing and a functional approach to reading blood chemistry. Many chiropractors also now assess digestive and hormone function, and brain chemistry making it possible to identify and address interference to the nervous system more comprehensively.
The metabolic approach to chronic pain relief addresses what research tells us are the three major avenues that must be taken to treat pain. These avenues are the structural, biochemical, and electrical components of the human body. When these three areas are addressed in the proper sequence, it’s like operating a combination padlock—the right direction and code unhinges the causes of chronic pain.
