You bend over to pick something up and…ouch! Or you slip and fall on a wet floor, or feel a twinge in your lower back after carrying a box of books up the attic stairs.

Each time, the result of what you might consider common, everyday mishaps actually causes trauma to your spine. Taking care of these minor traumas as they happen, and preventing further damage, is one of the facets of chiropractic, the science of manipulating the spine to correct misalignments that negatively impact the nervous system, and thus the health of the entire body.

Today's chiropractors continue the centuries-old method of hands-on spinal adjustment based on the philosophy that the body is a self-healing organism. Many of them also incorporate other non-invasive therapies to offer patients a multifaceted, holistic approach to healthcare.

While individual chiropractors often differ in their attitudes toward traditional medicine, they do seem to agree on one thing: the desire to relieve the patient's pain and "disease."

"As a chiropractor, I look at a person's spine to see if it's functioning normally," said Dr. Steven Barrett of Barrett Chiropractic Clinic, Carbondale.

"The joints in the spine are supposed to move in a certain way. If they're moving properly, then we're pretty certain that the nervous system is, too. But if the joints aren't working properly, they will start to degenerate and ultimately the person will have disc problems. And at the same time that puts pressure on the nervous system."

Barrett explained that every organ, every tissue, every cell is coordinated and controlled by the nervous system, so if there is pressure, or subluxation, along any of the nerve roots, then the part of the body that is being controlled by that nerve cannot function properly.

"The purpose of medicine generally is to treat the symptoms," Barrett said.

"Chiropractic promotes the removal of pressure from a nerve so it has the ability to function more normally. Whether I'm for or against medicine doesn't matter. That's the patient's choice. I'm pro making the patient's nerve system work properly. What I'm trying to do is restore normal function, and with normal function the majority of time the pain does diminish or go away."

"Chiropractic works fantastic with medicine and it's great to co-manage patients with medical doctors," said Dr. Cheryl Herron of Murphysboro Chiropractic.

"For example, I can't prescribe drugs to a patient in tremendous pain after a car accident, so I may recommend that the patient go see a medical doctor to help manage the pain through that initial period. Chiropractic and medicine can work very well together."

What to Expect

Consulting with a chiropractor is much like any doctor's appointment, according to Herron. She takes a case history and assesses each patient with orthopedic tests to determine the patient's range of motion.

She may also incorporate applied kinesiology, a diagnostic chiropractic process involving muscle testing, which can help her determine the exact muscle, organ, or tissue that is being affected by the patient's spinal misalignment. Then she takes x-rays, if needed.

Based on the findings, she may recommend a treatment plan of chiropractic adjustments, as well as complementing therapies such as acupuncture, auriculotherapy (needle-less acupuncture of the ear), and nutrition counseling.

"Our bodies are so inherently smart that our muscles will tighten up to protect the area affected by the spinal misalignment, as in a lower back problem," Herron explained.

"Before I work on the patient's spine, I address muscle tightness with therapies that may include heat or ice, ultrasound or cold laser therapy, depending on the patient's problem. After the therapy, the patient goes into another room where I give them the adjustment."

To give an adjustment, chiropractors use their hands to apply a carefully and precisely directed pressure to the area of the spine out of alignment in a quick manner. Herron explained that there are different types of adjustments she can perform, ranging from the straight, osseous adjustment which is a forceful technique, to a low-force technique, to acupuncture.

The number of recommended treatments needed usually depends on several factors - the severity of the misalignment and the rate of improvement of each individual patient.

"Everybody's body is different," Herron said. "I don't think that you can get rid of sciatic pain in six adjustments."

"Everybody, depending on what they do and their lifestyle, is going to respond differently to treatment. So I reassess each patient week to week based on their injury, their job, and so forth."

"My approach is to get the patient pain-free," Herron said. "Ultimately, maintenance is up to the patient, but generally people feel so much better after an adjustment that they usually come back, sometimes once a month."

Keeping Your Spine Healthy

What sends most people to the chiropractor is nagging pain in the muscles and joints that won't go away. And they haven't been helped by traditional pharmaceuticals nor do they want surgery.

Barrett advises everyone to take a preventative approach to taking care of the spine.

"An example I use often with patients is an analogy with dentistry," Barrett said.

"You used to go to the dentist only if you had a bad toothache. The dentist would pull out your tooth and that was dental care. But then we were told that if we brush and floss, get regular checkups, and fill cavities early, then we can keep our teeth longer."

"That was preventative healthcare at its earliest stage. But we still do the opposite with the spine. We have no spinal maintenance or hygiene whatsoever. So subsequently through slips and falls and all the things we do through our lives, these micro-traumas, spinal problems develop."

"That's when people turn to pain killers, and if that doesn't work, physical therapy or surgery. What chiropractors are saying is that if you can take care of these minor traumas of the spine early, then you can keep your spine in very good shape throughout your lifetime."

"In general, the worldwide population has been looking at alternative medicine for some time, and I believe that the tide is turning toward prevention of any kind of degenerative diseases," Barrett added. "With degeneration of the spine and disks, in particular, people are looking for alternatives to medication and surgery."

Research Proves Effectiveness

People today are going to chiropractors for many more reasons other than just back problems or whiplash as they begin to understand how spinal misalignment can affect different parts of the body and cause pain and "disease."

Even babies as young as 6 weeks old can benefit from chiropractic. Dr. Brian Bird of Allied Physicians and Rehab in Carbondale cites a 1989 research study published in the Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapeutics in which 300 six-week-old babies with colic received chiropractic treatment.

After two weeks and an average of three treatments per week, 60 percent of the babies were relieved of colic, while there was a 94 percent reduction of colic episodes in the remaining babies.

"Chiropractic for babies is the same as for adults, but with less force," said Bird. "In the study, the area of the baby's spine that was misaligned was putting pressure on the nerve to the digestive tract."

"That nerve interference expressed itself as colic. But once the interference was freed up, the incidences of colic stopped or were greatly reduced. There is a much greater understanding today of how chiropractic works in many other areas than just back pain or whiplash."

"My philosophy is that chiropractic definitely goes hand in hand with traditional medicine," said Dr. Kevin Holmes of Holmes Chiropractic in Marion, whose practice includes acupuncture and other services.

"Many chiropractors don't take that approach, but my way is to help the patient however I can and then refer them to medical doctor, if needed. However, I strongly defend chiropractic as a very safe and effective treatment, and there is some fantastic research that supports it."

Holmes pointed out that chiropractic manipulation has been recognized in the Journal of Orthopedic Medicine a few years ago as 'the only proven effective treatment for chronic whiplash.'

"The research proves that it restores joint mobility and relieves muscle tension and spasm," Holmes said.

Another recent study mentioned by Holmes involved doing a PET scan on a patient's brain before and after spinal manipulation. If an area of the brain can be read on a PET scan, it means that the area has been stimulated.

After the patient's spinal joints and muscles were manipulated, the PET scan showed stimulation of the actual receptor sites in the brain.

"Chiropractors are now paying more attention to how spinal manipulation affects the brain, as well as the joints," said Holmes. "In my opinion, that's where the future of spinal manipulation is headed."

Holistic Therapies Complement Chiropractic

Like many area chiropractors, Dr. Kelly Chullen of Total Health and Acupuncture Clinic, Herrin, offers additional holistic therapy options, including acupuncture, that complement chiropractic.

Chullen noted that she is seeing more people interested in auriculotherapy, which is needle-less acupuncture by electrical stimulation on the nearly 200 points in the ear that relate to specific areas of the body.

Among the most popular conditions treated by ariculartherapy are nicotine addiction and weight loss. But patients should not expect a "quick fix." While auriculotherapy, for example, helps to suppress the appetite, persons must also make healthy food choices and exercise if they expect to have successful weight loss.

"Although the general success rate of auriculotherapy is around 85-90 percent, people really have to want to make the change for themselves in order to be successful," Chullen said.

"If they're doing it for someone else, or if someone is pushing them to do it, then I talk to them about their motives because they're not likely to complete the treatment."

Dr. Cheryl A. Herron of Murphysboro Chiropractic, also uses auriculotherapy as a pain management tool for some patients with migraine headaches and those who are getting ready to have surgery and want to stay pain-free until then.

She is also a strong proponent of nutritional therapy as a complementing holistic therapy to chiropractic.

"I used to think we could get most of the vitamins and nutrients we needed from what we eat, but I realize now that it's impossible because our food is picked before it's vine ripened, and that's how we receive our nutrients, from the soil," Herron said.

"What I can do is give you whole food supplements to help your body rebuild and repair itself. Some of these supplements are glandulars, so I can target specific organs and systems, such as the thyroid. That's what makes it more specific than buying vitamins from Wal-Mart or GNC."

"I think that any type of non-invasive treatment is something that people should give thought to before they go to prescription medication and surgery," said Chullen.

"It's not that there isn't a time and place for either of those, but I just think it's more natural to find what's wrong with a person, then try to remove those things that are interrupting normal function and let the body heal itself. Usually people often get very good results."