about chiropractic care

Chiropractic is the fastest-growing and second-largest primary health care profession in the world. Chiropractors are doctors who diagnose and treat disorders of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems - the practice itself is centered on the relationship between the nervous system and the spine.

At Nystrom Chiropractic, each patient receives a comprehensive wellness assessment including a thorough case history, a general symptom survey, a hands-on examination of the spine and its function along with x-rays. Our rigorous assessment procedure helps us to identify specific structural issues and their offending blockages and properly assess the issues affecting general wellness. We then sit down with you to explain and agree upon a specific treatment plan designed to support and nurture your body’s return to its natural state of wellness. Each of our patients is a partner in their own health care.

The word chiropractic comes from the Greek words meaning "treatment by hand", which is exactly what chiropractors do—they use their hands to adjust the body to remove spinal misalignments affecting the nervous system to promote healing and wellness.

The nervous system is the body’s primary control mechanism. All nerves in the body that comprise the nervous system and carry information throughout the body are connected to the spinal cord and protected by the spine. The spine is the central support of the body. It provides a framework to support the trunk and provides rigid protection for the spinal cord. Portions of the spine surround the spinal cord providing a bony protection for the spinal cord just as the skull protects the brain with a bony shell. The spine is made up of 24 movable bones or vertebrae. These bones form joints with one another to allow us to bend and twist and move the way we do. Between each bone is a disc that acts as a shock absorber and increases the mobility of the spine. When one or more of these bones get out of alignment, the discs are compressed and put pressure on the nerves. The nerves exit off the spinal cord in between vertebrae and support every tissue, organ and cell in the body.

Not every nerve senses pain, so even though there’s pressure on the nerves which affects the organs and tissues connected to those nerves, it may not be apparent that the cause of an organ dysfunction could be as simple as a misalignment of a vertebrae.

Problems in the alignment of the vertebrae of our spine can manifest in many different ways so it is essential to understand the underlying structural problem causing our discomfort. A chiropractic adjustment properly applied to a joint that is out of alignment can realign that joint and take the constriction off the nerves so that they can function normally.