Frequently Asked Questions about Chiropractic Care
Q. What exactly is Chiropractic?
A. Chiropractic is a philosophy and practice which seeks to keep the bones of the spine in their proper relationships with each other in order to allow the body to express its maximum potential. Your nervous system controls every function of your body. A Chiropractor allows the nervous system to function properly without drugs or surgery.
Q. What is a Functional Medicine/Clinical Nutrition approach to health?
A. A lot of my patients come in with other health issues such as digestive problems, anxiety, depression, ADHD, arthritis, auto-immune disorders, cancer, neuromusculoskeletal and other organ type disease. As a Chiropractor, I just don’t treat the area of a problem, I treat the whole person. This often involves a detailed assessment of a patient’s diet, medications, physical and mental stressors, and exercise, etc. This paints a complete picture of a person’s health. Besides X-rays, MRI’s, CT scans, and Ultrasounds, I can also send out for specific labs to check for deficiencies or abnormalities. Often I can change a patient’s diet by removing unhealthy foods such as: Processed foods, Gluten (from GMO sources), sugars, etc. These foods cause significant damage and health problems to people. Processed foods contain chemicals that are not conducive to health. They are designed to have a long shelf life but that does not mean they will prolong YOUR life. GMO, (Genetically Modified Organisms) are foods containing genes from things that are not necessarily food related. These can be very bad because they cause inflammatory responses in the body. Most GMO wheat, soy and corn have a built in herbicide called Round-Up in them. Would you spray Round-Up on your salad and then eat it? Most patients, after following this plan, do extremely well and a lot of their issues are resolved. Eating mostly organic, whole foods such as unprocessed meats, vegetables and fruits make you have less inflammation which can cause a lot of health issues. Once patients quit eating the foods that are causing their health problems, I give them specific herbal and vitamin supplementation to help the body repair and heal any damage. Many times, after a period of time, they can discontinue certain medications. I will work with their prescribing Doctor to make a smooth transition from Drugs to supplement support.
Q. What do you mean by maximum potential?
A. Each individual human being has his or her own unique blend of potentials pre-programmed by genetic heritage long before birth. These include such factors as the capacity for eye-hand coordination in work and play, the capacity to think clearly, to remember, to reason, to organize thoughts, to solve problems, the capacity to resist disease and to recover from injury, the capacity for balanced emotional response, for humor, for love. These are but a few examples of the many potentials and capacities inherent within the individual. While nobody can know the outermost limits of theses potentials, it is easy to see how failure to express them fully would make us less then we could be.
Q. What have the bones of the spine to do with expressing potential?
A. The bones of the spine protect the spinal cord, which is the brain’s control pathway to organs, glands and other body parts. It has been shown that tiny misalignments of spinal bones, called vertebral subluxations, can interfere with normal nerve impulses to and from the brain thereby disrupting the harmonious interaction of body parts. Because some of the disturbed glands and organs manufacture body chemicals, the totality of body chemistry is thus disturbed. This disturbance in the balance of body chemistry affects every physical, mental and emotional aspect of life, and interferes with the expressions of full potential.
Q. Are you saying that internal changes in the body chemistry, caused by vertebral subluxation, can affect such mental factors as mood or memory or creative ability?
A. Of course. We have only to think of the physical, emotional and mental changes that can result from alcohol, drugs or even medicines, to realize how important body chemistry is to all functions. When body chemistry is disturbed either by adding chemicals from outside, or by changing what the body manufactures from inside, the result affects every aspect of life.
Q. How does a Chiropractor correct these vertebral subluxations?
A. To be absolutely accurate, we must point out that a Chiropractor does not really correct the subluxations. The body has its own spinal muscles to do that. Unfortunately, sometimes the subluxation interferes with the nerve impulses to the very muscles that should be correcting the subluxation. When this happens, the muscles are too weak to complete their job and a Chiropractor thrusts gently upon the spine to supply the little extra “muscle” that the body needs to complete its job.
Q. Does it hurt?
A. No, it is very gentle.
Q. Is Chiropractic Safe?
A. Yes. Chiropractors are skilled professionals. After completing undergraduate pre-med college, they are meticulously trained in a four-year Chiropractic College. Chiropractors have the lowest malpractice compared to other Physicians because they specialize in non drug treatments/non surgical procedures. Your Doctor of Chiropractic is well trained in being a primary care physician, however, the very important difference is that your Doctor of Chiropractic has chosen to be trained NOT to prescribe often dangerous medications. I work with other Physicians who are very conservative when dealing with medications. Their philosophy is if the patient absolutely needs them, then they get them. And don’t forget that doctors who would rather push medications are often the lap dog of the pharmaceutical companies. The old saying goes, “Physician do no harm!” Chiropractic is safe, highly effective, lower cost and natural. Chiropractic means in Greek, “To practice with hands.” It is laying on of hands to heal the body.
Q. How do you know if you have a vertebral subluxation?
A. Unfortunately, most of the time you don’t. It is true that some vertebral subluxations may produce pain or muscle spasms, but most do not. That is why going to a Chiropractor is so essential. they have been trained to locate Subluxations and correct them.
Q. How do Chiropractors identify vertebral subluxations?
A. The procedure is based upon the fact that the body always uses its spinal muscles to try and correct any and all subluxations. Chiropractors use their highly trained, sensitive fingers to identify exactly what the body is trying to do with any spinal bone. If the body is trying unsuccessfully to move a bone, the Chiropractor implicitly trusts the body’s innate wisdom to know what it is doing and offers a little extra thrust for the body to complete the job. When the balance of spinal muscles again indicates that the body is content with the position of all spinal bones, the Chiropractor is also satisfied, and nothing further is done.
Q. What particular physical, mental or emotional conditions respond to chiropractic?
A. Perhaps all, but it is important to understand that Chiropractic is not a treatment for any condition or disease. The purpose of Chiropractic is to keep each person free of subluxation. A person with subluxation could never heal or be as healthy as they should. Whatever potential one has for resisting or recovering from disease will obviously be better expressed without subluxations. All people are better off without vertebral subluxations under all circumstances, without regard as to whether they are sick or well. If you are interested in achieving and maintaining maximum health, see your Chiropractor regularly.
Q. What causes vertebral subluxations?
A. Almost any fall or accident could cause subluxations. So could poor posture, physical or emotional stress, or any one of a dozen other things. In fact, almost everyone gets subluxations at some time or other, often in childhood. Unless theses subluxations are corrected, we spend our entire life being less then we could be. Have your spine checked today.
About Clays Mill Chiropractic
Paul John Frangedakis, DC is a 1993 Graduate of Life University in Marietta, Georgia. He established Clays Mill Chiropractic Center in 1994 with a vision of a world not dependent on drugs. Dr. Frangedakis takes an integrative approach in his care of patients. Utilizing his training as a Physician, Dr. Frangedakis looks at the body as a whole. Nutrition, exercise, positive mental attitude and a healthy spine are the keys to longevity and healthy living. Dr. Frangedakis may also order specific blood or urine testing to check the total function of a patient. You also may be referred to a diagnostic center for additional testing such as: MRI, Pet, CT, or Bone Density scanning when needed.
To schedule an appointment, please contact our office today.