Chiropractic care benefits all aspects of your body’s ability to be healthy. This is accomplished by working with the nervous system–the communication system between your brain and body. Doctors of Chiropractic work to correct spinal, pelvic and cranial misalignments (subluxations). When misaligned, these structures create an imbalance in surrounding muscles and ligaments. Additionally, the resulting nerve system stress may affect the body’s ability to function optimally.

Sacral misalignment causes the tightening and torsion of specific pelvic muscles and ligaments. It is these tense muscles and ligaments and their constraining effect on the uterus which prevents the baby from comfortably assuming the best possible position for birth. The Webster Technique is defined as a specific chiropractic analysis and adjustment that reduces interference to the nerve system and facilitates biomechanical balance in pelvic structures, muscles and ligaments. This has been shown to reduce the effects of intrauterine constraint, allowing the baby to get into the best possible position for birth.

Dr. Larry Webster, Founder of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association discovered this technique as a safe means to restore proper pelvic balance and function for pregnant mothers. In expectant mothers presenting breech, there has been a high reported success rate of the baby turning to the normal vertex position. This technique has been successfully used in women whose babies present transverse and posterior as well. It has also successfully used with twins. Any position of the baby other than ROA may indicate the presence of sacral subluxation and therefore intrauterine constraint. At no time should this technique be interpreted as an obstetric, “breech turning” technique.

It is strongly recommended by the ICPA instructors of this technique that this specific analysis and adjustment of the sacrum be used throughout pregnancy, to detect imbalance and optimize pelvic biomechanics in preparation for safer, easier births. Because of the effect the chiropractic adjustment has on all body functions by reducing nerve system stress, pregnant mothers should have their spines checked regularly throughout pregnancy, optimizing health benefits for both the mother and baby.

The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association offers classes of instruction and issues its qualified attendees a Certificate of Proficiency in the Webster Technique. Only those doctors on our site maintain recognized certification status with the ICPA.

All information in article taken directly from the ICPA4kids.com website. Check this site for more research on the benefits of chiropractic for you children.

If you have any further questions about the Webster Technique, it’s benefits and success rates please feel free to contact our office at 425-392-7334. We would be happy to share any information that we can about this noninvasive and extremely effective technique.

A Chiropractic Story

The first chiropractic miracle occured before the term “Chiropractic” was coined. A Canadian, by the name of DD Palmer, who proclaimed himself a “magnetic” healer, set up shop in downtown Davenport, Iowa. In 1895 a hearing impaired gentleman, Harvey Lillard, injured his back and so he sought DD’s help. DD examined Mr. Lillard’s back and found a protruding vertebrae along his spine. It appeared this vertebrae was far more prominent than the others and it lacked alignment in relation to the rest of his vertbral column. In an attempt to reposition it DD applied gentle force to the vertebrae, thus aligning it with the rest of the spine. Both DD and his patient were astounded when the vertebrae released but even more dumbfounded when, over the next few days, the patient’s hearing began to improve. The outcome of this patient’s case led DD to further research the anatomy of the spine and the assocation between spinal misalignments, neural compromise, and bodily dysfunction. What DD discovered and built upon became the basis behind the Science, Art and Philosophy of Chiropractic care.

My friend and colleague, Dr. Josie Buttice, practices Chiropractic in Montreal, Canada. A miracle recently occured in Dr. Josie’s clinic. Here is her story:

Karen, a woman in her late thirties, came to see me a year ago for severe back pain. A couple of times a month Karen’s back siezed and each time the spasms would last for five or more days. As well, her history indcated lifelong problems with TMJ (jaw click), painful periods, and, from birth, Karen had no vision in her left eye in spite of an operation at the age of ten to correct the condition. The conclusion, based on the surgery, was that her retina was so small nothing further could be done. It was also noted Karen’s vision in her right eye was gradually deteriorating and as a result she was forced to stop working. Further notes disclosed a traumatic event that occured eight years ago when, due to a fire in her apartment building, she was forced to jump from a second story window in order to save herself. Finally, last but by no means least, Karen has a sixteen year old special needs child who suffers from epiliptic seizures. Needless to say, this woman has suffered unimaginable physical and emotional stress.

Upon completion of the evaluation Karen asked the question so many people ask: “Dr. Josie, can you help me?” I told Karen I would be adjusting the vertebral subluxaions, thus allowing her nervous system to function better. I told her this treatment will increase life force throughout her body and it will allow healing to take place. Once the nervous system is free of interference and the body is allowed to heal, there is no question that the patient will start to feel better! I told Karen I couldn’t guarantee the percentage of improvement or exatly what will happen, but I assured her that changes will most certainly occur. So I started adjusting Karen three times a week.

At her first appointment Karen experienced severe discomfort during the cervical adjustment and after the treatent reported feeling dizzy and “strange”. During the treatment she had a lot of stimulation so I suggested she rest for a few minutes and take water. When she left the office she was feeling better, the dizziness and strange feeling had disappeared, and she was quite calm. After the next few visits Karen reported the clicking in her jaw was no longer noticeable, and much to her relief her migraines were much less frequent and the severity of the migraines was much diminshed. Her low back pain was still evident, however the most astounding observation was that vision in Karen’s right eye seemed to be improving! Some changes were definitely taking place!

Throughout the first year I saw Karen three times a week for the first few months, then twice a week, and finally her visits were cut down to just once a week. Karen’s tears went from tears of pain, to tears of emotional release, to a total absence of tears and finally, to happy smiles! Karen’s jaw remained “click” free, pain from menstrual cramps decreased, migraines became almost non-existent and the right eye showed enough improvement that Karen was able to resume her place in the work force. One day I performed the usual adjustments on Karen using the same pattern as in previous adjustments and she had her customary reaction, that feeling of “strangeness” she experienced from the very first adjustment. As usual I had her relax and take water. As I was watching over her she was laughing as she described the euphoric “high” she was experiencing. She said several times she was okay, she just needed to rest, but as I watched her I noticed her face was twitching in a strange way and she was covering her eye wth her hand. I thought she was in pain so I urged her to tell me what was wrong. She finally shouted . . . I can see!”. I looked at her and said, “but Karen, that’s your LEFT eye!” She replied, “Yes Dr. Josie, I know”. Karen, who at birth was declared blind in her left eye, could now see! She grabbed her daughter’s notebook and started reading from it! She was squawking, giggling, and yelling that she could see and that her eyeglasses were dirty! What a wonderful, amazing experience, watching this woman who has been through so much mental anguish and physical pain, to see for the first time in her life from an eye, that from birth, had no vision. Truly a miracle!

This “miracle” is simply the work of Chiropractic adjustments that overtime restore adequate motion to the spine, allowing the body and brain to communicate by removing interference to the nervous system. The nervous system travels through the spinal column and shoots off spinal nerves at each vertebral level, thus allowing the body to function at it’s maximum potential. This phenomena releases the patient’s innate ability to heal. Most Chirorpractic miracles go unnoticed because we are so focused on the secondary results of pain relief for which Chiropractic care is recognized today.

How many of you have noticed pain relief, improved concentration, better mood and sense of wellbeing, and increased energy after starting your Chiropractic care? These are not coincidences nor are they miracles. The human body is the true miracle, possessing, with the proper care and respect, a truly amazing ablity to heal itself while constantly striving to improve it’s function.

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In the media, as of lately, there has been intense examination of this question as it relates to manipulation of the neck. Much of this information has been taken from an article by
Dr David Phillips. Maybe this will shed some light on the subject and dispel any concerns that you may have caught wind of.
Everything in life that you do has to be assessed as to its risks vs. its rewards. Getting into your car and driving to the store has its risks, but it sure beats carrying groceries in the rain. That’s the reward…convenience. Sure, some neck treatments are safer, but they dont help much either. The reward of getting one’s neck manipulated (or adjusted, as we chiropractors call it) is that you derive the benefit from the procedure to offset the risks. Cervical adjustments are fast, effective, and mainly painless. Acute neck pain, chronic neck pain, whiplash, headaches, equilibrium disorders, arm pain and numbness and many other conditions all respond well to this type of treatment.
Can neck manipulation harm people? Yes, of course it can. Anything that can do good can also do harm. One of the side effects now being scrutinized in the media is the possibility of suffering a stroke after having your neck manipulated. Chiropractors, however, are not the only ones who perform neck manipulations. Lots of other professions do it too: physiotherapists, physiatrists, medical doctors, osteopaths, some massage therapists, and others. Is it safe? In the right hands it is probably the safest medical procedure involving the neck. What is safer? Certainly not drugs, absolutely not surgery, not traction, not short wave, not passive exercise, not any of the common therapies that can effectively be applied to the neck.
There are numerous other scientifically valid connections between people’s necks and suffering a stroke. Such everyday activities as backing up your car, having your hair washed at a hairdress/barber shop, painting a ceiling, sneezing, thrill rides at the fair, wallpapering, yoga, dental work, many sports activites, and the list goes on. These have all been recorded as causes of strokes. Whenever your turn your head to an extreme, you theoretically stretch blood vessels within your cervical spine. Potentially, this momentary stretch can block or tear blood vessels or dislodge a clot. We know that these occurrences are exceedingly rare, but they do happen. In the same manner, complications following neck manipulations are exceedingly rare. It is quite possible that unfair correlations happen, or coincidence, when a patient presents in the chiropractor’s office for a headache; common symptom associated with a pending stroke. Most chiropractors see many patients for headache pains on a daily basis because chiropractic is extremely effective for managing headaches. So the problematic scenario happens when the chiropractor assesses the patient with the headache, and adjusts the patient. Later that evening, the patient is admitted into the ER after having a stroke. The patient could have chosen to stay at home and rest to rid the headache, or could have visited their MD. There choice was to visit their chiropractor because chiropractic adjustments have been effective in the past. The stroke was inevitable. It would have happened regardless of where or how this patient chose to handle their headache symptoms. Unfortunately, for the chiropractor, the stroke will likely be attributed to the adjustment.
So why are chiropractors being singled out? I’m sure there are many reasons for this unfair spotlight. Partly because we do more neck adjustments than anyone else, partly because we have always been the whipping boy of medicine. Partly because the media loves to sensationalize. In addition we have attained great strides in acceptance over the past few years, mainly for lower back pain, and because there is a good deal of interprofessional jealousy over our domain and success of spinal care.
As mentioned above, the all too familiar scenario is that when a person enters the hospital with a stroke and mentions having seen a chiropractor recently, the attending medical personnel attributes the blame to the adjustment. In many cases the time lapse between the chiropractic visit and the stroke symptoms can be an unreasonable period of time, days, or weeks. The patient is not assessed for having been to a hairdresser, or an air show, or asked if they have painted a ceiling, or backed up their car recently. This accusation is grossly unfair and even blatantly dishonest. In 1992, an Australian researcher compiled a list of 430 cases of what he called “cerebrovascular catrastrophies” the majority of which he blamed on chiropractors. It turned out that he played fast and loose with his definition of the word “catastrophe” and that only 50 cases could be fairly attributed to chiropractic. The rest were manipulations by some of the other professions listed above using techniques he called “chiropractic”. Considering that our profession is over 107 years old, 50 cases by any standard is remarkable. To put that number into perspective, the American Medical Association recently stated that the leading cause of death in the US is from drugs, and the third leading cause is from mistakes in the hospitals.
So how often does harm result from an adjustment of the cervical spine? Recent studies have placed the risk ratio to anywhere between 1 in 1.3 million to 1 in 6 million. Again, this is exceedingly low for an effective medical procedure. A revealing glimpse of the size of the problem can be seen by asking the firms that supply us with malpractice insurance. An Australian researcher and professor, Allan Terret examined data from one of our largest insurers, NCMIC. This company covers 24,000 chiropractors for malpractice. Terret found 1 case in 2 million. This means that for ever 25 chiropractors, who practice full time for 40 years, may see 1 case of stroke in his/her practice lifetime. In other words, the vast majority of us chiropractors practicing every day will never see any serious side effects from the neck treatments he/she delivers and we won’t know any other chiropractor who will.

Chiropractic is a form of alternative healthcare based on the relationship between bodily structure and associated nervous system function. The integrity of this relationship is integral in sustaining optimal health. The practice is based on the principle that many health concerns are associated with inadequate spinal motion. This lack of proper motion occurs in joints and is termed “Subluxation” to express a vertebral motion unit that has lost it’s ability to move properly. Proper spinal motion is essential for stimulating surrounding nerves and motion sensors that provide proper sensory feedback between the brain and body. Lack of motion can cause resultant musculoskeletal tension and imbalance as well as inflammation, irritation to vital surrounding nerves and vasculature, and compromised nervous system function. These subluxated regions are the result of cumulative physical events and injuries, toxic food and environmental exposure, and chronic stress and emotional patterns. Doctors of Chiropractic locate spinal subluxations and adjust these regions to restore proper motion and to directly influence the balance of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. A chiropractic adjustment is a safe, direction specific force to restore balance to the musculoskeletal system, motion into a subluxated joint, and nervous system integrity. Your healing capabilities will be restored and increased energy and vitality will follow. A Chiropractor will also address any causative external (i.e. nutrition, exercise, environmental) or internal (i.e. thought, biochemical) factors that may result in subluxation and resultant decreased nervous system function. Patients who recieve regular chiropractic adjustments may note better balance, improved bodily awareness, and a more generalized sense of well being and emotional relaxation.

Sarah Deam, DC

This is the first official Lifetime Wellness Chiropractic blog post. Stay tuned for more posts, as we will be updating often with health and wellness updates. We would love your input. Leave us a comment or topic that you would like covered.