Questions and Answers

What is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is a form of health care that believes that good health and well-being are the natural disposition of the body. An essential part of good health is the proper alignment of the spine. In some cases pain is derived from the misalignment of the spine, also called subluxation. The chiropractic physician removes the cause of pain and allows the body to heal itself by correcting the subluxations of the spine. Chiropractic is non-invasive and conservative in its approach to health. It does not utilize drugs or surgery, but rather enhances the body’s ability to heal itself.

What is subluxation?

A subluxation is when one or more of the bones of your spine move out of position and interrupt the proper function of the nerves running down the spine.This irritation interferes with the communication of the brain and the rest of the body, thereby leading to dysfunction and disease. Doctors of Chiropractic work to locate subluxations and correct them.

Clinical Outcomes of ARP

Outcomes for ARP treatment have been based, thus far, on retrospective clinical observations. Randomized, double blinded, prospective studies have been initiated for the treatment of ankle sprains, hamstring injuries, and distal radius fractures. The hypotheses for these prospective studies is that ARP treatment will yield recovery rates 60% to 80% faster than for traditional conservative treatment.

The basis for these hypotheses is the large retrospective clinical data on ARP treatment over the past 5 years. In general, recovery rates for acute soft tissue injury have been 60% to 80% shorter than the predicted clinical outcome. Specific examples include grade II lateral ankle sprains, and grade II acute hamstring injury.

Athletes sustaining grade II lateral ankle sprains (partial ligament tear with moderate swelling and ecchymosis and limited weight bearing ability) treated with 6 to 10 ARP sessions, and no other conservative treatment except supportive bracing, had an average recovery rate and return to play at 3 to 5 days post injury. Athletes sustaining grade II hamstring injuries (1-2cm soft tissue defect with associated ecchymosis and inability to walk without limp) treated also with 6 to 10 ARP sessions, without other modalities, had an average recovery rate and return to play at 8 to 12 days post injury.

These accelerated recovery rates also extrapolated to the more severe grade III injuries, as well as chronic soft tissue tendinopathies. In many cases of chronic tendinopathy, all other conservative measures were exhausted, without relief of symptoms, before ARP treatment was initiated.

The ARP experience has produced a sense of astonishment among both the practitioner and the patient. Undoubtedly, prospective data will be required to corroborate these retrospective findings, but it is certainly clear that the rate of acceleration in healing has been dramatic.