Pizza is not just pizza. There are many different types. Deep dish, thin crust, New York style, and so on. The same is true with chiropractors. There are many different types that make them very different in what they do. Similar to medical doctor specializations, there are chiropractic specialties. Different chiropractic specialties allow for solving unique problems such as pediatric conditions like ear infections, or plantar fasciitis in the feet. Chiropractic specializations also can offer a different approach to traditional chiropractic solutions like back pain or neck pain. One approach that many are searching for across the country is a nervous system chiropractic approach.
nervous system focused chiropractic care focuses on the foundational system of the body, the nervous system, and its function in relationship to things like pain, tight muscles, altered movement, and so much more. Because the nervous system controls it all, our patients regularly report better function overall in the body. Things like hormone balance, better sleep, more energy, better overall mobility, better performance in sports and at work, and even things like allergy relief (like our patient below). A key ingredient with all this is our INSiGHT nervous system scans. These help us find things that wouldnโt show up on just an x-ray, MRI, or a physical exam.
What Is A Nervous System Chiropractor?
A nervous system focused chiropractor looks at the body through the lens of the health of the nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) rather than just the bony alignment. Think of it this way, instead of changing 10 different light bulbs that all go out, why not look at the system that connects them all? The fuse box and the wiring (aka the nervous system). The nerves in our body control all the muscles. Typically the muscle tightness we feel that often causes limited motion and pain, is actually stemming from an accumulation of lifestyle habits that alter the nervous system!
This approach is typically a less is more approach because the wiring (nerves) is connected to everything. Therefore we donโt have to go cracking it all to correct the underlying cause. We just need to make a few specific, gentle adjustments to the spine that will have the biggest effect on the nervous system. Below are the key differences vs traditional chiropractic in overall strategy, tactics (techniques and methods they use), and also home care recommendations.
Strategy
Strategy is highly important. This means first clearly seeing the entire picture of someone’s health. This will lead us to the number of adjustments someone needs. Itโs like finding the effective dose of a supplement or drug. If you donโt take enough, it wonโt do anything. We do this through a few key ingredients which are listed below.
Your story matters
A Key component of strategy should include your story due to many things from your past that will no doubt be contributing to the symptoms you are experiencing today. This could date back as far as your birth! Maybe the c-section birth was the main contributor to the tension in your neck that you now feel 20 years later.
INSiGHT nerve scans
If you can measure it you can manage it! Without knowing how well the most important system in the body is functioning, we are just guessing. The nervous system is what we are referring to here. Itโs the master control center that controls everything from how we feel (muscle tightness, pain levels, etc.) to how we function (sleep, energy, digestion, immune system, mood). While x-ray can be a great tool to see structure of the spine, it doesn’t show us exactly how the brain and nerves in the body are functioning. A buildup of stress to the nervous system due to lifestyle factors like too little movement, poor posture, past unaddressed injuries, and more typically are the major contributors to the pain and other symptoms we experience today. For newborns and our postpartum moms this is a great way to measure the stress of birth on their nervous system.
Physical examination from a nervous system chiropractor
We want to perform more tests that let us know how your nervous system is functioning. Some tests include range of motion, cranial nerve testing, or gait examination. We do many more depending on the individual. A common finding during this exam is that people have too much motion in their neck. This is called hypermobility. It can come from past injury like a car accident or even from overstretching and popping your own joints. This is only one example of a finding that would change our tactics with you- how we would adjust you. This example would not be a good candidate for traditional chiropractic adjustments that use cracking or popping. Weโd use other techniques that wouldnโt add more strain to the ligaments, but still can correct the problem. More on tactics below.
Tactics- The Adjustments Our Austin Chiropractors Use
The tactics are the methods we use. If youโve read any of our website pages, you probably already know we are super nerds that love to learn. This means our toolbox is heavy with techniques that rely on testing before we ever make an adjustment. We donโt just check what areas in your back feel tight. Those tight areas might be, and often are just symptoms from an underlying problem somewhere else. Instead we perform neurological testing to help lead us to the underlying cause. This helps guide us to where an adjustment actually needs to be made to have the optimal effect on the central nervous system.
Adjustments should look different every visit! Our patients often tell us that in other offices they cracked everything on them and sent them on their way. They might feel a little better for a day or two, but nothing really changes long term. The symptoms come back. When it comes to health, small changes over time always beat a big bombardment approach.
Some of the techniques our Austin chiropractors use that are more nervous system focused include MC2 and Torque Release Technique. Some of the nervous system chiropractic techniques use gentle instruments or light sustained contract points. Others use more traditional style cracking. We use both, it just depends on the individual. We donโt crack any of our pediatric patients and some of our adult population.
Home Recommendations
Most home recommendations from traditional chiropractors are focused on helping the spine move better. Our homecare recommendations from our nervous system chiropractors focus on optimizing the nervous system that will lead to a healing.
A recent patient asked us if he could be given exercises for his shoulder pain. Our response was, โNot yet. Remember thatโs why all six physical therapists you recently saw didnโt work for you.โ We found his nervous system was exhausted and overstressed. Our home recommendations for him to go with his nervous system focused chiropractic adjustments were habits to help restore sleep and reduce stress. We also gave foundational movement like walking and increasing daily steps. Exercises for this patient will come into play later once his nervous system gets a kick start. This will help his body heal faster!
Weโve seen foundational habits like this help reduce pain more than any exercises when people first start with us. Some may be ready for exercises, but often the case is we need to help support their nervous system with the foundations to reduce inflammation before starting exercises or stretches.
Benefits In Seeing A Nervous System Chiropractor
Typically our patients see quick results with common chiropractic related cases like low back pain, neck pain, or muscle tightness to get them back to the activities they love like pickleball or golf. The added bonus our patients report beyond traditional chiropractic include better quality of life like sleep, energy, mood, digestion, and more. For kids itโs typically less missed days in school, or less ear infections, and overall better resilience or bounce back time when things do come up.
At Lifespring Chiropractic we start with the nervous system. Itโs the first layer of our three layered TriChord Method. To get started with an Austin nervous system chiropractor at Lifespring Chiropractic, click here.
