It is not uncommon for some patients to ask, “ That’s it?” after receiving at their chiropractic adjustments. Some perceive their sessions to be similar to massage or physiotherapy and expect them to be as long.
Chiropractic is different from other therapies in many ways. Unlike massage and physiotherapy, which target muscle groups, chiropractic works on the spine and nervous system. As such, the treatment is more precise and the duration is shorter.
Within the chiropractic profession, there are approximately 100 ways of adjusting spine. Some ways are very general and target global regions of the spine while some target a single bone in the spine at each time. The amount of force accompanying each way is also different. However, the intention is the same, i.e. to remove spinal misalignment(s) that impinge on nerves.
At our clinic (FHCC), we adopt primarily the Koren Specific Chiropractic Technique (KST in short) (note that it not Korean, but Koren, as KST is founded by Dr Tedd Koren). KST is very specific and gentle and allows one to be treated without having to apply much force and rotation or twisting into the spine. It targets one bone at each time. Using a special binary feedback system and an instrument called the Arthrostim, KST allows me to treat only areas that are needed by the body, preventing overtreatment or unnecessary treatment. The adjustments, which are very specific and focused in nature, are also done primarily in sitting or standing position or other postures, which stresses the spine and its joints, the most for most patients.
Understandably, spines that have more issues usually would require more adjustments and those that are on its path to recovery will require fewer adjustments. Much like if your dental health is good, you wouldn’t expect or want the dentist to be drilling or poking your teeth unnecessarily would you? One would trust that the dentist only works on the less than ideal ones.
Unlike massages or other forms of therapy, the fewer the number of adjustments a spine requires, the better. Henceforth, the theory of “Less is good”.