Archived video. The statements and statistics reflect the recording. Read current information about spinal manipulation from NCCIH.
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For centuries, chiropractic therapy, also called spinal manipulation, has been considered an alternative, even controversial treatment for back pain. But a new report says this therapy may be just as effective as pain medication for the 80% of you living with bad backs. And for the first time on the Dr. Oz show, my assistant of the day will be getting her back adjusted. You guys all ready for that? All right, I got to pick my assistant of the day to get her back adjusted. And it is, are you all ready? All right. The first assistant of the day to ever have her back adjusted on the Dr. Oz show is named Krista in seat 113. How are you? Welcome to the show. Thank you. Great to see you. So let me see your back. Turn around for a second. So how's your back? When was the last time you had back pain? A couple of days ago, actually. Oh, yeah. Have you had it frequently? I think probably from sleeping bad. And what do you do about when you have it? Hmm. Suffer. Suffer. That's what women do with back pain. I'm telling you, and I'm seeing this over and over again. You suffer. So have you ever had a chiropractic manipulation? I have. You have? Yes. Once. Well, you know what? You're not alone. 22 million Americans have chiropractic visits annually. It's a lot. But that means that a lot of Americans haven't been to a chiropractor, which means there's some sentiment about whether this is legitimate or not. So we're going to talk about that today. The word chiropractic comes from the Greek. It means done by hand. So they manipulate by hand. And it's pretty straightforward how it works. You apply force in a very controlled way to adjust spinal structures. And then that hopefully restores some mobility. And so it gets you balanced in where you're going to go. I'm not a chiropractor, so I've got one who's going to visit with you in a second. But I'm going to first show you what might happen that prompts a chiropractic visit. Okay. So stand right over here. Okay. Right over there. Okay. This is your spine. That's why it's called the spine. All right. I'm going to hold your head and pretend you're sleeping because you get your pain when you're sleeping. Right? Go ahead and twist the end here. Yeah, here? Yeah, twist it towards you. Either way. Twist it more. Good. Keep going. Twist it. Twist it. And eventually... Oh, my goodness. Right? All of a sudden, it's nighttime and you're not comfortable because you're pummeling all over the place. This is what happens to our spines. A little bit of misalignment takes all the forces. We lean over and lift up the kids, get the groceries, lean back, sleep the wrong way in our bed. That multiplies the discomfort that we have. So come on over here. Okay. This is the vertebral column. Okay? This is the vertebral bodies. This is the bony structures that make up our spine. And these are the little discs, these purple structures here. So go ahead and lift up this top part together with me. Lift it up together and then twist it. And you see how it's snipped out of place? See? Oh, that causes pain. Right? Now, what also causes when you slip the spine a little bit like that, you see this little blue thing here? There's a little bit of inflammation that comes out. And literally, you'll begin to get inflammation from the disc. As it bulges out, it puts pressure on this structure, the nerve. Ah. This is a herniated disc. But even if it's not bad, this regular disc can just impinge on the nerve. The nerve can be swollen. Many things can cause this. And if you do it too much, of course, you'll pop this. And that spews chemicals all over the nerves, and that causes lots of discomfort. It takes a while to get better. So prevention is the key to avoiding pain. Strengthening the core muscles so you don't have the spine taking all the force when you move in the wrong direction. So come down with me on the floor here. Sit like this. This is called the bird dog. So you're in this all-fours position. And lift your right leg up and hold it up. If you really want to do this, you can lift the left arm up. Now lift your other hand up. No. All right. So you do this for about 10 seconds, building up to 30 seconds. Reverse and do the other side too. Very simple. It's called the bird dog, as I mentioned. You can do this at home. It doesn't cost anything. And it builds up those back muscles to keep you strong. Now, are you nervous about your adjustment? No, I'm excited. Excited? Yeah. I like that. All right. Let's meet our chiropractor. Please welcome Dr. Stephen Shoshani. Hi. So let's get you over here. So, Stephen, as we get our victim in place, teach us all what you're going to be doing. What's the concept behind chiropractic manipulation? Well, like you said earlier, pain medicine doesn't fix the problem. It just covers up or masks the symptom. Chiropractic is looking for the root cause of the problem. If you're okay, you know, yell. If you're not okay, don't say anything. So let's have you laying on this side of your body facing me. Okay. Take a nice deep breath in. And let your air all the way out. Good. Drop this. Good. Okay. Good. You're okay with that? Yeah. Let's have you on the other side. Did it feel good? Did it hurt? Weird? Opening up. You're okay with that? I don't know yet. A little opening, maybe? Okay. Good. Arms like this. Take a nice deep breath in. And I'll let your air all the way out. Good. Drop this. Okay. Good. Let's go face down. Oh. I hear the cracking in there. Okay. Good. Okay. Let me do this one. Sure. Okay. Last one is mid-thoracic. So we're going to take a nice deep breath in. And let your air all the way out. Drop this. Oh. Good. Oh. Awesome. I mean, it actually sounds good. Is it good? Yeah. Okay. When we do that, we're allowing the tissues to heal themselves. So your body heals itself when you remove interference to the nervous system. So she's all set. Okay. How does it feel? Awesome. Is it good, really? Yeah. Great. Thank you. You're welcome. You were wonderful. Thank you. Thank you very much. We'll be right back, everybody. Nice to meet up. Thank you very much. You good? Yeah.
Dr. Oz: Chiropractic Before Medication.
For decades, chiropractic therapy, also called spinal manipulation, has been considered an “alternative” treatment for back pain. But as Dr. Oz explains in the video above, recent research has shown that chiropractic can be even more effective than pain medication for the 80% of Americans with bad backs. Twenty-two million Americans receive chiropractic treatment every year, but that means many more Americans haven’t been to a chiropractor.
The word chiropractic comes from the Greek word for “done by hand”, and the way chiropractic adjustments are performed is pretty clear. Force is applied in a very controlled manner to correct misalignments in spinal structures to restore normal mobility. Vertebral misalignment can limit normal range of motion and puts pressure on the nerves exiting the spine, making daily tasks, whether doing the laundry, lifting up the kids, or making dinner, more difficult and uncomfortable. What’s more, vertebral misalignments can lead to bulged or herniated discs, conditions that are painful and can take time to heal.
Prevention Is Key.
Of course, prevention is the key to avoiding these problems. Strengthening your core musculature so your spine isn’t taking all the stress of moving in the wrong direction is important, but it’s equally important to receive maintenance chiropractic care to correct misalignments before they lead to more serious problems. Get adjusted, your body will thank you!
