Spinal Manipulative Therapy Health Article

Definition

Spinal manipulative therapies are those that are used on the human skeleton, particularly the spinal area, to relieve muscular or skeletal pain, relieve tension, improve the mobility of joints and, in the case of the oriental therapies, to "unblock energy channels." The idea behind spinal manipulation is that when the vertebrae are subluxated (misaligned), the resulting pressure on nerves can have negative effects on organ system function and general health, in addition to impeding proper joint motion.

Origins

Forms of manipulative therapy have been used for thousand of years in Asia. The nineteenth century, however, saw the introduction of many new forms of manipulative therapy in the West. The best known and most widely used of these approaches are osteopathy and chiropractic. Most areas and societies have some tradition of manipulation or massage and osseous adjustments.

Benefits

Osteopathy and chiropractic in particular have been used to relieve spinal pain and immobility. Both of these therapies can be used in cases of a "slipped disk," and are also used after accidents or surgery to restore mobility. Osteopathy and chiropractic can treat problems of the bones, muscles, joints, or ligaments. They have been used in the treatment of headaches of nervous origin, and even osteoarthritis. Athletes and dancers commonly seek osteopathic or chiropractic treatment for sports or occupational injuries to restore function.

Description

A common practice among the spinal manipulative therapies is that the therapist will generally work on patients while they are lying on a special treatment couch adjusted to the height of the practitioner. The therapies vary from light touching to fairly vigorous manipulation.

The cost of treatment across the various disciplines varies a great deal according to the practitioner's level of qualification, the area of competence, and other factors.