Chiropractic is about helping the body to work at its best. Your nervous system, which controls all the functions of your body, is protected by your spine. Sometimes the stresses and strains of daily life cause nerve messages from the brain to get blocked. By making small adjustments to the spine, nervous system and soft tissue chiropractors can remove these blockages so that the messages reach the organs effectively.

The philosophy is simple: if your nervous system is working properly the body is better able to heal itself and perform at its full potential. A healthy spine and nervous system can help anyone at any time in their life regardless of age, condition, presence or symptoms.

With more and more people looking for a natural approach to healthcare, chiropractic is the fastest growing wellness profession in the world. It’s now the third largest primary healthcare profession in the west after medicine and dentistry, and is legally recognised in over 45 countries (source: NZCA).
Becoming a doctor of chiropractic (DC) requires a minimum of 2 years of college for a science based education and an additional 4 years at a chiropractic college. The New Zealand College of Chiropractic is in Auckland and it provides an excellent education!
The word ‘Chiropractic’ comes from the Greek words cheir (meaning ‘hand’) and praktos (meaning ‘done’), i.e. Done by Hand. The name was chosen by the developer of chiropractic, Daniel David Palmer.

So where and when did chiropractic care begin? Images of spinal manipulations have been reported all the way back to ancient cultures. Officially, however, chiropractic adjustments date back to 1895 when David Daniel Palmer performed his first manipulation on Harvey Lillard, in Davenport, Iowa. Lillard had found himself without hearing seventeen years prior to his first adjustment, after feeling something give in his neck while he was working in a stooped position. Palmer examined his neck and found what he deemed a bump. He believed this bump was due to a vertebra being out of line and convinced Lillard to let him restore it to the position it should have been in. He adjusted this area of Lillard's neck and Lillard reported his hearing having begun to return.

Not so long after this Palmer came across a person suffering from heart trouble. After examining the spine he found a displaced vertebra. Upon adjusting this vertebra Palmer reported that his patient experienced immediate relief.

With the success of these two very diiferent health issues Palmer knew he was on to something. He continued to study the relationship between the nerve system, the vertebrae and the expression of health. In 1897 he set up the first chiropractic school, the Palmer School of Cure now called the Palmer College of Chiropractic and in 1898 the name chiropractic was coined.

In the years that followed that first chiropractic adjustment Palmer became well known for his new drug free way of treating afflictions. Many people were eager to try this new method of treatment and with this growing popularity the number of students studying at Palmer College increased massively as well. In 1906 24 students were counted, seventeen years later this had increased to 3100 with the help of Palmer's son, Bartlett Joshua.

Muscle testing is a diagnostic tool Sarena uses to adjust both children and adults

These days there are chiropractic schools all over the world and thousands of chiropractors treating all sorts of issues. Since the humble beginnings of chiropractic care in 1895 it has grown immensely and continues to grow with scientific research and positive patient results highlighting the benefits of chiropractic care.

Chiropractic methods have also evolved substantially. There is now a big vary of techniques and chiropractic styles; from very light contact to dynamic manipulation. The basis for chiropractic care however remains the same; the nervous system controls all our organs and tissues, interference between the spine and the nervous system affects our state of health. Correcting these issues will bring the body back to a state where it can self-heal once again.

At Be Well Sarena uses a variety of techniques such as osteopathic craniosacral treatment, gentle table assisted adjustments, the use of an activator (the low-force instrument that makes a click sound) as well as massage and trigger point release. Sarena is a certified *Applied Kinesiology practitioner which enables Sarena to perform very specific adjustments which in turn a greater impact on the body's ability to heal.

If this sounds like something you would like to find out more about Sarena explains in detail what she finds on her first visit with her patients. Feel free to give us a call if you would like to see us. 043884512

* Applied kInesiology or AK is used evaluate structural, chemical and mental aspects of health using muscle testing combined with other standard methods of diagnosis. Click here for more information: International College of Applied Kinesiology

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