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A couple of years ago, after I foolishly ignored the advice of my trainer and doubled the weight I normally bench press, I was a basket case. The tension in the back of my neck and shoulders resulted in stress headaches that felt like ice picks being driven into my skull. The burning sensation between my shoulder blades made it nearly impossible to sleep.
I stumbled down the street and into the office of a local chiropractor. After my first visit, my headaches disappeared. My second adjustment wiped out the stiffness in my neck and shoulders. By my third trip to the chiropractor, I was hooked.
 I’m not alone. According to a recent Gallup Poll, ten percent of all Americans—that’s nearly thirty million people—have used chiropractic services within the past year. Once widely ridiculed as charlatans, chiropractors are recognized today as highly skilled healers who work in tandem with MDs and physical therapists in occupational health, sports medicine, and a wide variety of other rehabilitation practices. In fact, chiropractors—who are required to take more college hours than a regular MD—now represent the third largest group of doctoral-level health professionals in the United States, after MDs and dentists. Hospitals across the country are adding back crackers to their staffs, and they’re turning up on more and more “preferred provider” lists.
Chiropractic, derived from the Greek word Chiropraktikos, means “effective treatment by hand.” Purveyors of this healing art believe that your health depends in large part on a well-tuned nervous system. Chiropractic health care tends to focus on the spine, because the nerves extending from the spine are linked to all parts of the body. The displacement of the spinal column from an accident, physical overexertion, or even plain old stress can result in malfunctions in other parts of the body. Realigning your spine by manipulating vertebrae that are out of whack allows your body to operate more efficiently and more comfortably.
Your chiropractor will consider more than just your spine: Using your medical history, a physical examination, and probably an x-ray or two (but never any drugs), he’ll locate and adjust any musculoskeletal area of the body that’s not functioning properly. Once he’s found your particular dysfunction, he’ll set about kneading your flesh, manipulating your bones, and possibly even folding you up like a pretzel.
Occasionally a well-outfitted bone jockey will use “activator” instruments, which apply pressure to areas that are out of alignment or aren’t moving within their normal range of motion. Either way, chiropractic adjustments rarely hurt; the adjustment itself lasts a fraction of a second, yet delivers as much as 200 pounds of pressure per square inch. The movement isolates the errant joint, unsticks it, and then forces it through its intended arc of motion. Usually there’s a brief “crunch” as the joint settles back into place—sort of like the sound of your kid brother cracking his knuckles, but with the volume turned up. Despite this vaguely unsettling snap-crackle-pop, experts insist that the risk of injury to a patient during an adjustment is about a million to one.
 Chiropractic care isn’t just about easing your aching bones, according to Raymond Hall, DC, a West Los Angeles chiropractor who specializes in chiropractic sports medicine. “It’s about removing nerve interference,” he says. “The nervous system controls and coordinates all functions. If there’s pressure or interference in the nervous system caused by out-of-place joints, the body can’t function properly, and can’t heal itself.”
Chiropractic medicine encompasses several areas of wellness, including joint and muscle fitness and proper nutrition. Regular visits to a chiropractor can also prevent future injuries, reports John Triano, DC PHD, a chiropractor at the Texas Back Institute in Plano, Texas. Adjustments can prevent muscle strain during your workout by maintaining your body’s fullest range of motion, and will ensure that your joints aren’t misaligned, which could lead to joint dysfunction down the road. “Better-coordinated movement patterns between bone and muscle create a more even distribution of weight, which prevents muscle strain during exercise,” Triano says. “And well-distributed weight prevents further misalignments and the chance of future injuries.”
But perhaps the best news is that chiropractic’s effects are almost instantaneous. “The response to a chiropractic adjustment is immediate,” Triano says. “Unlike a lot of medical treatments, you can tell right after a treatment whether or not your body is responding.”
Now, there’s a claim no other medicine can make.
Louis Clemente, who lives in Phoenix, remains fully aligned.
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