FAQ
What is the difference between a Chiropractor and a Physiotherapist?
Doctors of Chiropractic (DC’s) are fully qualified professionals specialising in the health and alignment of your spine, as well as the overall health and function of your body and nervous system.
Chiropractors are primary healthcare providers. They are able to diagnose conditions, and employ many physical techniques and adjustments to restore health. A Chiropractic adjustment is a very specialised technique that should only be applied by highly skilled and trained Chiropractors.
A physiotherapist will predominantly focus on stretching and strengthening muscles. In New Zealand and in the United States, Chiropractors often refer to Physios to co-managing rehabilitation cases (such as post-surgical and severe debilitation).
In the United States, Chiropractors are required to pass a detailed Physical Therapy board certification test in order to become licensed. As such, our Chiropractors utilise the most effective strengthening and stability exercises, including the F.R.C.® system, for the vast majority of their patients.
Is Chiropractic safe?
Chiropractic adjustments performed by highly skilled and trained chiropractors are incredibly safe. The adjustment is only given after a detailed consultation, history, and examination.
The Chiropractic profession has been around for over 120 years, and is often looked to as the first option when it comes to spinal care and injury prevention in many countries such as United States, New Zealand and Australia.
We ensure that our care is safe and effective by doing a comprehensive consultation and examination, often including X-Ray analysis of the spine, before adjustments are given.
All cases are examined based on their combined health history and current state of health to see if Chiropractic care is right for you. If we find your case is not appropriate for us, we will direct you to the best medical referral.
For more detailed questions and answers, contact one of our Chiropractors for a personalised call +65 8830 9420.
Is it normal to hear noise or popping during an adjustment?
While a manual Chiropractic adjustment may have some “cracking” or “popping” sounds, the sound is actually not that important.
All joints have free gas and small pockets of air around them. The “popping” noise is often created due to a change in pressure as the joint is mobilised. If there is not a lot of free gas built up in the joint, then a popping noise will likely not be heard. An effective Chiropractic Adjustment does not have to make a noise.
For patients that are apprehensive of the “cracking”, we at Align Chiropractic also have extensive skills in low-force adjusting and S.O.T. (Sacro-Occipital Technique) where popping sounds are not created, but spinal alignment and nervous system health is still restored. We tailor our adjustments to what your spine needs, as well as listening to patient preference.
Can children be adjusted?
Absolutely!
As you can imagine, the techniques of adjusting an infant, a 6 year old, a teenager, an adult, and yes an 'uncle' can be very different. All techniques utilised by Align Chiropractors have been shown to be safe and effective.
With a thorough consultation, history, and examination, our Chiropractors can utilise the best techniques for your situation.
In our clinic, while we predominantly help office workers and athletes, but on Saturdays you’ll often see our patients families (kids and grand-parents) brought in for a check-up and adjustment to help maintain their health!
Can I pop my own neck and low back?
Self manipulation (let's call it what it is) can be very unhealthy. When someone tries to physically twist or crack their own selves, they often create shear force as the joints are often pressed into extreme positions and moved about wrongly.
This is very different to a Chiropractic adjustment.
If it’s become a habit for you to do, even for short term relief, we have some bad news. Chronic self popping can often lead to instability of the joints and can create even more muscular tension! Since the unstable joints have the most movement, self manipulation often only moves the “loose joints” which only worsens your problems and pain in the long run.
Chiropractors are trained to detect and correct the restricted (and hypermobile) vertebrae in your spine. We do NOT adjust unstable areas, but rather treat the restricted areas surrounding them to allow for full healing and recovery.
We often see habitual crackers come in to our office with terrible posture and spinal positions, which can take much longer to heal than others who don’t “crack” themselves.
If you are still reading this and are a habitual cracker, please get a consultation with us to see if we can help correct your spinal problems.