Chiropractors Leading
The Wellness Revolution

By: Dr. Chip Abbadessa
Special to the Oahu Island News


Many people have a misconception about chiropractic and the critical role it plays in health and well-being. That misconception is that chiropractic care is limited to treating back and neck pain. Although many people have experienced relief from back and neck pain through chiropractic services, the foundation, intent and vision of chiropractic is far beyond simply helping to reduce symptoms.

Chiropractic is the largest licensed, non-medical health care profession in North America, with approximately 60,000 practitioners in the United States.

Chiropractors are doctors. They earn a doctor of chiropractic degree after completing three to four years of undergraduate study and a four-year professional course. After graduation, they must pass further exams to obtain a license to practice.

There are basically two styles of chiropractic practice. One type of chiropractor is what we refer to as “limited-scope” or “symptom-relief” practitioner. These chiropractors choose to limit their practice to dealing with back and neck pain only. Such doctors provide specialized care to patients with musculoskeletal injuries and disorders.

The other type is a “wellness” or “corrective” chiropractor. A wellness chiropractor focuses on general health and well-being. The objective of the wellness chiropractor is to work with you in maximizing your life potential and to correct the alignment of
the spine.

Chiropractic is based on the philosophy that the body is a self-healing, self-regulating and self-developing organism and your nervous system is the master system and controller of your body.

If you cut your finger, it heals. You don’t have to take anything or do anything to make that happen. If you were to cut the finger of a dead person, healing would not occur. Life heals; it is as simple as that.

You live your life through your nervous system. Right now, your heart is beating, kidneys working, liver functioning and brain chemicals flowing all without you having to think about it. This is because your nervous system is coordinating it all and making it happen. What would happen if there was interference with the function of your nervous system? It would interfere with you body’s ability to heal and regulate.

An important term and concept that every person should know and understand is “vertebral subluxation.” Vertebral subluxation, or “subluxation” for short, refers to a mechanical problem in the spine that causes nerve interference. When a person is sublux-ated, it reduces his ability to heal, regulate and express well-being. Like cavities in teeth, subluxations are very common in our culture. It is the primary goal of the chiropractor to detect and correct subluxations so that you can improve healing, regulation, and general well-being.

A limited nervous system means limited wellness. If we want to optimally create higher levels of wellness, we then need to remove nervous system interference as a part of the
process. Chiropractors are uniquely trained to do this. Millions of people, from infants to seniors over 100 years old, benefit from chiropractic adjustments every year.

Dr. Chip Abbadessa, a resident of Kaneohe, has specialized in corrective chiropractic care since 1988. He can be reached by calling 234-5535.