Chiropractic treatments are an alternative as well as a complementary medicine that involves prevention, diagnosing and treatment of conditions that mainly affect neuronal, skeletal or muscular systems within the body. The practitioners use manual manipulation to correct vertebral misalignment and therefore restoring health. This practice was initially popular in Europe, Australia and North America but has now spread to be many other nations.

This practice was first discovered by a magnetic healer called Palmer in the united states but has faced many challenges in being adopted into convectional systems because of lack of scientific basis to support the mechanisms of the practice. Scientists disapprove the allegations that spinal dysfunction is the sole cause diseases, they however approve it for manual therapies for conditions of the lower back while discrediting it for cervical conditions where it could be dangerous.

Many different ideas are held by different chiropractic-practitioners of on what exactly is the basis of their practice. Many of them agree that the spine and human health are closely related and that this relationship is linked through the nerves. They therefore study the biomechanics, function and structure of spine alongside the effects on the nervous and musculoskeletal system with an aim of establishing the role it has in disease processes.

There are three main principles that act as the backbone of this practice. First is the principle of reductionism which believes that unlike holism where health is thought to be a factor of everything in the environment, chiropractics believe that all health issues are related to the single factor of vertebral dysfunction. Next is a principle of conservatism that invasive procedures like surgery and medications should be avoided in place for noninvasive ones and thus manipulative therapies. Finally the principle of homeostasis that the body has the ability to heal itself and only need to be supported.

Mr. Healer the father of chiropractic made a hypothesis that misalignment of the joints in the vertebra which is also called subluxation greatly reduced the ability of the body to heal itself and therefore resulting is diseases. Part of the pathologies was also because of the malfunctioning of organs that were supplied by the nerves whose pathway had been interfered with the subluxation.

There tends to be a small overlap of this approach of treatment and other forms of manipulative therapies like massage and osteopathy which also employ manual manipulation. Specialists can however distinguish them with the understanding the chiropractic therapy need more firm grips in order to reach the deep nerves.

Several conditions have been solved through using this technique which made it be accepted as part of the alternative therapies. Common complains manageable with this therapy include chronic lower back pains, migraine and pounding persistent headaches. Several other conditions especially those involving muscular and nervous systems can also be managed with this practice.

Chiropractic treatments are generally relatively safe especially when done by a skillful practitioner and in the appropriate manner. There is however few complications that could occur could arise and there are contraindications against which it cannot be delivered such as conditions that result in unstable joint like rheumatoid arthritis.