Adjustment:
The specific application of forces used to facilitate the body’s correction of nerve interference.

Bone Spur
Bone spurs, or osteophytes, are bony projections that form along the edges of bone at a joint, and are often seen in conditions such as arthritis.  Bone spurs are largely responsible for limitations in joint motion and can cause pain.

Chiropractic:
A primary health care profession in which professional responsibility and authority are focused on the anatomy of the spine and immediate articulation, and the condition of nerve interference. It is also a practice, which encompasses educating, advising about and addressing nerve interference.

Diagnosis:
A comprehensive process of evaluation of the spinal column and its immediate articulation to determine the presence of nerve interference and other conditions that may contraindicate chiropractic procedures.

Practice Objective:
The professional practice objective of chiropractic is to correct nerve interference in a safe, effective manner. The correction is not considered to be a specific cure for any particular symptom or disease. It is applicable to any patient who exhibits nerve interference regardless of the presence or absence of symptoms or disease.

Manipulation:
The forceful passive movement of a joint beyond its active limit of motion. It does not imply the use of precision, specificity or the correction of nerve interference. Therefore, it is not synonymous with chiropractic adjustment.

Paraspinal EMG Scanning:
A painless, non-invasive procedure to measure and record the electrical signals given off by the muscles that attach to the spinal column. Electrodes are placed on the skin and their readings are shown in the form of a graph. Since one of the symptoms of nerve interference is abnormal muscle activity, the EMG is becoming a popular method for charting muscle spasms and spinal imbalance.

Pinched Nerve
Compression of the spinal nerve as it exits the spine between two adjacent vertebra.

Scoliosis
A sideways deviation of the spinal column.  The vast majority of scoliosis are "idiopathic", meaning its cause is unknown.  It usually develops in middle or late childhood, before puberty, and is seen more often in girls than boys.  Scoliosis in adults maybe from unrecognized  childhood scoliosis or from degenerative changes in the spine.

Slipped Disc
When a part of the Intervertebral Disc pops out of place and bulges into the spinal canal, this is also known as a herniated disc or ruptured disc.

Thermography:
This procedure measures the temperature on the skin surface to locate inflammation of muscles and soft tissues. A special camera takes pictures, which reflect the different temperatures by displaying a range of colors on film. Thermography has been used to pinpoint spinal nerve and muscle stress.

Vertebral Subluxation:
Also referred to as nerve interference, is a misalignment of one or more of the 24 vertebrae in the spinal column, which causes alteration of nerve function and interference to the transmission of mental impulses, resulting in a lessening of the body’s innate ability to express its maximum health potential.

Whiplash
A soft tissue injury to the neck, also called a cervical(neck) sprain or strain.  It frequently occurs as the result of a sudden flexion/extension episode such as what occurs in an automobile accident or, less commonly, a fall.  The injury may involve damage to intervertebral joints, discs and ligaments, cervical muscles, and nerve roots.