Spinal Manipulative Therapy

Spinal manipulative techniques are forms of physical medicine that work to enable the body's own healing abilities by removing impediments, such as nerve compression.

The human spine is composed of 33 individual bones, called vertebrae. Between each set of vertebrae is an intervertebral disc, a cushion that keeps the individual bones from rubbing together. On the back of each vertebra are bony projections that form the vertebral arch. The arch comprises two supporting pedicles and two laminae (Fig. 5). The hollow spinal canal contains the spinal cord, fat, ligaments, and blood vessels. Under each pedicle, a pair of spinal nerves exits the spinal cord and passes through the intervertebral foramen to branch out to your body.

The interior side of each vertebra has projections that form the vertebral arch. These arches form the hollow spinal canal, through which runs the spinal cord, as well as fat, ligaments, and blood vessels. Pairs of spinal nerves exit the canal through each arch to innervate different areas of the body.

When vertebrae move out of their proper alignment or become compressed, they exert pressure on these nerves, causing pain. The pain may originally be localized to the area they exit, but over time, it will usually extend the length of the nerve. Therefore, affected nerves in the cervical (neck) and upper thoracic region may cause pain to continue down the arm and into the hands, causing pain and/or numbness. Affected nerves in the lumbar (low back) region may cause pain running down the leg and into the feet.

Because the vertebrae are no longer in the proper position, movement may be restricted or extremely painful.

While painkillers may remove the pain from these misalignments or compression temporarily, the problem will normally worsen, increasing the pain and further restricting motion. Over time the joint will degenerate into arthritis due to the compression forces working on the vertebral segment.

A spinal manipulation moves these misaligned vertebrae back into their proper position, relieving pain and restoring motion.

Dr. Hunter Greenwood uses chiropractic adjustments and naturopathic manipulative therapy (NMT), including techniques he has developed himself during his 39 years of practice, to help you recover so that you can do the things you love most again without pain!

Click on the picture below to see videos and descriptions of three of these techniques.

To learn more about how these manipulations can help you, visit our blog on "Is It Healthy to Go to a Chiropractor?"​​​​​​​