The Grand Rapids Chiropractor to see - Chiropractor Grand Rapids

Palpation: A Chiropractic Art

You may have heard us use the words “palpate” or “palpation” – but do you know what these words mean?

By pressing gently along bones, muscles and ligaments, your body gives up vital secrets about your health.

Palpation is one of the most basic diagnostic tools we chiropractors use to examine the spine for the purpose of locating and reducing nerve interference. In its simplest form, it is the use of a chiropractor’s hands to touch and “feel” exactly where and how the spine needs to be adjusted. It is the first diagnostic tool a chiropractor learns in chiropractic college and the basis of the art and science of chiropractic. In fact, the very word chiropractic means, “done by hand.”

Palpation is an essential skill that improves with daily practice. Over time, a chiropractor learns to master this procedure to discover a vast array of information that is contained in body tissue. Unlike the use of other diagnostic instruments that are learned and mastered in a relatively short period, palpation provides an ongoing learning experience, as no two patients ever “feel” the same way.

Since the hands are the basic “tools” of the chiropractic profession, palpation is the very basis of the art and science of chiropractic diagnosis. Chiropractic history is replete with stories of blind chiropractors who were extraordinary chiropractors because they had such a highly developed sense of touch!

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Dr. Ryan Asks some important questions of interest to Grand Rapids residents - Chiropractor Grand Rapids Dr. Ryan Asks...

Why are frequent visits advised when starting chiropractic care?
Consistent visits at the beginning of your chiropractic care help create the momentum necessary to correct and retrain unhealthy spinal patterns. Later, Grand Rapids patients find that continued care on a less frequent visit schedule can help preserve their progress and avoid a relapse.
Which organs are extra?
You don't have any spare parts. Sure, we can survive without our tonsils, appendix, gall bladder and several other tissues, but each serves a purpose. We chiropractors recognize this. So the chiropractic approach I use in Grand Rapids is to reduce nerve interferences to the control and regulation of every tissue, organ and system of your body.