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Glossary of Chiropractic Terms

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

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.

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.