Glossary - ChiroHealth Rockford | Grand Rapids, MI Chiropractic Care

Glossary

Below you will find the definitions for a variety of terms related to chiropractic care, the musculo-skeletal system, and general health and wellness. To learn more about the spine and its many components, please click below...

Know Your Spine

Acute	Of short duration and relatively severe.
Adjustment	The specific application of forces used to facilitate the body's correction of nerve interference. This can be accomplished through manual practices or with the use of an Activator Device.
Anterior	Toward the front of the body.
Arthritis	Inflammation of a joint which is often accompanied by symptoms and changes in structure.
Atlas	The uppermost and most freely movable bone of the spine.
Biomechanics	The application of mechanical laws to living structures.
Axis	The second cervical vertebra.
Bone Spur	A bony outgrowth. A calcium deposition which can be part of the body's response to abnormal motion or position of bones in the spine or elsewhere.
Cervical	The vertebrae of the neck, usually seven bones.
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.
Chronic	Persisting for a long period of time. A problem showing little change or with a slow progression.
Coccyx	A series of small bones below the sacrum that are also known as the tailbone.
Compensation Reaction	A new problem that results from the body's attempt to respond to a problem elsewhere.
Compression Lesion	A malfunctioning spinal bone or soft tissue that puts direct pressure on a nerve, distorting its function. A relatively rare phenomenon that is commonly referred to as a pinched nerve. (See Facilitative Lesion)
Degeneration	Your spinal bones begin to deform; your discs swell, then shrink; your ligaments, tendons and muscles begin to harden and weaken; and your entire spinal column loses its balance, flexibility, stability and strength.
Disc	A cartilage (cushion/pad) that separates spinal vertebrae, absorbs shocks to the spine, protects the nervous system and assists in creating the four normal curves of spine. A disc can bulge, herniated or rupture, but because of the way they connect to the vertebrae above and below, a disc can't 'slip.'
Edema	A condition in which fluid fills a damaged joint area causing swelling; similar to the swelling of a sprained ankle or black eye.
Extremity	Lower or upper limbs, such as a leg or arm.
Facet	The joint surface of a spinal bone, facing the adjacent bone above or below.
Facilitative Lesion	A twisting, stretching, chafing or irritation of nerve tissue from malfunctioning spinal structures.
Fixation	Being held in a fixed position. "Stuck." A joint with restricted movement.
Foramen	An opening, a hole or passageway in a bone for blood vessels or nerves.
Health	A state of optimal physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity. When your body works the way it was designed to work.
Herniation	A protrusion of an organ or part of an organ through the wall that normally contains it.
Hypermobility	Too much movement.
Hypomobility	Restricted movement.
Ilium	One of the two large bones that form the pelvis; the hipbone.
Inflammation	A reaction of soft tissue due to injury that may include malfunction, discomfort, rise in temperature, swelling and increased blood supply.
Intervertebral Foramina	The lateral opening through which spinal nerve roots exit each side of the spinal column formed by each spinal joint.
Kyphosis	A backward displacement in the lateral curve of the spine.
Lateral	The side view of the body.
Ligament	A band or sheet of fibrous connective tissue that binds joints together.
Lordosis	The forward curve of the spine. Normally found in the cervical and lumbar areas of the spine.
Lumbar	The vertebrae of the lower back, usually five bones.
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.
Nucleus Pulposus	The gelatinous mass in the center of a spinal disc.
Occipital	Pertaining to the lower, posterior portion of the head or skull which rests on the spinal column.
Palpation	Examining the spine with your fingers; the art of feeling with the hands.
Pinched Nerve	(See Compressive Lesion)
Posterior	Toward the back of the body.
Range of motion	The range, measured in degrees of a circle, through which a joint can be moved.
Reflex	An involuntary action resulting from a stimulus.
Sacrum	The triangular bone at the base of the spine.
Sacroiliac	The two joints where the pelvis (hip) connects to the sacrum.
Sacrum	The triangular bone at the base of the spine.
Sciatica	A Pain that radiates from the lower back into the buttocks and down the back of one or both legs caused by the irritation of the sciatic nerves, the largest nerves of the body.
Scoliosis	Looking from the back, a sideways curvature of the spine.
Slipped Disc	An incorrect name given a situation in which a disc becomes wedge-shaped and bulges. In extreme cases, pressure can cause a disc to tear or rupture.
Spasm	A constant contraction or tightening of a muscle.
Spinous Process	The protruding part of the back of each spinal bone that can be seen or felt when examining the spine.
Subluxation	A misalignment or malfunction of the spine that is less than a total dislocation, which affects the nervous system and its ability to correctly control or monitor the organs and tissues of the body.
Tendon	Fibrous tissue that connects muscles with bones.
Thoracic	Pertaining to the 12 vertebrae of the middle back from the base of the neck to about six inches above the waistline to which the ribs attach.
Torticollis	A contracted state of the neck muscles that produces a twisting of the neck and unnatural position of the head.
Traction	The act of drawing or exerting a pulling force, as along the long axis of a structure.
Transverse Process	Lateral protrusions (wings) on the side of each vertebrae to which powerful muscles and ligaments attach.
Trigger Point	An involuntarily tight band of muscle that is painful when pressed and can refer pain to other parts of the body.
Vertebra	Any of the individual bones of the spinal column.
Vertebral Subluxation Complex	Types of pathology resulting from a Vertebral Subluxation including kinesiopathology, neuropathophysiology, myopathology, hisopathology, and pathophysiology.
Whiplash	An injury to the spine caused by an abrupt jerking motion, either backward, forward or from the side.