Vertebral subluxation
In chiropractic, a vertebral subluxation means pressure on nerves, abnormal functions creating a lesion in some portion of the body, either in its action or makeup (defined by D.D. Palmer and B.J. Palmer, founders of chiropractic). Subluxations are not necessarily visible on X-rays.
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A chiropractor performing a precise vertebral adjustment of the lumbar spine on a patient | |
| Alternative therapy | |
| NCCIH Classification | Manipulative and body-based |
| Legality | differs from country to country |
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| Alternative medicine |
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Straight chiropractors continue to follow Palmer's tradition, claiming that vertebral subluxation has considerable health effects and also adding a visceral component to the definition. Mainstream medicine and some mixer chiropractors consider these ideas to be pseudoscientific and dispute these claims, as there is no scientific evidence for the existence of chiropractic subluxations or proof they or their treatment have any effects on health.
The use of the word vertebral subluxation should not be confused with the term's precise usage in medicine, which considers only the anatomical relationships."
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a chiropractic subluxation is a "dysfunction in a joint or motion segment in which alignment, movement integrity and/or physiological function are altered, although contact between joint surfaces remains intact". Chiropractic subluxation should not be confused with a medical subluxation, which is a "significant structural displacement" visible on static imaging studies such as X-rays. Chiropractic is a field of alternative treatment outside scientific mainstream medicine, whose practitioners (chiropractors) are not medical doctors.