As with any specialized area, whether it’s a sport or a health care field like chiropractic, there is a lexicon that develops. When you’re visiting your chiropractor, you shouldn’t hesitate to ask about any words or phrases you hear with which you are not familiar. Here are some terms you might hear:
• activator—a spring-loaded instrument that pulses to help restore normal function to a body part.
• adjustment—the manual application of gentle, firm pressure to a joint or bone, the goal being to put it back into its natural position.
• back extension—a backward bending of the spine.
• back flexion—a forward bending of the spine.
• cauda equina—the bottom portion of the spinal column, where a bundle of nerves branch out. It’s named from the Latin for its similarity to a horse’s tail.
• cervical spine—the upper portion of the spine, the neck.
• coccyx—the small bone at the base of the spine, sometimes called the tailbone.
• disc annulus—the outer casing of a disc, which is the cushion between vertebrae.
• disc nucleus—the inner portion of a disc.
• foraminal stenosis—the narrowing of an opening in a vertebra.
• herniated disc—a disc that protrudes from its normal position, often the result of the nucleus pushing out from inside the disc.
Ask your chiropractor about any words or phrases you don’t understand.
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