n the 100 years of its development, chiropractic science has grown to major stature in the field of the healing arts and has reached millions of people. With the rate of growth steadily increasing, the chiropractic profession has found a continuing need to acquaint new patients with the nature of chiropractic care.

The modern chiropractor works both directly and indirectly with the nervous system. Every function of the body is controlled by nerve impulses traveling from the brain to all parts of the body. Nerves make possible all movement. They transmit all sensations to the brain. They make possible all sense; sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. They maintain balance and keep the body temperature at 98.6. They make it possible to swallow. They make the bowels move. Nerves control the liver, lungs, spleen, pancreas, gall bladder, and kidneys. In fact, the nervous system is the master system which controls all other systems of the body, including the glandular, reproductive, digestive, eliminative, respiratory, circulatory and immune systems.

For every effect there must have been a cause. If a person is ill, then the condition of pain, regardless of the name applied to it, is an effect for which there must have been a cause. The nerves leave the spinal cord through the openings between movable spinal bones called vertebrae. When vertebrae, through injury or posture problems, become misaligned they may interfere with the normal function of these nerves. This misalignment causes pain and malfunction of the nervous system and is called a "subluxation". The subluxation then becomes the cause of pain.

The objective of chiropractic care is to determine, through x-ray films and a thorough examination, the exact degree of spinal misalignment producing the subluxation. Proper "adjustments" are given to remove these subluxations and thus remove the cause of pain and malfunction.