Familiar Chiropractic Terms Translated: A Glossary of Common Confusing Words

Both laypeople and medical professionals enjoy using phrases that often confuse people. Let’s look at a few common terms and translate them into English.

1. Slipped Disc – ‘Slipped’ disc is a misleading term. The disc is the cushion that separates each vertebra in the spine. Discs don’t actually ‘slip’ but they can tear and bulge, which is what the phrase is broadly referring to.
2. Sciatica – Sciatica is the symptom of pain in the leg that is caused by irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve.
3. Pinched Nerve – A compression of a nerve which produces distinct burning pain, pins and needles and/or numbness away from the site of compression. The severity of back or neck pain is not an indication of a pinched nerve.
4. Pulled Muscle – A colloquial term usually referring to a grade one muscle strain which is a mild tear of a muscle.
5. Wry Neck – A condition producing neck pain and marked stiffness with spasm of the surrounding neck muscles.
6. Spinal Manipulation – A treatment technique where the practitioner applies a controlled force to a stiff joint to restore normal motion and reduce pain.
7. Chiropractic Adjustment – Another term for Spinal Manipulation.
8. ‘Crack’ – The colloquial term for Spinal Manipulation. It alludes to the crack or pop sound produced with manipulation. That sound is just caused by gas bubbles popping within the joint.
9. Opioids – A broad group of pain-relieving drugs with some addiction risk, including morphine, oxycodone (Endone), codeine and heroin.
10. Cortisone Injection – A steroid drug that can help relieve pain and inflammation in the injected area.
11. Strain – A tear to a muscle.
12. Sprain – A tear to a ligament. A ligament is connective tissue that connects two bones at the joint.
13. Osteoarthritis – Also called Degenerative Joint Disease. It is wear and tear of a joint occurring gradually and worsening over time. Symptoms vary from no symptoms at all to significant pain and stiffness. The severity of the arthritis does not necessarily correlate with severity of symptoms.