You come in for your check-up, get your adjustment, and the doctor says, “The power is on — you’re better.”
You get up off the table… and feel no different. Or maybe you even feel worse!
What gives?
“Chiropractic does not pretend to cure disease. Chiropractic simply removes interference to the normal transmission of mental impulses. The power that made the body heals the body. It happens no other way.”
— Dr. R.W. Stevenson
This quote from Dr. R.W. Stevenson, one of the great pioneers of chiropractic philosophy, is a powerful reminder in a world that expects instant results.
As chiropractors, our job isn’t to heal the body — we are facilitators. We remove interference to the expression of life and then step aside so the body can do what it’s designed to do: heal itself.
It’s Not About the Pain
You might be wondering, “Will this adjustment take my pain away?” or “How long until I’m better?”
Dr. Stevenson reminds us that chiropractic does not cure disease. What we do is work with the innate intelligence within you — the life force that flows over your nervous system and allows your heart to beat, your lungs to breathe, and your stomach to digest.
When we remove interference and release those imprisoned impulses, your body can begin to function the way it was designed to.
Our focus is not on chasing symptoms. It’s about ensuring your nervous system communicates clearly. When that happens, your body begins to self-correct — often in ways we can’t predict or control.
Maybe your migraines don’t disappear immediately, but you start sleeping better. Maybe your digestion improves, or you feel calmer, less reactive.
That’s healing, too.
Something Deeper Is Happening
Pain and symptoms are just the tip of the iceberg.
Only about 10% of the nerves in your body are responsible for pain. The other 90% handle all the other vital functions and processes that you can’t feel — like regulating your organs, hormones, and immune system.
So even if you don’t feel better after an adjustment, you are better.
Your body is organizing, adapting, and coming back online. The healing is happening from within — often in ways we can’t yet sense or predict.
That’s where trust comes in.
Trust the Process
We’ve been sold a story that our bodies are fragile — that they’ll break down with age and need constant outside help: pills, potions, injections, and lotions.
But your body is far more intelligent than that.
When we trust that innate intelligence — that inner wisdom — we realize that the power that made the body truly can heal the body. The adjustment simply helps that power flow freely so your body can do its job.
There’s no “acid reflux adjustment,” “headache adjustment,” or “constipation adjustment.”
And yet, when I adjust babies who are constipated, I warn parents to have extra wipes and diapers on hand! Not because I’m a “poop doctor” — but because when we release interference, the body gets to work healing itself from the inside out.
Flicking the Switch
Think of me like an electrician. My job isn’t to create electricity — it’s to make sure the power can flow where it’s needed.
When I adjust your spine, I’m flicking the switches so that the power that made your body can heal your body.
Trust that process. Healing is happening, even if you can’t always feel it yet.
Dr. Thom