Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor

Crack.

That was the sound Emily Cox’s neck made as she was getting her neck adjusted, but the feeling was anything but painful.

“It feels like it’s this huge release,” the 22-year-old UCSD student said.

Dr. Lawrence Truong, a chiropractor at Whole Health, emphasized that this noise is pressure being released from between the discs of each vertebrae.

“It’s not cracking, it’s adjusting,” Truong said.

Many college students have this idea that going to the chiropractor is not for young people. This may be because college students do not understand the implications of seeing a chiropractor.

“I don’t know whether or not it’s healthy,” business senior Austin Davis said. “If it has no side effects, or if it’s not bad for your body, then why not. I would think, ‘What is this really doing to my body?'”

Truong compared going to a chiropractor to seeing a dentist.

“Just because you don’t have a cavity doesn’t mean you don’t go to a dentist,” he said. “If you have a spine, it means you need to get checked by a chiropractor. That doesn’t mean you need to be treated.”

Experts estimate that 80 percent of people will have to see a chiropractor at some point, according to the American Chiropractic Association. Visits may be provoked by pain in the neck, back, joints, arms and legs, or by frequent headaches.

The high availability of over-the-counter and prescription drugs makes painkillers a quick solution to these types of discomforts. However, chiropractic focuses on the structure of the spine to keep the musculoskeletal and neurological systems working properly without the use of medication.

“We actually treat the whole body,” Truong said. “We’re trying to make the nervous system flow better. That’s not voodoo stuff – that’s science.”

People who have back or neck pain typically are not prescribed potentially addictive painkillers because physical therapy and back treatments will usually relieve the pain. However, individuals who have used prescribed medication to relieve back pain said that drugs are not the ideal solution.

“Painkillers didn’t make my back pain disappear,” Sean Gonzalez, a graduate student in the teaching credential program, said. “They just helped me cope while I was on the drug. It’s a quick fix.”

Gonzalez has been a patient at Whole Health for three months, and he said there’s been considerable improvement.

“The pain in my back has definitely been lifted,” Gonzalez said. “If it was a nine out of 10 before, it’s a two out of 10. Now I can go weeks without having to get my back adjusted.”

Truong said that college students such as Gonzalez are especially prone to being misaligned because of a student’s everyday tasks. Sitting behind a computer, studying for long periods, playing sports, carrying a heavy backpack and certain sleeping habits can lead to back problems.

“Yeah, you’re young now, but you’re beating your body up and predisposing it to serious problems when you’re 30 or 40,” Truong said.

He also said that he’s aware that college students aren’t going to stop drinking alcohol – even though this dehydrates your muscles – however, if students can get into the habit of sleeping on their backs, instead of their stomachs or their sides, this will help alleviate pressure on your back.

Between classes, work and other health priorities, it’s easy for college students to put their chiropractic health on the back burner. But students should remind themselves that they could potentially be preventing degenerative disc disease, arthritis, tendonitis and continual nerve entrapment.

“People’s bodies get out-of-whack by different things that they do,” Gonzalez said. “It’s good to get your back adjusted – good for anyone.”