What is Chiropractic Care and how can it help me?

Chiropractic care is based on the idea that when your body is in proper alignment, you have a better chance of your body healing itself.

Chiropractors treat conditions related to your body’s structure. Their goal is to relieve pain and improve function. They normally do not prescribe drugs or do surgery.

Rather, they get your body parts back into proper alignment by adjusting or manipulating them.

So, what can a Chiropractor help you with?  The list is endless! Here is a comprehensive, but not exhaustive, list of some of things we know a chiropractor can help you with!

1. Back ,Neck & Shoulder Pain

Back pain always tops the list and neck pain is right up there with it! They are two of the most common reasons people seek chiropractic treatment. Shoulder pain is also a common concern. People with frozen shoulder syndrome will seek chiropractic care as often times, chiropractic manipulation can offer instant relief to someone experiencing shoulder pain, as well as those experiencing back or neck pain. Chiropractors often treat these types of pain by manipulating, adjusting and aligning the spine and neck and stretching the muscles in the surrounding areas.  Whether you are suffering from chronic or acute pain, these manipulations, adjustments and alignments often prove to be more effective than taking pain medications.  Chiropractic care offers a more holistic approach to dealing with these types of issues and seems to offer you, the patient, more control over your own recovery.

2. Headaches

Headaches are often considered common but not normal.  They indicate an excessive strain on the nervous system and often times can be relieved through chiropractic treatment. Chiropractic care gives you a more holistic option for your health needs addressing the cause of the problem instead of masking the symptoms with drugs or surgery.

Since no two headaches are alike, your chiropractor will most likely meet with you to discuss the area of your pain and figure out what treatment option is the best.  For instance, tension headaches cause pain in the back of your head and neck and you could greatly benefit from a neck adjustment.  Stress and bad posture can cause tension headaches.  Often times, stretching exercises and ways to reduce stress will be discussed to help aid in your healing.

Migraine headaches are another common type of pain. Research shows that chiropractic spinal manipulations can not only decrease the pain and frequency of these annoying headaches, but can also reduce the need for migraine medication. Triggers for migraines have been known to be caused by certain foods. Your chiropractor may give you advice on nutrition or diet changes that may help treat your symptoms. They may even refer you to a health coach, who can help you figure out which foods may be triggering your pain.

3. Numbness, Tingling or pain in an extremity

If you suffer from these symptoms, a Chiropractor can treat the root cause of them and get you feeling better.  By removing pressure on the nerves and increasing spinal joint mobility, which also improves the nervous system function, your body will be able to manage these symptoms better. Chiropractic treatment is a great option to consider before submitting to a risky and often unnecessary surgery, or simply masking symptoms with drugs.

4. SI Joint Pain

Your Sacroiliac or SI joint is a big joint at the bottom of your spine. SI joint problems cause a different type of low back pain.  You may feel this pain in your buttock or the back of your thigh. Following a treatment, your Chiropractor may also trach you how to avoid straining your SI joint and give you some exercises to strengthen your core muscles, which are the muscles that support this joint.

5. Range of Motion

Range of motion issues can be helped with Chiropractic adjustments as they can help you achieve better balance of the musculoskeletal system by releasing any misalignments, increasing your abilities to move. It is a great benefit for athletes or anyone who wants to stay flexible, perform at high levels, reduce injuries, and recover more quickly afterward.

6. Walking Abnormalities

If you begin to notice that the soles of your shoes wear out differently, this is a sign that your body is out of alignment and needs to be adjusted. Having uneven wear on your shoes is a very reliable indicator that you are experiencing a slight misalignment of the vertebrae in the spine and need a chiropractic spinal manipulation to realign your spine and ensure the problem does not continue and possibly turn into a chronic issue.

7. Whiplash

Whiplash is a type of neck sprain that often results from a car accident. It causes pain and stiffness in your neck and the pain may be worse when you try to turn your head. Sometimes you can even feel dizzy or sick to your stomach. The sooner you can be seen by a chiropractor, the better.  Chiropractors can help reduce the inflammation and scar tissue, restore movement and relieve pain.

8. Children’s Health

Chiropractic adjustments can help your little ones feel better, ranging from ear infections, colic and acid reflux, to autism, asthma, ADD, ADHD. Children with these problems have shown improvement from removing interferences in the central nervous system which facilitates the body’s ability to function at its highest level. While Chiropractors do not sure these diseases/issues, it can significantly reduce the symptoms.

9. Allergy and Sinus

Chiropractic treatment improves the efficiency of the immune system and central nervous system, which are two factors that impact allergies.

10. You’re an Active Person

If you have an active lifestyle and spend time working out or playing sports, your body is subjected to additional strain and pressure. This added stress can cause the spine to become misaligned. After spending time engaging in these activities, the body can become prone to pinched nerves, slipped discs, or other alignment problems.

Better overall functioning of the body results when the body is properly aligned and its central nervous system functions properly.

If you are experiencing pain in your muscles and joints, your first reaction should not be to get the aspirin out of your medicine cabinet. Your pain could be due to problems with musculoskeletal alignment.

A chiropractor is trained to make sure your body is functioning as optimally as possible by using spinal manipulations to relieve pain in your joints and muscles. These spinal adjustments will increase blood flow and nerve conductivity to the joints and muscles that are experiencing pain.

Give us a call today if you would like to talk to a Chiropractor that can help you figure out what may be contributing to the pain you are feeling and what can be done to help you heal!