Chiropractic is a holistic system that heals your body without drugs. It focuses on total body wellness and treats the root cause of your symptoms.
A chiropractor’s primary method of treatment is hands-on manipulations to realign your spine and joints. They also offer soft tissue techniques and recommend stretching or exercise to further alleviate pain, increase mobility and prevent injury.
1. It’s Natural
Chiropractic treatment, which involves the manipulation of the spine and other body parts, is a safe and natural alternative to pain relief medication. It has gained much more acceptance over the last 20 years and can be used to treat a wide range of symptoms, from back pain and neck pain to headaches, joint stiffness and digestive issues. It also aids in the maintenance of a healthy nervous system, which is linked to your immune system, and helps the body fight off infections.
Chiropractors are primary contact practitioners, which means you can see them without a referral from your GP. Their training is not the same as that of a doctor, but it is extensive. They are highly skilled in treating conditions that affect the bones, muscles and joints. They can recommend exercises and provide nutritional, dietary and lifestyle advice.
The main treatment is spinal manipulation – hands-on manipulation of the joints that move the vertebrae in your spine and bring them back to their natural position, which is usually better for the health of your spine. They also use soft tissue techniques – similar to massage – and trigger-point therapy, electronic stimulation, and restorative stretches to help your body heal itself.
When your spine is in proper alignment, it enables the brain and body to communicate effectively and the immune system to function properly. It has been shown that even the slightest spinal misalignment can interfere with your nerves’ ability to ensure your cells are functioning properly and helping you to fight off infection.
By bringing your spine back into alignment, regular chiropractic treatments can prevent inflammatory conditions from arising in the body, such as irritable bowel syndrome or heartburn. It can also assist your digestion by removing blockages in the nerves that cause the breakdown in your stomach’s muscles. This is not a replacement for good dietary choices, however.
2. It’s Safe
Chiropractic is a natural way to ease pain and promote the body’s own healing capabilities. This makes it a safer option than taking chemical medications or undergoing surgery. In fact, chiropractic care is often recommended as a way to help people avoid prescription drug side effects. Whether you’re dealing with back pain, neck pain, migraines, headaches, high blood pressure or acid reflux, chiropractic treatment is a safe and effective solution.
A chiropractor is trained to use a variety of methods to encourage the body’s natural healing process. These may include massage, heat or cold therapy, traction, spinal manipulation and stretches. These methods will help reduce the amount of pain that a person feels and may even eliminate it completely. In addition, most insurance plans cover chiropractic care. Those who have concerns about the safety of chiropractic should consult with their doctor before deciding to receive treatments.
There are some potential risks involved with neck manipulation, but they are incredibly rare. These concerns include a condition known as vertebral artery dissection, which can cause a stroke. The risk is thought to be related to a very specific type of upper high-velocity neck manipulation and is not consistent with other forms of chiropractic.
Those who receive regular chiropractic treatments have the benefit of increased energy and improved posture. When the spine is aligned correctly, it allows nerves to move freely and properly, reducing pain and discomfort. In addition, if you have pain that is caused by emotional stress, chiropractic can help retrain the brain’s responses to decrease the severity of these symptoms.
Chiropractic has also been shown to be beneficial for a wide variety of health issues, including digestive problems, high blood pressure and headaches. It is important to note, however, that the most extensive research regarding chiropractic has focused on back pain and not other musculoskeletal complaints. If you have a chronic illness, it’s always best to visit a GP before seeking chiropractic treatment. They will be able to give you the most accurate information and recommend treatment options that are right for you.
3. It’s Effective
A chiropractor is a health care professional who focuses on conditions of the musculoskeletal system, including the spine and nervous system. They have been shown to be effective in treating many musculoskeletal issues and ailments, including back pain, neck pain, and even joint discomfort in the arms or legs. Chiropractors often work collaboratively with other health care professionals, such as physicians, nurse practitioners, physiotherapists and registered massage therapists. Regularly visiting a massage therapist in combination with a chiropractor can quickly alleviate your pain.
Most people who visit chiropractors do so for back and neck pain, but chiropractic has also been found to be effective in treating a variety of other conditions, such as sciatica (nerve pain down the legs), fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and headaches. In fact, a study showed that Medicare patients who received spinal manipulation in addition to medical treatment had lower costs and shorter episodes of back pain than those receiving just medical treatment.
It is believed that many aches and pains are actually caused by spinal misalignments, also known as subluxations. These spinal misalignments can lead to compression of the nerves that connect to the internal organs, which can cause symptoms in other parts of the body. For example, Harvey Lillard, the first chiropractic patient, experienced hearing loss due to compression of the nerves leading into his ears. Palmer treated Lillard by realigning his spine, thereby improving communication between the brain and the inner ear.
Moreover, it’s important to note that chiropractic has been proven to be a safe treatment. In fact, one review of 250 articles showed that serious adverse events from spinal manipulation were rare, while benign events (such as more pain or stiffness) occurred in 23-83% of patients.
Another benefit of chiropractic is that it can help your muscles heal faster, especially after an injury. This is because spinal manipulation helps to restore proper alignment, which in turn increases blood flow and allows for better healing at the cellular level. It’s also worth noting that chiropractic modalities like massage and muscle stimulation remove toxins, which can help speed up the process of healing as well. In addition, chiropractic has been known to reduce stress and promote relaxation, which can also improve your overall wellbeing.
4. It’s Affordable
Taking medication to manage pain can have serious side effects, so many people seek alternative treatment methods. Chiropractic treatment is one of the most effective, and often more cost-effective, options.
The scope of practice of chiropractors varies from state to state, but most health insurance plans cover chiropractic to some degree. Many patients find that a combination of treatments including spinal manipulation, trigger-point therapy, and electronic stimulation reduces pain and restores function to the body. In addition, regular visits can help prevent future problems and improve overall wellness.
Chiropractic treatments can be used to treat a wide range of health issues, including neck and back pain, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, tennis elbow, and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, which causes jaw pain. Studies have shown that chiropractic can help lower pain, increase range of motion, decrease inflammation and improve overall wellness.
A healthy body is able to ward off infections and disease, but the slightest misalignment in the spine can disrupt that process by preventing the proper function of nerve cells. Chiropractors can restore the proper function of the nerves and allow the body to heal itself, without the need for surgery or drugs.
In addition to manual spinal manipulation, chiropractors can use soft tissue techniques to loosen knotted muscles and break down scar tissue in other joints of the body. This allows the body to heal itself, and can also help with issues such as digestive problems, menstrual symptoms, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Whether you are seeking relief from back or neck pain, headaches, or any of the other conditions that chiropractic can help with, it’s worth the investment. While many health care costs are rising, it is important to consider a more natural, safe and cost-effective approach for pain management that does not require invasive surgery or addictive medications. For more information on how to make chiropractic care affordable, consult with a local chiropractor. Research area practitioners, read patient reviews and ask for referrals before scheduling an initial consultation. By doing your homework, you can get the treatment you need, at a price you can afford.
