How Can Chiropractic Care Promote Overall Wellness?

Chiropractic care isn’t just about healing your aches and pains. It’s about promoting overall wellness and prevention of future injuries.

The human body is a complex system of muscles, nerves, bones, organs, and tissue. The brain sends electronic impulses to the different areas of your body through the nervous system. Proper alignment of the spine and other joints can improve the overall health of the nervous system and even encourages the brain to release endorphins promoting overall wellness. If the nervous system becomes kinked, the brain sends out messages of pain and discomfort. This can also cause other systems in the body to malfunction. If the body is sending out pain signals, it can disrupt your sleep, eating habits, and even your emotional well being.

Sensory information can be overwhelming at times. The brain is able to analyze this information and determine the body’s needs. A misalignment in the spine can skew the information delivered by the nervous system, and this can lead to inflammation, irritation, and imbalances in the body. With regular chiropractic care, the nervous system can operate in the normal healthy way it was designed to work. When your nervous system is feeling its best, other systems in your body will follow suit, and you’ll sleep better and feel better overall.

The prevention plan

The main goal of chiropractic care is for a patient to achieve overall wellness and healing without drugs or invasive medical intervention. After an accident or injury, your body can get all out-of-whack. Treatment plans and exercise programs provided by your chiropractor can get you back up on your feet. It will take time, but with exercise and treatment, the body is able to heal itself and help you feel like yourself once again.

Once you have achieved your healthy norm, it’s important to keep up with regular chiropractic care. If ignored, the body can and often times will fall victim to repeat injury. Even without an injury, everyday wear and tear can also cause alignment issues. Bad posture or repetitive stress from simple chores like typing, laundry, vacuuming, or even your favorite hobby can contribute to stress and strain on nerves and joints. With regular checkups and alignments, the chances of these everyday strains causing injury is greatly reduced.

Athletes are well aware that neglecting to stretch or train for any physical challenge can and often times will lead to an injury. That same principle applies to chiropractic care. Regular care can help keep joints loose and supple, reducing inflammation and stiffness that can build up over time. Stiff joints are far more likely to be injured and cause pain than those that have had regular care. Your age plays a factor, too; children are remarkably flexible and can run and jump and play with little or no consequences. More often than not, however, the older we get, the harder it is to get up and going. And when we over-due it, there is plenty “consequences” to be felt the next day. You wouldn’t avoid your regular checkups with your dentist, so don’t skip out on your chiropractic care.

The how

Chiropractic adjustments is one of the primary treatments for pain. Normally, during an adjustment, your body is twisted in short, quick, thrusting motions. You may even hear popping of joints. The popping sound you may (or may not) hear is a release of pressure in your joints, and you’ll often experience some immediate relief. There are also alternative treatments options using electrical impulses and massage therapy. Chiropractors can even help counsel you on adjusting your diet and exercise habits. Adjustment methods include but are not limited to the following:

The toggle drop– with crossed hands pressing firmly on the affected area of the spine the chiropractor will use quick thrusts. This process can help improve mobility in the vertebral joints.

The lumbar roll– with the patient in a side posture the chiropractor will apply quick thrust to the misaligned vertebra, returning it to alignment.

Release work- the chiropractor will apply gentle pressure with his or her fingers to separate the vertebra.

Table adjustments- with a special table that has sections that drop down, the chiropractor is able to apply quick pressure at the same time the section drops allowing for a lighter adjustment without the twisting positions that often accompany other techniques.

Instrument adjustments- these are typically seen as the gentlest option for chiropractic treatment. With the patient lying face down on a treatment table, a spring-loaded activator instrument is used to perform the adjustment.

Your chiropractor will create a treatment plan specific to your needs, tailored to treating the underlying cause of your pain. Along with adjustments, a treatment plan is likely to include massage, exercise and dietary recommendations. The goal of treatment is to heal the cause of your pain and keep it from coming back.

The what

Chiropractic care includes practical treatment options for every-day aches and pains as well as other problematic issues like headaches. A chiropractor can help with many different ailments that you may be suffering from. Many people report dealing with chronic neck or back pain and don’t bother to seek treatment for it. They are more likely to reach for a pain killer and just deal with their pain. But health and wellness is not dealing with pain, it’s living a healthy lifestyle without pain.

Chiropractors can treat many of the underlying causes of headaches and other pains, which can lead you to a life free of pain. Treating your pain with painkillers or muscle relaxants doesn’t address the cause of the pain. If you fix the root of the problem, then you won’t have the problem– and the need to medicate– anymore.

The overall effect

Patients who have regular chiropractic care have reported improvements in many areas of their lives. Improvements include: sleeping better, feeling less stress, increased mobility, feelings of well-being, happiness, an increase in strength, and a stronger immune system. Chiropractic patients also see a decrease in aches and pains, bad posture, depression, prescription drug use, anxiety, and injuries. With the help of chiropractic care, the systems that run your body all start to run better, and a stronger immune system means that you’ll be less likely to fall ill. The decrease in depression caused by the endorphins released during treatment lead to better posture, healthier moods, and overall health.

The untreated ailment

There are so many people in the world who suffer from daily aches and pains, and they go untreated. The reasons are many and varied from person to person, from not having time to seek treatment, or a lack of education on the matter. There really isn’t a solid reason to avoid being able to feel your best and enjoying the benefits of being whole and healthy. Seeking out chiropractic care for your aches and pains could eliminate a lot of the overall health problems you experience as a result of the underlying cause of your pain. Now that you are armed with the right knowledge, it’s time you decide to feel your best and achieve a healthier happier you. Schedule your initial consultation with Dr. Smith today. Simply give us a call. He is anxious to help you look and feel better soon. OFFICE HOURS Monday 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM * Tuesday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM † Wednesday 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM * Thursday Closed Friday 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM * Saturday / Sunday Closed * We are closed 12-1:30PM for lunch. † Doctor is not in Tuesday