Why Chiropractic?

What do you think of when you think of chiropractic?  Back pain and neck pain are often the first issues that come to mind that chiropractic care can help with.  I wanted to take this month to let you know what other issues chiropractic care has been able to help with.

Because chiropractic care addresses the nervous system, it has the potential to affect the entire body.  The brain has nerves that go down the spinal cord and out to every organ and cell of your body.  If there is a problem at the spine where these nerves go through, it can cause a “road block” and result in decreased function at the other end of that nerve and sometimes results in pain as well.

Here are some issues that chiropractic has been shown to help, starting with some of the more ‘traditional’ problems.

• Lower back pain/Sciatica
• Hip pain
• Mid and upper back pain
• Neck pain
• Headaches and migraines
• Knee pain
• Herniated disc
• Foot and ankle pain including heel spurs and plantar fasciitis
• Shoulder and arm pain
• Elbow, wrist and hand pain
• Jaw pain (TMJ) and biting tongue/cheeks on accident
• Asthma
• Allergies
• Arthritis
• Chest pain
• Digestive complaints (IBS, etc)
• Strengthening immune system
• Balance
• Fibromyalgia
• Comfort during pregnancy
• Colic
• Children (growing pains, etc)
• Wellness care for whole family

Remember that many of these issues are multifactorial and while chiropractic can be part of the treatment plan, there may be other underlying issues that need to be addressed for optimum health.  The body must have 3 areas of stressed addressed: physical stress (i.e. chiropractic misalignments, proper restorative sleep), emotional/spiritual stress, and chemical stress (nutrition).

Remember that health is not merely the absence of pain or symptoms.  Many times these “road blocks” at the spine may not cause any immediate problems, but if left unaddressed, can progress to major problems later.  Just as it is recommended to have your teeth and eyes checked regularly it is also recommended to get your spine checked and adjusted regularly to address these small problems before they have the chance to become big ones.

Consider chiropractic care for helping the whole family stay well and before trying more invasive options such as drugs and surgeries (which should be a last resort).