Why You Should Consider Getting Regular Chiropractic Care
The truth is that most people use chiropractors only when their back hurts. I am about to argue that that might not be the best use of Chiropractic care.
First, let’s be clear about what chiropractic care is and what it does.
The goal of a chiropractic adjustment is to correct mechanical dysfunctions mostly in the spine but also in the extremities (i.e. arms and legs). The specific mechanical dysfunctions that I am referring to are joint misalignment (which causes poor postural alignment), joint stiffness and abnormal muscle tension.
Pain relief is actually a side-benefit of these goals being achieved.
Pain relief is NOT the ONLY side-benefit of these goals being achieved.
The first thing that you need to know is that you can have mechanical dysfunctions and not have pain. In fact, barring traumatic injury, mechanical dysfunction is usually present for years before you start to have pain.
Now let’s get into it a bit.
Here is a quote from The Journal of Pain Management, “Posture affects and moderates every physiological function, from breathing to nervous system function, and despite the considerable evidence that posture affects physiology and function, the significant influence of posture on health is not addressed by most physicians.”
Two things that I want to mention about this quote from this medical journal. First, Posture is ultimately regulated by joint alignment. In other words you can’t have “good posture” and have mechanical dysfunction in the spine. Second, just because your doctor doesn’t talk about it with you doesn’t mean that it isn’t vitally important to your health.
You see having an optimally functioning spine is necessary for having good health.
Here is another quote from a medical journal, Journal of the American Medical Association, “Deviations in the body’s center of gravity (poor posture) have resulted in intestinal problems, hemorrhoid, varicose veins, osteoporosis, hip and foot deformities, poor health, decreased quality of life, and a shortened life span.”
Mechanical dysfunction in the spine that manifests into poor posture (which it almost always does) is a huge problem, causing all sorts of poor health, disease and it shortens life.
I will remind you that the goal of a chiropractic adjustment is to remove or reduce mechanical dysfunction in the spine and extremities.
So what causes mechanical dysfunction of your spine . . . you might ask?
Good question . . . Glad you asked.
Here is an incomplete but common list:
1. Being born in such a way that caused damage to the top of your neck, for instance being pulled out with forceps or some other device.
2. Looking down at a cell phone.
3. Sitting for more than 2 hours per day.
4. Not getting enough exercise / daily movement.
5. Old injuries that have healed with scar tissue, i.e. car accidents and sports injuries.
6. Getting too much exercise
7. Over-use, i.e. holding a phone to your ear or working a jack hammer all day.
8. Eating an inflammatory diet (foods with corn, wheat and dairy tend to be inflammatory)
9. Emotional Stress
If you will look at this list, I think that you will find that at least one of these causes affect you almost every day.
The reason that I recommend having your spine adjusted regularly is because your environment is full of things that create mechanical dysfunction in your spine and by correcting those problems on a more frequent basis, you keep them from becoming bigger problems that cause more harm to you in the future.
Think of it as preventative medicine.
Hope this makes sense to you and if you would like to talk about making chiropractic a regular part of your healthcare regiment, you can schedule an appointment by calling the office or by clicking the button below.
God Bless,
Dr. Tim