Chiropractors are most known for spinal adjustments and the popping sound that many people’s bodies make as their musculoskeletal systems click into realign themselves. That noise is caused by pockets of gas being expelled by the joints as they return to their original positions. Chiropractic, on the other hand, may be traced back to the dawn of civilization, appearing in documents from Greek, Roman, and ancient Chinese civilizations. Chiropractic therapy is now the third most popular health profession, trailing only medicine and dentistry. The following is an explanation of how chiropractic works and how it can benefit you.
How Chiropractic Works | Origins
America currently has nearly 100,000 practicing chiropractors providing pain relief to thousands of patients, with more and more patients seeking chiropractic care each and every day, according to the ACA. Chriopractic care is even used by the NFL to aid its players in recovering from muscle strains, back pain, neck pain and whiplash.
However, chiropractic care has been around since the dawn of civilization. As flashy treatments and pharmacological therapies caught the people’s imagination over the last century, too many people have ignored these traditional, useful traditions.
Chiropractic care is mentioned in writings from approximately 2700 B.C. and 1500 B.C. in Greece and China, respectively. This quote is taken from Hippocrates, the late Greek physician who coined the iconic Hippocratic Oath:
Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases.
Hippocrates
Chiropractic care first appeared in the United States in the late 1800s, thanks to an Iowa doctor called Daniel David Palmer. The Palmer School of Chiropractic was created by Palmer. This school continues to educate young doctors in the rich traditions of medicine.
Students in chiropractic school receive four to five years of education. They work in the laboratory, classroom, and medical clinic for at least 4,200 hours. Chiropractic doctors must pass a national board exam as well as any state-mandated assessments before they may practice. In addition, each state has its own licensing requirements. According to the American Chiropractic Association, chiropractors have the training and experience to operate as primary care physicians.
The unpleasant impacts of toxic pharmaceuticals, as well as the fact that wellbeing comes from a healthy skeleton and lifestyle rather than expensive and risky drugs, are once again gaining traction. With it, more natural, holistic, and effective treatments gain momentum.
How Chiropractic Works | Strategy
Chiropractors concentrate on the optimal alignment and health of the musculoskeletal system. When a component of this complex system of joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and bones falls out of place it causes a lot of muscular and joint discomfort. Whether you are a professional athlete or an office employee, even every-day activities can cause problems with your musculoskeletal system.
Chiropractic treatment is predicated upon the concept that spinal alignment is linked to one’s overall health. The spine is more than just a set of bones. The central nervous system is also housed here. And this has an impact on how a person’s body handles and processes the effects of pain.
All parts of the body are interconnected in a rather intricate fashion. A misalignment in one region of the body can cause misalignments or pain in other sections of the body that may appear to be unrelated. Chiropractors help patients achieve optimal alignment of their bodies through spinal adjustments and manipulations, encouraging muscles and bones to flow freely. Most individuals experience reduced pain & discomfort when their musculoskeletal system is not restricted.
Benefits of Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic is a drug-free, minimally invasive, and holistic treatment option. Although spinal adjustments or manipulations are the most common treatments utilized, chiropractors treat the whole individual. They examine their patient’s diet, stress, sleep, and physical activity levels as well as other aspects of one’s lifestyle. These elements have an impact on how a person processes pain and the level of healing that could be achieved.
While a spinal manipulation may reduce a patient’s pain, helping that patient achieve promising lifestyle improvements, such as weight loss or stress reduction, will aid in supporting the patient’s long-term health.
Patients who participate actively in their treatment have better outcomes and endure less pain, according to several studies. Chiropractic therapy is a useful technique for many patients with low back pain to control their pain and enhance their quality of life.
Another advantage to chiropractic is that it is is non-invasive. According to the ACA, injured workers who see a chiropractor before seeing an MD are 28 percent less likely to need spinal surgery.
As abuse of prescription drugs skyrockets and becomes more prevalent in the public’s eye, more patients than ever are seeking care from chiropractors and their less invasive and highly effective treatment options.
Chiropractic Care for Back Pain
According to the ACA, back pain is a widespread and serious problem that affects up to 80% of people at some point in their lives. Around 31 million persons in the United States suffer from back pain at any given moment.
According to research found in The Journal of Pain, while there are many lifestyle risk factors for back pain, such as poor posture and sedentary behavior, studies have revealed that chronic back pain is linked to abnormalities in pain processing. The study indicated that patients who had spinal manipulation therapy were less sensitive to pain, and the technique offers promise as a clinical treatment.
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, back pain is one of the primary causes of disability, with yearly treatment expenditures estimated at $194 billion. According to the American Chiropractic Association, patients who see a chiropractor first rather than an MD spend up to 20% less overall for their treatment.
Rather than prescribing patients harmful drugs or dangerous surgical interventions, chiropractors instead seek to understand & treat the causes of pain from their musculoskeletal origins.
The Root of Pain
Pain is frequently caused by tissue injuries that result in hypermobile or restricted joints. Accidents can cause injuries, but daily repetitive stress, such as poor posture, can also cause them.
Tissues become painful and swell when they are wounded, reducing muscle and joint motion and frequently generating seemingly unrelated discomfort or pain.
Chiropractors identify the musculoskeletal abnormalities that are at the root of many painful disorders and perform appropriate adjustments. In addition to tackling pain from an alignment standpoint, chiropractors frequently recommend rehabilitation approaches as well as lifestyle changes such as nutrition, exercise, and stress management to aid in the healing process.
What happens during a chiropractic appointment?
Patients are treated holistically by chiropractors. These doctors have been trained in a variety of diagnostic techniques, including skeletal imaging and studying how patients’ bodies move, in order to pinpoint areas of the body that need to be adjusted.
A chiropractic appointment for a patient may include an examination, a hands-on adjusment to fix misalignments, or receive information about potential changes to their lifestyle that could help reduce the patient’s pain.
Is chiropractic care safe?
Yes, in a nutshell, but let’s dig a little deeper.
To begin, painkillers are one of the most commonly used treatments for back and other types of musculoskeletal pain. Even over-the-counter medications like Advil and Tylenol, when taken for long periods of time, can be dangerous.
These medications are designed to treat short-term problems, such as a headache or an acute injury. When taken on a regular basis, these medications can cause gastrointestinal issues like ulcers and bleeding. High blood pressure, kidney problems, and even heart problems are all risks.
Chiropractic care is a refreshingly non-invasive alternative to many medical treatments that emphasize invasive methods. Chiropractic care is also one of the safest non-invasive therapies available.
While no treatment is completely risk-free, the risks with chiropractic care are very small. A small percentage of patients may experience sensations of soreness or achy muscles following treatment, but such discomfort typically disappears within 12 to 24 hours. For most patients who experience this, is is the result of your skeletal system getting used to being properly aligned again.
There have been claims of a link between a specific type of neck manipulation and a stroke known as vertebral artery dissection. However, as more complete evidence and studies suggest, this stroke may occur spontaneously. Chiropractic care is neither a cause nor a trigger.
Other studies have linked the stroke to everyday actions such as driving while turning one’s head or getting a hair treatment. Patients with this condition have are generally seeking treatment for particular symptoms including headaches and neck pain. This form of stroke is exceedingly uncommon, occurring in just one out of every 5.85 million patients who have a high-velocity upper neck manipulation.
Low-back pain patients consistently rate chiropractors higher than physical therapists, surgeons, and primary care physicians in terms of patient satisfaction.
Safe and conservative care begins with chiropractic
Chiropractors prioritize cautious treatment. Non-invasive therapies, they argue, should take precedence over more extreme methods. Medications should also be used with caution and not as the first line of defense. According to the American Chiropractic Association:
For years, many patients would find relief through conservative forms of care such as chiropractic services only after unsuccessfully trying a range of other, more complex, and riskier treatments. Today, that approach has been reversed.
American Chiropractic Association (ACA)
Chiropractic therapy emphasizes non-invasive, drug-free therapies to enhance patient wellness whenever feasible.
Increased awareness of the risks connected with opioid medicines, which are commonly used to treat back pain, has sparked renewed interest in chiropractic and related treatments, including acupuncture.
Opioids are harmful because they can induce addiction, overdose, and death. Meanwhile, these potent medications fail to treat the source of pain. Instead, they make patients completely dependant on these ultimately ineffective medications for the remainder of their lives. Alternative therapies like chiropractic are becoming more popular as these negative consequences of pharmaceutical dependence become more well acknowledged.
Chiropractors specialize in the musculoskeletal and neurological systems of the human body. Spinal manipulations, often known as adjustments, are performed by these highly educated physicians. These serve to promote the mobility of a patient’s spinal vertebrae while also ensuring that they are in healthy alignment.
Are you suffering from neck pain, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome? If you are, or if you experience any of these conditions, contact a specialist near you today!
