Do you have trouble sleeping? Are you getting frequent colds or headaches? Do you have low, unexplained energy no matter how much you sleep? Did you know that chiropractic care can help all of these conditions?
Many people believe chiropractic care is only for patients who suffer from chronic back pain. While chiropractic adjustments certainly help with back pain, this type of treatment has many more benefits most people are unaware of, such as restoring balance and enabling optimal breathing.
This article discusses the many unexpected benefits of chiropractic care. It also provides an overview of chiropractic care and the many conditions it addresses. Lastly, it details the certifications required to become a chiropractor.
Governor’s Park Chiropractic is a full-service chiropractic firm that also offers acupuncture, massage therapy, physical therapy and rehabilitation, spinal decompression therapy, and custom orthotics.
With over 17 years of chiropractic experience and postdoctoral studies, our lead chiropractor, Dr. Ferdowsian, walks you through the stages of chiropractic care so you can understand your treatment plan and path to relief.
What Is Chiropractic Care?
The following section provides a brief overview and a few fun facts about chiropractic care. It explains chiropractors’ role in patient recovery and how they devise treatment plans specific to each patient’s condition.
Chiropractors are health care professionals focused on diagnosing and treating neuromuscular disorders. Their treatment and diagnosis place emphasis on the manual adjustment or manipulation of the spine. Some chiropractors, including Governor’s Park Chiropractic, also use other forms of therapy, such as acupuncture or physical therapy, to get patients the best results.
Chiropractic care’s primary aims are to reduce pain and improve functionality and educate patients on how to take control of their health via specific exercises, ergonomics, and other therapies.
What Does Chiropractic Care Address?
Chiropractic treatment helps relieve pain from conditions that affect the following areas of your body:
- Bones
- Connective tissue
- Joints
- Muscles
- Cartilage
Depending on your condition, chiropractic care may focus on several areas of the body and incorporate multiple therapeutic modalities. Chiropractic care shares discipline with physical therapy, and physicians often use the two in conjunction. The primary difference between these two therapies is that chiropractic care focuses more on manual adjustments while physical therapy focuses on rehabilitating injuries using stretches and exercises.
What Are the Benefits of Chiropractic Care?
Pain relief is the most commonly associated benefit of chiropractic care. However, research shows that there are many additional benefits to chiropractic care that most people may never realize.
1. Improved Immune Function
A recent study showed regular chiropractic therapy could boost the immune system up to 200%. Stress weakens the immune system because it hinders the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS communicates with the rest of the body via the spinal cord. When stress and misalignment interrupt this connection, it prevents your immune system from functioning effectively.
2. More Energy
Stress doesn’t only affect your immune system. It also hinders your joints and muscles’ natural function, making you feel weak and zapping your energy. Correcting the spine improves the CNS’s functioning, rejuvenating your energy levels.
3. Asthma Care
If you find yourself reaching for the inhaler more often than you like, chiropractic therapy might reduce your symptoms enough for you to feel less dependent on it. Spinal misalignments can disrupt the nerve impulses critical to lung functioning. Realigning vertebrae is proven to restore nerve functioning, which can lead to improved lung function.
4. Lowered Blood Pressure
Chiropractic care restores nerve functioning in the neck, which may have a close connection with blood pressure. One Chicago-area study found that after one specialized adjustment, patients experienced significant drops in blood pressure. The reduction equaled taking two blood pressure medications at once.
5. Improved Digestion
The nervous system connects to the entire body, which includes the stomach. Naturally, stressed nerves and interrupted connections due to misalignments can cause stomach issues and hinder digestion. Chiropractic care targets the nerves in your thoracic spine, improving digestion and stomach function. It may help Crohn’s disease, chronic constipation, pain, and bloating, and it can even treat colic in infants.
6. Improved Breathing
Spinal misalignment can cause many problems with breathing. One of the most common ways misalignment causes breathing problems is by restricting the rib cage, making it difficult for the lungs to expand and retract. Thoracic nerves can also get pinched by misalignment, hindering the neurological connection between the brain and the lungs.
7. Improved Sleep
When the spine is under duress, sleep often becomes much more difficult. Restless nights tossing and turning are typical when you have alignment issues because they inflame your CNS. You may feel a general pain all over your body, or it might manifest itself in a specific location, such as the occipital muscles (back of the head) or trapezius muscles (shoulders).
8. Improved ROM
Injuries typically result from muscle stiffness, which causes imbalances within the body’s joints. Misaligned joints can also stiffen muscles and cause the same sort of imbalance. Aligning the body with chiropractic ensures your joints function correctly. With proper joint alignment, you avoid stiffness and inflammation in your muscles and improve your range of motion
(ROM) and mobility, preventing the risk of injury.
9. Improved Balance
Chiropractic care can potentially improve core muscle functioning and alter sensory-motor functioning. Restoring these functions can improve strength, balance, and endurance for people with lower back pain. Improved balance and strength can also reduce dizziness.
As we age, it becomes more challenging to maintain your proprioceptive, vestibular, and visual system functions. These systems control your balance and chiropractic adjustments ensure they achieve optimal functionality.
10. Eases Headache Symptoms
Spinal manipulation has shown promising results when addressing tension headaches originating in your neck. One 2016 study showed 6-8 sessions of cervical and upper thoracic spine manipulations were more effective than exercise therapy for relieving chronic headache pain.
What Type of Certification Do Chiropractors Have?
Certified chiropractors must earn a postgraduate degree known as a Doctor of Chiropractic. This degree typically takes four years to complete, and admission to the program requires 90 semester hours of undergraduate coursework. Most programs require bachelor’s degrees.
Every state requires licensed chiropractors, but licensing requirements vary from state to state. All states require chiropractors to pass the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners exam. Chiropractors can also specialize in particular chiropractic treatment areas. To do so, they must complete a residency after receiving their Doctor of Chiropractic.
Conclusion- 10 Unexpected Benefits of Chiropractic Care
People may mistakenly believe that chiropractic care only alleviates back pain, but this type of therapeutic care responds to more ailments than one. It can improve your balance, help you get a good night’s sleep, and improve your mobility and ROM, which decreases your risk of injury.
In many cases, chiropractic treatment works best when paired with other therapy forms such as physical therapy and acupuncture. That’s why it’s essential to visit a chiropractor who understands how each treatment works in unison to give you the best treatment for your needs.
At Governor’s Park, we understand everyone is unique. No matter your path to recovery, we’re there to walk it with you. Our lead chiropractor, Dr. Ferdowsian, uses non-invasive techniques and cutting-edge technology to give you the highest quality treatment.
Whether you’re looking to eliminate long-lasting pain or you’re trying to prevent future injury, Governor’s Park is here to help. Contact us today to discover what chiropractic care can do for you.
Governor's Park Chiropractic is the Colorado chiropractor team dedicated to helping individuals get out of pain and achieve better health. Offering a range of services and treatment options to meet the specific needs of each patient.