If you’ve been experiencing ongoing neck pain and back pain, it might be time to call a chiropractor. But did you know that Chiropractic care can assist with much more than just pain? Chiropractic care has been known to help alleviate headaches, improve flexibility and, according to recent research, even increase brain function. Here are eight signs that you may need to visit a Chiropractor.
1. You’re in Acute or Chronic Pain
One of the most common signs that you may need to seek help from a Chiropractor is that you are experiencing any type of physical pain. Pain is an indicator that something is going wrong, and while medications or other devices or aids can give some temporary relief, pain shouldn’t be covered up without finding out the cause. Chiropractors may also be an additional resource to assess symptoms or conditions that conventional doctors do not have any answers for, except to be dependent on a medication or surgery.
2. Your Body is Out of Alignment
We move around, lift, twist, turn and sometimes engage in physical activity that our body isn’t designed to do naturally, so the body can become misaligned. Misalignments, or as Chiropractors call them, subluxations, cause stress on the nervous system, which can become the source of unease. Many different conditions can be associated with subluxations and can therefore cause a person to experience pain and the inability to function or to experience significant limitation with certain activities. If this is not addressed for a long time, the underlying condition can be not only physical but also become emotional too.
3. You Sit for Long Periods of Time
We drive to and from work, spend hours at a desk, eat our meals sitting at a table, then relax at the end of the day by sitting in front of a TV or reading a book. Statistics show that some of us sit, on average, for a staggering 10 hours a day! In fact, it is said that ‘sitting is the new smoking‘ because researchers are continuing to find that prolonged sitting is linked to chronic degenerative diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
While we can’t avoid the issue completely, we can put measures into place that cause less stress on our bodies. Chiropractic care can help to correct many structural issues caused by extended periods of sitting. Check out our home care page here for videos on how to set up your seating position.
4. You’re an Active Person
Physical exercise and sports have many health benefits, but they also put repeated stress on the body. By adding Chiropractic care into your fitness regimen, it will ensure that you’re more mobile, decrease your chances of getting injured in the future, and significantly enhance your performance as well.
5. You Suffer from Migraines or Tension Headaches
Chiropractors commonly see a correlation between headaches and misalignments of the spine. While medications can help to give temporary relief from symptoms, Chiropractic care can help to get to the root of the problem for a more permanent solution.
6. You Want to Improve Your Mobility or Flexibility
Any movement in your body is organised around your spine. If your spine is misaligned then the movement of the other joints, like your hips or shoulders, is compromised as they compensate. Stretching the misaligned joints may only create temporary change but correcting the spinal misalignments gets to the cause of poor mobility.
Chiropractors can help you increase your range of motion and function at your best. The better your body is moving, the better your body is functioning, and the less likely you will experience pain.
7. You Want to Increase Your Mental Clarity and Cognitive Function
Your brain relies on input from your body to keep it functioning well. If your body, especially your spine, is misaligned, you may be suffering sub-optimal brain function without even knowing it.
Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to improve brain function, most notably the pre-frontal cortex which is known as the conductor of the entire brain.
8. You Have an Ongoing Condition for Which You Haven’t Yet Been Able to Get Help
While the majority of people seek out the help of a Chiropractor for a specific complaint like headaches or back pain, published studies show that many people have benefited from Chiropractic care to address other disorders that conventional medical care has not been able to correct. Some of these conditions include digestive disorders, asthma and other breathing disorders, blood pressure issues, sleeping issues, ear infections, autoimmune disorders, plantar fasciitis and more.
Being proactive with Chiropractic care has also been shown to boost your immune system and help keep you healthy.
What Does a Chiropractor Do?
A Chiropractor is focused on the optimum function of the spine and nervous system. Chiropractors conduct extensive assessments to determine if and how they can help. They offer adjustments to help correct interference to the nervous system that may be caused by structural misalignments of the spine.
People have historically sought out Chiropractors as specialists in the treatment of back pain, neck pain, headaches and injuries. However, recently chiropractic care has become widely accepted as a preventative solution to assess and correct any structural instability that is preventing people from living life to the fullest potential.
Vitalistic Chiropractors focus on the entire body rather than only focusing on a specific area of complaint.
What is a Chiropractic Session Like?
Our Chiropractors will start by taking a full health history, taking you through a series of functional testing and when necessary, further testing such as X-rays – which are done in our in-house digital X-ray suite. Based on these tests, your Chiropractor will take you through a personalised report, and once it is clear that it is clinically appropriate, you will receive your first adjustment. An adjustment involves your Chiropractor detecting, analysing and correcting any subluxations they may find.
There are over 300 different recognised Chiropractic techniques, and our Chiropractors use the Advanced BioStructural Correction (ABC)™ technique.
Do I Need to be Referred to a Chiropractor?
Anyone can go to a Chiropractor: babies, young children, teenagers, adults, seniors, and there are even Chiropractors who are specifically trained to see animals.
Chiropractic care is more technical than cracking your back. A chiropractor balances out the neurological system using adjustments to the spine to remove nervous system interference and restore neurological functions. Chiropractic care has been known to help with everything, from reducing the symptoms of allergies to relieving headaches and migraines, neck pain, back pain, and improving a patient’s range of motion.
How to Find a Chiropractor
When searching for a Chiropractor, it’s always a good idea to start by asking your friends and family for a personal referral. That way you know you will be getting a doctor that someone you know has used and personally trusts.
Peak Chiropractic Centre located in Claremont are family-friendly chiropractors focused on relieving aches, pains and posture correction. We offer in-house X-Ray facilities.
