Chiropractic is the term used for the treatment of the body’s injuries and pains using spinal manipulation. It relies on the belief that most of our body’s pains can be treated without surgery and by simply having musculoskeletal adjustments. Chiropractors believe that the body (especially the spinal cord) is able to regenerate by itself, thus healing injured parts.
Chiropractic adjustments are commonly applied to those who are experiencing pain in their muscles, bones, and joints. It can also help in relieving the pain felt in your connective tissues. However, these days this practice is expanding to include posture correction, exercises, laser therapies, and body consultations.
How does chiropractic work?
You might be wondering why the focus of chiropractic treatments is on the spine. This is because your spinal cord is connected to your nervous system which controls every voluntary movement in the body. It also controls hormones by way of your brain.
When you undergo chiropractic treatments, you will also encounter the phrase “spinal manipulation” all the time. Even though this phrase sounds painful, there is nothing to be afraid of because chiropractors are trained to do adjustments that will not shock your joints and muscles.
Spinal manipulation is done by putting pressure on a joint and moving it beyond its normal range of motion. When your chiropractor does this, you would often hear a cracking or popping sound. This sound means that a bubble of air bursts into the synovial fluid that lubricates your joints.
How do chiropractic adjustments relieve pain?
Pain relief with chiropractic adjustments can be done to different parts of the body. In fact, pain relief is one of the most common benefits of chiropractic treatments. It has been proven time and time again that patients who went through this kind of health care were able to recover and to have better joint movement after a few weeks. Pain in the neck, head, and back are some of the body parts it focuses on.
What makes chiropractic effective for pain relief?
There are many reasons as to why chiropractic treatments offer pain relief. Read on to find out.
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It does not involve the use of medicine and drugs.
Because chiropractors believe in the body’s natural ability to heal itself, they do not prescribe painkillers and antibiotics to their patients. Using drugs for pain management only heals injuries temporarily and this does not prevent similar situations in the future.
On the other hand, the use of chiropractic treatments follows a holistic approach to healing. Its short-term goal is to lessen and completely remove the pain the patient is feeling, but its long-term goal is to have a healthy body wherein pain and injuries can be prevented. What makes this approach more pleasing to a lot of people is that there are no side effects when it comes to recovery.
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It safely supplements other treatments.
Another plus for chiropractic treatment is that it can be a supplement for your other pain relief treatments. When you’re experiencing chronic pain, it’s hard to depend on one form of treatment to get you by. Some people have painkillers and other medications. What makes chiropractic treatment perfect for this is that it is natural and you do not have to take anything in to ease the pain. However, you should still notify your doctors regarding this.
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It is a proven pain relief method.
Aside from the many people who can testify to chiropractic’s effectiveness, a lot of research has results that show chiropractic being a good form of pain relief. In a study done by the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, among the patients that went through chiropractic treatments and family physicians, those who took the former showed more improvement and pain relief than the latter.
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It can relieve headaches
Aside from bodily pain, you can also experience tension in your head like migraines and headaches. Because chiropractic takes into account the health of the whole body, going through this kind of health care can help prevent additional pain experienced by your head.
One of the reasons why people get migraines is the lack of oxygen and proper blood flow. Having chiropractic treatments improves blood flow and makes sure that all other joints of the body are in proper condition.