There’s a lot of lore floating around out there about chiropractors and chiropractic. As a chiropractor in Springfield, Illinois I’ve heard it all. Many new patients come in with preconceived ideas about the quality of care based on what they’ve heard from unreliable, crisis-prone neighbors and the fetishization of loud, dramatic adjustments as seen on the internet.
Today, I want to pull back the curtain on what an adjustment at the Springfield Wellness Center is capable of doing. New patients usually have a lot of questions and it’s time to clear them up. Here are five, and a dozen extra, ways chiropractic adjustments save lives.
1. No Longer a “Pain in the Neck”
There really isn’t another treatment as effective at reducing lower back pain and neck pain than a chiropractic adjustment. I’m not just saying that because I’m a chiropractor, the stats back me up. A European study found that adjustments resulted in a 72% success rate in treating sciatica as opposed to 20% with physical therapy and 50% from corticosteroid injections.
80% of Americans will experience lower back pain at some point in their lives. While a general practitioner might recommend medication or surgery, chiropractors know that both those options are…
For those of us that spend day after day at a desk, hunched over a computer, or scrolling through a phone, a chiropractor is our new best friend. This hunched over lifestyle is all the rage these days and causes strain on the neck due to a condition called “forward head posture”. For every inch that our head shifts forward from its true center of gravity, our neck must withstand an extra 10 lbs of stress! That has cataclysmic effects on the muscles, ligaments, and tissues from the head down the entire back.
An adjustment will help correct misalignments in the spine that are irritating nerves and causing pain. They’ll also help to correct the structure of the spine which will take pressure off of overworked, tense muscles. This all-natural, non-invasive technique is usually around 1/3 the cost of physiotherapy or general practitioner care.
2. Clear Head, Full Heart, Can’t Lose
If back pain is the gold medalist, headaches take the silver with ease. There are many different types of headaches, from stress headaches to sinus headaches and tension headaches to migraines. All of them have their unique triggers, but for many of them, including captain-of-the-football-team tension headache and his head-cheerleader-girlfriend migraine, the cause is rooted in spinal dysfunction.
Not only can an adjustment help relieve the symptoms of headaches, it also addresses the underlying root cause which prevents headaches from being a repeat offender. Adjustments help correct “forward head posture” and relieve the resulting muscle tension that is the genesis for tension headaches. It can also clear up nerve pathways sending dysfunctional signals that create the sensory issues related to migraines.
3. Live Addiction Free
Those suffering from chronic pain are often prescribed opioid pain relievers to manage their discomfort. Not to scare anyone, but I do think it’s worth mentioning that:
- 21% – 29% of patients described opioids for chronic pain misuse them
- 8% – 12% of people using an opioid from chronic pain develop and opioid addiction
- 4%- 6% of people who misuse prescription opioids transition to heroin
These are not statistics that anyone wants to be a part of. It is no secret that at this moment opioid addiction is like a raging wildfire in this country. We’re trying to extinguish that fire one patient at a time. Opioid pain relievers, even over-the-counter painkillers, are not the best way to alleviate pain.
The main purpose of a chiropractic adjustment is to relieve the pressure on our nervous system that ignites pain signals. Pain is our body’s alarm system, letting us know that something is wrong. When we can correct the root cause of that dysfunction, the body is able to turn that warning system off. The side effects of these drugs are not worth it when there is an all-natural option that is actually better at fixing the underlying problem.
?here’s a palate cleanser, sorry for that tough talk
4. Be Like Mike
In the 90s we were all trying to be like Michael Jordan and we thought that the way to become arguably the greatest basketball player to ever live was to drink Gatorade. How’d that work out for everyone?
There’s a reason that professional athletes have made it a point to see a chiropractor regularly and that over half of NFL teams have a chiropractor on staff. People, normal non-athlete people, often overlook the fact that chiropractic care improves functionality in everyday life by:
- Reducing inflammation
- Enhancing the immune system
- Improving pulmonary functioning
- Decreasing mental and physical stress
- Relieving muscle tension
- Increasing natural energy levels
So it’s no surprise that care that improves joint function, reduces pain, improves range of motion, and minimizes recovery time would be the first stop for Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods, Barry Bonds, Tom Brady, and…Michael Jordan. Dreams never die. Also, I’m sure there are female athletes who seek chiropractic care because they’re smarter than men, and in most cases, better athletes.
5. Simma Down Now
The world expert on hypertension published a study that a single cervical chiropractic adjustment has the same effect as two blood pressure-lowering drugs. TWO! And the effects of a single adjustment lasted more than six months. SIX!
There are other studies that have shown similar findings in hypotensive patients whose low blood pressure was raised to normal levels after chiropractic care. This demonstrates that an adjustment has the ability to create a balanced environment in the body once subluxations are removed.
?a chiropractic adjustment at work
This balancing act is reinforced by an adjustment’s ability to balance the two states of our nervous system – the sympathetic nervous system which prepares the body for “fight or flight” and the parasympathetic nervous system which acts like a brake and promotes the “rest and digest” response.
Physical and emotional stress keep our body in a constant state of “fight or flight”, funneling all our energy into helping us out run lions, tigers, and squirrels that have gotten a little too comfortable with humans. Our body is left with reduced energy and functioning capabilities, compromising our ability to heal. But an adjustment dampens our “flight or fight” response and stimulates the “rest and digest” response.
If a pain-free, stress-free, fully functioning life doesn’t send someone running to see a chiropractor, they’re beyond saving. Chiropractic adjustments are able to:
- Improve immune function
- Reduce inflammation
- Manage stress levels
- Prevent surgery
- Improve mental clarity
- Improve organ function
- Create healthier pregnancies
- Reduce colic, acid reflux, and ear infections in children
- Correct scoliosis
- Improve sleep
- Control asthma
- Improve digestion and bowel regularity
- Improve respiration
- Manage arthritis and joint pain
When the nervous system is functioning optimally our body can function optimally. Chiropractic adjustments clear any interference with the nervous system’s ability to do its job, leading to a healthy, fully-functioning body. We understand that the lore around chiropractic is strong, but we’re here to set the story straight. Give us a call or schedule a visit with one of our amazing doctors and we’ll be happy to answer any questions about chiropractic, the more bizarre the better. We want everyone in Springfield, Illinois to know about the life changing effects of this non-invasive, all-natural health care option. We won’t stop until we have transformed our community.
