Chiropractic Benefits
Chiropractic Benefits explained by Chiropractor Orange CA Dr Barry Marks DC. Dr Marks earned his Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) degree in 1986 from the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic and is a former Associate Clinical Professor.
Commonly Known Chiropractic Benefits
Unquestionably, pretty much everyone understands that chiropractic adjustments, chiropractic care is a popular pain relief treatment. In fact, many medical studies support chiropractic care for things like headaches, neck pain and lower back pain. For good reason, people also equate chiropractors as car accident doctors.
Moreover, insurance company and consumer awareness research has indicated patients of chiropractors are very happy with their care. As examples, most report that their doctor of chiropractic spends more time with them, listens more attentively and are more likely to provide information on home care.
High Satisfaction Among Consumers of Chiropractic Care
More than 14,000 consumers were surveyed by the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center. Specifically, the report found “eighty-eight percent of those who tried chiropractic manipulation said it helped a lot. In the end, Chiropractors scored the highest satisfaction among healthcare consumers with low back pain beating out physical therapists, acupuncturists, specialist physicians and primary care physicians.
So chiropractors are widely held as doctors who relieve pain, but did you know there are other lesser known chiropractic benefits?
Chiropractic Benefits You May Not Have Known About
Chiropractic for Stress Relief
Besides pain relief, patients enjoy routine chiropractic adjustments for relief of stress. Additionally, emotional and postural stress cause tension in the muscles of the head, neck and shoulders and chiropractic care helps relax your muscles and release your stress and tension.
Therefore, if you’re finding your muscles burn, ache or feel numb in the upper back or neck after a long day at the office, you’re most likely suffering from postural stress. Most people do not have their work space laid out properly. Consequently, poor ergonomics leads to increased stress on the muscles and joints of your body as you try to adapt your body to improper furniture. But even with great ergonomics, if you spend too much time at the computer, or staring down at your phone or driving your car, you can experience postural stress. In truth, our bodies are not exactly designed for the modern tech world.
In spite of this, your chiropractor can benefit you by helping you lay out your work-space ergonomically. Importantly, you will also be taught exercises to do during the day to minimize postural insults to your body. In addition, chiropractic adjustments can unlock stuck joints and release tension from your body.
The Mind and Body Are Connected
Like postural stress, emotional stress also increases tension in the muscles of the body that then cause malfunction within the joints and results in dysfunction and pain. The difference is that it is caused by emotional overwhelm. Stress from home life, your job, and again the crazy modern world we live in can cause you to become bombarded by thoughts and feelings that lead to physical problems. While emotional stress may start in your mind, it is not just “all in your head.” Mental and emotional stresses effect us as much and sometimes more than physical postural stress. Chiropractors are interested in your entire well-being, not just your spine.
Your chiropractor can help work through some of the major stressors in your life and teach you techniques to dissipate emotional stress like breathing exercises, meditation and physical stretching exercises to rid your body of pent up stress. Chiropractic adjustments are very helpful because they release hormones that calm you and make you feel more at ease.
Chiropractic Healthy Lifestyle
Chiropractors provide counseling for a healthier natural lifestyle. They can teach you exercises, nutrition and other lifestyle info to help you achieve greater health and well-being. Unlike your medical physician, who sees you only when you’re sick, your chiropractor can create a lifestyle plan for you to keep you well and periodic chiropractic treatments are a part of that wellness plan.
Lifestyle coaches are all the rage today. You may be surprised that Doctors of Chiropractic have provided very similar coaching and support for decades before we knew what a “life coach” was. Through knowledge of psychology, diet and exercise and having an entrepreneurial spirit, your chiro can be very helpful in coaching you to achieve more in life.
Whether it’s diet for weight loss or to combat a particular illness, chiropractors have great knowledge in the area of nutrition. Helping you identify problems in your diet and creating plans to improve it are within a chiropractor’s field of practice. Rest assured your chiropractic doctor is up to date on the different nutritional theories popular today; Keto, Paleo, Gluten-free, Low Carb, etc.
Chiropractic and the GUT
Ask a chiropractor which are the most important aspects of health and they will probably tell you the nervous system (brain, spine and nerves) and the gastrointestinal tract (GUT) are by far the most important. As far back as the very first “physicians” in ancient times, the GUT was considered the key to proper health. All of our nutrients that make everything work must be assimilated and pass through the GUT. Without proper function of intake, digestion and elimination, your body will grow weak and sick. Today many physicians medical and chiropractic believe many diseases manifest as a result of years of GUT neglect. Benefits of chiropractic can be relief of heartburn, GERD and other digestive disorders. Y
ou can benefit from your chiropractor’s knowledge of nutrition to find solutions to your chronic stomach ailments naturally, without dangerous drugs that merely mask the symptoms and can cause worse problems later.
There is a connection between the GUT and the brain. As the GUT malfunctions, so too does the brain and nerves. The result is headaches, dizziness, foggy brain and other neurologic symptoms. Your chiropractor will be happy to help you normalize ad balance your GUT and brain to work in synch to restore your health.
Children Benefit from Chiropractic Care
Childhood ailments like earaches, “growing pains” and scoliosis can all benefit from chiropractic care. In this day of antibiotic overuse and superbugs that threaten us, it’s a good idea to try more natural methods when appropriate. You may not realize this, but most cases of earaches in children are no ear “infections”, but rather ear “inflammation” caused by back up of mucous that is overproduced when your child is exposed to a virus.
Giving a child antibiotics at the first sign of ear pain is not a good idea. Unless the ear is truly infected and a culture shows evidence of a specific bacteria, natural chiropractic care can be provided and give much relief. A chiropractor with pediatric experience will know when a case can be helped naturally and when it needs to be referred for medications.
Does your child, especially young boy lay in bed and cry at night saying their legs, knees or hips ache especially after a long day of playing or walking? You may have taken them to their pediatrician and were told they are having “growing pains.” Your chiropractors response to that is “it doesn’t have to be painful to grow.” Very specific problems within the hips, knees and legs cause night pain. Chiropractic evaluation of these young patients often find alignment issues within the pelvis or legs. Once corrected, the night pains cease.
In General, People Feel Better, Healthier and Have More Energy as a Benefit of Chiropractic Care
Learn More About Chiropractic Benefits See Dr Marks’ Special Offer
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Archive of older articles by Dr. Marks
References
Survey: Hands-On Therapies among Top-Rated Treatments for Back Pain. Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center. Consumer Reports May 2009
Simon Dagenais, DC, PhD, AndreaC.Tricco, PhD, ScottHaldeman, DC, MD, PhD. Spine J. 2010 (Jun); 10 (6): 514–529
Chronic Spinal Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Medication,
Acupuncture, and Spinal Manipulation. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2003 (Jul 15); 28 (14): 1490–1502
Fysh DC, P. Evaluation and Treatment of Children with Earache. Dynamic Chiropractic – June 4, 1993, Vol. 11, Issue 12