Saturday 12th October
Are you considering the benefits of chiropractic care? If so, read on because – from helping with chronic pain to improving your posture, and even helping you breathe better, chiropractic offers a range of benefits that might surprise you.
Chiropractic care focuses on your neuromusculoskeletal system, which incorporates your spine, muscles, and nerves. It uses a variety of techniques, primarily spinal adjustments, to address misalignments in your vertebrae.
As part of a personalised plan, it may also incorporate other holistic therapies and lifestyle advice to support the natural processes by which your body self-manages pain, and heals itself.
But first…
Your vertebrae house and protect your spinal cord, the direct line of communication and command between your brain and your nervous system per se. Together, this dynamic duo – your brain and your spinal cord – make up your central nervous system.
Here’s how they relate to the rest of you:
The spinal cord is a long thin column of dense nerve tissue lying deep within the protective structure of your spine. Running from your lumbar or lower spine to your brain stem, it sits in a canal (spinal canal) lined with 3 tough protective membranes and a layer of cerebrospinal fluid.
The rest of your nervous system has its roots (literally speaking) in your spinal cord!
Your 31 pairs of spinal nerves (62 in total) branch off your spinal cord and connect each side of your body to your brain.
Each nerve originates from 2 roots that emerge from the spinal cord – one carries incoming information about touch, temperature, and other sensations. The other carries outgoing information to control your muscles.
The roots merge to create the spinal nerve just before exiting the spinal canal through special holes (neural foramina) located between the vertebrae. There’s one of these holes on each side of the vertebra, so one of a pair of spinal nerves feeds one side of your body, and the other feeds the other side.
Each spinal nerve then branches into a network of secondary nerves to create the rest of your nervous system (peripheral nervous system).
Where a spinal nerve exits the spinal column is significant too. The ones that exit between the 2nd and 3rd vertebrae in your neck for example control the peripheral network responsible for the muscles that move your head and neck.
Those that branch off the end of your spine control the functions of your lower body. The ones from the lumbar section control your lower back, hips, thighs, and knees. And so on…
The job of your peripheral nerves is to relay information backwards and forwards between your various body systems, and the spinal nerves. The spinal nerves in turn relay it directly to and from your central nervous system.
And between them, your peripheral and central nervous systems run your body!
If these are restricted or obstructed in any way – by misaligned vertebrae, herniated or bulging disc, arthritic changes in your spine, injury etc, it can compress and irritate your spinal nerves. That in turn can have a cascading effect on the rest of your nervous system, and on your body in general.
Chiropractic techniques fundamentally aim to
The goal is to help your spinal nerves function correctly because when they are, it benefits your overall health in many ways.
Research indicates chiropractic care can be beneficial for helping relieve some types of musculoskeletal pain and inflammation. For example, it may:
Chiropractic care techniques like spinal manipulation and mobilisation, may improve acute and chronic neck pain.
Spinal manipulation therapy can effectively ease acute and chronic back pain by realigning the spine, reducing nerve irritability, and improving overall spinal function.
Chiropractic adjustments and therapeutic exercises are a great way to improve your posture.
In particular, by addressing spinal misalignments and strengthening the supportive muscles in your back and shoulders, chiropractic care can help you develop better posture and reduce your risk of associated musculoskeletal issues.
Chiropractic care, especially spinal manipulation, is particularly effective in treating tension-type and cervicogenic headaches. Notably, it can reduce the frequency and intensity of these types of headaches.
Spinal manipulation therapies like those used in chiropractic care may help reduce symptoms of osteoarthritis by improving joint mobility and reducing pain.
Chiropractic care can often be more affordable for dealing with chronic back pain because, as a holistic health care option, it doesn’t rely on expensive prescription medications or surgery.
Instead, you may be offered postural, ergonomic, dietary and lifestyle advice aimed at addressing and correcting the issues contributing to your back pain.
If you rely on powerful opioid pain relievers to help manage chronic pain, spinal manipulation may offer an effective, drug-free alternative that can help lower your reliance on these drugs.
Athletes often use chiropractic adjustments to improve joint mobility, reduce pain, and improve overall physical function to help maintain peak performance levels and prevent injuries.
Constricted ribs and tight chest muscles are common causes of poor breathing techniques. Chiropractic care can improve your thoracic spine (upper back) alignment and reduce musculoskeletal issues that may be restricting your ribcage.
This can improve your lung function by allowing your lungs to expand correctly when you breathe.
Chiropractic treatments can help relax tight muscles and relieve pain from pinched or inflamed nerves, reducing your body’s stress response and encouraging relaxation.
In our experience, chiropractic patients in general are very happy with the hands-on approach and level of personalised care they receive, and importantly, the significant pain relief it provides
Amongst its many benefits, chiropractic offers a drug-free, hands-on, personalised approach to improving your overall wellbeing.
From sorting out the roots of neuromusculoskeletal pain to helping you get on top of those painful tension headaches, or just improving your posture –the benefits of chiropractic care are many and varied!
