How Do Chiropractic Benefits Align Your Body and Health?

Chiropractic is a type of healthcare that focuses on diagnosing, treating, and preventing musculoskeletal conditions, particularly those involving the spine and joints. It was founded by Daniel David Palmer in the late 19th century.

Chiropractic practice mainly involves adjusting the spine to correct what are known as “subluxations” or misalignments. Chiropractors believes that spinal misalignments may affect overall health by potentially influencing the nervous system.

What is Chiropractic Care?

Chiropractic care⁽¹⁾, which is popular in the United States, is a healthcare approach focusing on the spine and its connection to the nervous system. Chiropractors theorize spinal misalignments hinder the body’s healing and function. They use precise pressure to adjust the spine, aiming to restore function and relieve pain. 

Mainly, they employ spinal manipulation to address issues like neck and back pain. This idea agrees with the belief that when the spine is in the right position, the body can fix itself. Chiropractic care emphasizes spinal health as crucial for overall well-being, highlighting the body’s natural healing capacity.

How Chiropractic Treatments Work

Chiropractic care targets issues in the musculoskeletal system, especially in the spine, using adjustments or spinal manipulation. These techniques, performed by trained professionals, aim to correct spine misalignments called subluxations. By doing so, they enhance spine alignment, function, and pain relief, particularly for chronic conditions like neck pain, back pain and sciatica. 

Chiropractic care, recognized by the American Chiropractic Association, offers a drug-free, non-invasive approach that complements the body’s natural healing abilities. It not only alleviates pain but also enhances mobility and overall physical well-being, emphasizing spinal and joint health and holistic wellness.

How Chiropractic Care Improved Mobility and Flexibility?

Chiropractic care can improve mobility and flexibility by addressing spinal and joint misalignments. Through adjustments and manipulation, muscle tightness is reduced, promoting smoother movement. Chiropractors also prioritize joint function restoration, aiding the body’s healing process and preventing injury.

This non-invasive approach is particularly beneficial for those who have osteoarthritis or back pain sufferers, fostering better mobility. Additionally, physicaltherapy exercises may be incorporated to enhance flexibility and strength, ultimately promoting an active, comfortable lifestyle.

Benefits of Chiropractic Care

1. Relieve Pain

Chiropractic adjustments offer a natural path to pain relief, targeting the root cause of discomfort in the back, neck, and joints, reducing the need for medication.
In one study trial⁽²⁾, participants who received chiropractic therapy reported experiencing greater improvements in pain and physical function. Additionally, they were more likely to feel overall improvement and satisfaction with the treatment.

2. Relieve Chronic Back Pain

The benefits of chiropractic primarily focus on the treatment of neuroskeletal and musculoskeletal disorders, especially low back pain, which is a common issue in the U.S. It is widely utilized and accepted, with evidence suggesting that chiropractic manipulation can be beneficial⁽³⁾, particularly for acute low back pain, and may offer some advantages over conventional treatments in certain cases.

3. Reduce Headaches

Another benefits of chiropractic care, including spinal manipulation, can help ease headaches⁽⁴⁾, particularly migraines and cervicogenic headaches. It may involve techniques like massage. However, for tension-type headaches, results are mixed.

Spinal manipulation isn’t recommended for episodic tension-type headaches, but gentler methods like low-load craniocervical mobilization might help in the long run. These therapies are usually safe and also have few side effects.

4. Strengthen Muscles

Chiropractic treatment can enhance muscle strength⁽⁵⁾ and boost overall health. It fixes misalignments, which improves how nerves talk to each other and helps muscles and heart health.

Clinical testing can show how chiropractic adjustments enhance muscle strength. By targeting neural, muscle, and biomechanical factors, chiropractic care also promotes better strength and quality of life.

5. Alternative Medicine

Chiropractic care may be cheaper than other treatments for spine pain in the US, but more research is needed to confirm this. Studies comparing costs found that chiropractic care was often less expensive⁽⁶⁾, especially in private health plans and workers’ compensation. However, these studies had limitations, so more research is necessary to fully understand the cost benefits of chiropractic care.

6. Supported by American Chiropractic Association

Recognized by the American Chiropractic Association, chiropractic care is also known for its potential to assist with different pain conditions, affirming its role in complementary and alternative medicine.

7. Reduced Muscle Stiffness

Regular chiropractic adjustments can help relax tight muscles, which may alleviate discomfort and allow for smoother and more comfortable movements throughout the day.

8. Improved Posture

Chiropractors often focus on correcting the alignment of the spine, which can lead to better posture. This not only helps reduce strain on the spine and neck but also can enhance overall body function and reduce the risk of injury.

What are the Disadvantages of Going to a Chiropractor?

While chiropractic care offers numerous benefits, there are also some potential disadvantages to consider:

• Temporary Discomfort: Some individuals may experience temporary soreness or discomfort in the treatment area following a chiropractic adjustment.
• Limited Scope: Chiropractic care primarily focuses on musculoskeletal issues. Conditions outside of this scope may require intervention by other healthcare professionals.
• Risk of Injury: Although rare, there is a risk of injury from adjustments, especially if performed improperly. This includes the very rare risk of acquiring slipped disk and stroke from spinal manipulations.
• Need for Multiple Sessions: Several chiropractic treatment schedules may involve numerous appointments, which may take up a lot of time and increase the total expenses.
• Misdiagnosis or Ineffective Treatment: While chiropractic care can be helpful for many people, it’s important to understand that it may not be suitable for all conditions. In some cases, a chiropractor may not be able to diagnose all medical conditions and they will still recommend consulting a medical doctor for further evaluation.

Conclusion: Healing Yourself with Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care is a natural way to improve your health and well-being. It can relieve pain and enhance your overall health, transforming your life positively. By harnessing your body’s ability to heal itself, chiropractic care can make you feel healthier, happier, and more fulfilled. Consider incorporating chiropractic care into your health routine to experience its many benefits.

Did you know some of your most common daily habits are contributing to your back pain? It’s true! But, once you understand how and why, and you make some easy adjustments, you can start supporting and strengthening your back. It will go back to moving and feeling naturally good! So check out this 7 Best Daily Habits for a Healthy Back now!

Frequently Asked Questions

Rick Kaselj

Rick Kaselj MS, is a leading kinesiologist and injury specialist as well as co-creator of the best-selling Unlock Your Hip Flexors program. Rick creates exercise programs that help people heal injuries and eliminate pain, so they can go back to living a full, active, healthy life.