Do you know when to see a chiropractor? If you’re experiencing back discomfort, frequent headaches, shoulder pain, or issues with range of motion (ROM), chiropractic care can potentially serve as a valuable source of relief. These doctors administer spinal adjustments that improve the connection between your nervous system and musculoskeletal system.
Improving the neuro-muscular connection within your body optimizes its healing process and ensures these systems function as they were intended. Additionally, chiropractic therapy can help those recently involved in car accidents uncover the full extent of their injuries and implement treatment methods that specifically target their affected areas.
At the Denver Integrated Spine Center, we believe our patients deserve a full-service, multidisciplinary approach to back pain and accident therapy. That’s why we use additional services such as physical rehabilitation and dry needling to ensure our patients have access to the most well-rounded treatment available .from our experienced Colorado chiropractors and our entire healthcare team.
Continue reading to learn if chiropractic therapy can eliminate your discomfort and get you back to living an active, pain-free, healthy lifestyle.
What Does a Chiropractor Do?
Chiropractors treat many different injuries and ailments.
Chiropractors are medical professionals who specialize in examining their patients’ spinal positions and muscle reflexes. From the preliminary examination and the X-rays they use to study the patient’s spinal position and condition, chiropractors create comprehensive treatment plans and monitor their patients’ progress throughout the program’s duration.
Chiropractors cannot prescribe medication. Instead, they try to optimize the body’s natural healing processes. Their primary modality to accomplish this is hands-on spinal manipulation combined with instrumentation that applies force to spinal joints to achieve better alignment.
The improved alignment of joints, particularly those in the spine, improves the connection between the neurological and musculoskeletal systems. When patients have a misaligned spine, they may experience discomfort, neck pain, headaches, and chronic back pain. It can also lead to muscular imbalances that cause damage and pain.
Many chiropractors pair their spinal adjustments with other forms of therapy. The supplemental treatments chiropractors include with spinal adjustments are:
- Massage therapy
- Stimulation
- Hot and cold treatment
- Physical therapy
- Diet and weight loss counseling
- Acupuncture
- Orthopedics
When to See a Chiropractor
Frequent Headaches
Headaches are often a signal that your spine is out of alignment. You can experience severe neck pain and headaches at the base of the skull or you can experience headaches at the front of your head, signaling tension headaches. Headaches can also occur due to other causes than misalignment, which is why you should see a chiropractor to determine the cause. By identifying the cause, you can then work with your healthcare provider to develop the most effective type of treatment.
Chiropractors help relieve headaches by improving blood flow and improving neurological connections. Improved blood flow increases the amount of oxygen supplied to the brain and improves its function. The improved brain function optimizes neurological connections throughout the body, improving the body’s healing processes.
In fact, a study published by the Journal of Neural Plasticity found that chiropractic adjustments can even improve the prefrontal cortex’s function, which controls higher cognition and reasoning.
You Were Recently Involved in a Car Accident
One of the most common incidents that require chiropractic care is being involved in a car accident. The sheer force of a motor vehicle accident can cause significant displacement and interrupt the body’s natural functions. Spinal readjustments can also relieve pain and work to reduce the inflammation caused by whiplash. p;
Victims might not notice the full extent of the injuries sustained in a car accident. For example, you might not experience neck pain after your accident, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t sustained damage. This damage can present itself as other symptoms, such as weakness in hand grip or headaches.
Our full-service approach to chiropractic care identifies areas of discomfort as well as any potential injuries you might not notice after an accident. These hidden injuries can reveal themselves at any time, but chiropractic adjustments help you identify them before they cause additional pain and damage.
Joint or Muscle Pain
The body is highly interconnected and people can feel joint and muscle pain in areas other than their source. In these cases, musculoskeletal misalignment is often the culprit and chiropractors use a variety of treatment methods to restore proper functioning. Through treatments such as dry needling and manual adjustments, chiropractors ensure your musculoskeletal system performs optimally and relieves any muscle spasms and built-up pressure in both your joints and muscles.
Sitting for Long Periods of Time At Your Job
Sitting for long periods of time at your work causes you to hunch and misalign your posture. Changes in your posture put an undue amount of stress on parts of your body. This undue stress can lead to chronic neck and back pain.
Frequent chiropractic adjustments respond to posture misalignments and help combat chronic pain. These spinal adjustments also promote neural conductivity and increase blood flow, reducing inflammation and improving your comfort level and posture while at your desk.
Chronic Back Pain
Chronic back pain can cause patients to turn to addictive prescription drugs and invasive surgeries. However, many people may not realize there are other ways to approach chronic back pain treatment, such as chiropractic care.
One of the most common contributing factors to back pain is the misalignment and sub-optimal neurological performance. Chiropractors can give you a comprehensive treatment plan that adapts to your needs and adjusts your goals and monitors your progress. Receiving regular chiropractic care can help improve your overall health.
You Wear Out the Soles of Your Shoes
Wearing out the soles of your shoes is a sign that your spine is out of alignment and you might need to receive spinal adjustments in addition to orthopedics to support your gait. Uneven wear in your shoes indicates subluxation in your spine that spinal manipulation can correct.
Limited Range of Motion
As we age and our body endures stress, it experiences microtrauma, which can hinder the range of motion and cause joint pain, discomfort, and immobility. Chiropractic adjustments respond to this immobility by focusing on the junction between nerves and joints.
Additionally, chiropractors can create comprehensive physical rehabilitation programs to improve stabilization, functional strength, and flexibility; all of which, improve your range of motion.
Sciatic Pain
Sciatica occurs when the connection of the sciatic nerve, which runs from your lower back all the way down your leg, gets interrupted, causing pain and discomfort on one side of your body. This interrupted connection causes nerve compression, which can result from herniated discs, bone spurs, or the narrowing of the spine (spinal stenosis). This nerve compression causes inflammation, pain, and numbness in the affected area. Spinal adjustments relieve nerve compression and reduce inflammation within the nerves.
You’re an Active Person or an Athlete
You don’t need to only associate chiropractic adjustments with inflammation and chronic pain. You can be a fully healthy, active individual and benefit from chiropractic adjustments. Spinal manipulation techniques can be used as a proactive as well as a rehabilitative treatment method.
Your chiropractor will create a personalized treatment plan aimed at optimizing physical performance so you can continue living the active lifestyle you love.
What to Expect from Your Chiropractic Care Visit
Your first visit to a chiropractic office should include a thorough medical assessment. Your prospective chiropractor should cover your medical history, symptoms, and reasons for being interested in chiropractic adjustments. They will perform a physical exam as well as X-rays to determine the best course of action for your treatment.
When Not to See a Chiropractor
Patients with herniated discs, arthritis, fractures, or osteoporosis may require more extensive therapies and should consult their doctor before seeing a chiropractor. You should also conduct research to ensure your prospective chiropractic physician has the correct qualifications to administer effective chiropractic care.
Qualified chiropractors should offer free consultations to determine whether their services apply to your condition. This initial consultation should examine your symptoms, medical history, and include imaging tests to determine your viability to receive chiropractic treatment.
Visit a Chiropractor at Denver Integrated Spine Center Today
If you’re looking for Denver chiropractic care, we’re here to help. Denver Integrated Spine Center (DISC) places its patients’ recovery at the center of our multidisciplinary chiropractic practice. We believe personalized treatment that integrates multiple treatment methods is the most effective way to bring our patients relief. Our team of doctors offers innovative and high-quality care that utilizes the most advanced chiropractic treatment methods. We utilize a range of evidence-based treatment options to ensure you find the relief and care you deserve.
Schedule a free consultation today and let our chiropractors give you the pain relief you deserve and restore the life you love. ;