What comes to mind when you think about chiropractic care? For most people, chiropractic adjustments are associated with back pain or traumatic injuries and relieving that pain. However, while chiropractic adjustments do return the spine into proper alignment and can relieve pain, there are many other benefits to having your body aligned by a proper chiropractic adjustment.
Here are some of the additional benefits a chiropractic adjustment can provide:
- Pain reduction – while this may seem the most obvious benefit, it isn’t simply a matter of reducing pain in the back and the neck. Because the central nervous system throughout your body is connected through the spinal cord, a proper chiropractic adjustment can have effects throughout the body. Notable, an adjustment can improve migraines, arthritis, some forms of scoliosis, and sciatica.
- Stress – chiropractic adjustments can lower your blood pressure, decrease muscle tension, and reduce the physical effects of a buildup of cortisol in your system, which is the hormone that causes stress. When the body is functioning correctly and is freed from tension, the parasympathetic nervous system is able to send calming messages. In addition, a proper alignment fosters an overall sense of comfort within the body, which is directly related to improving mood.
- Energy and sleep – a chiropractic adjustment can increase your energy levels by relieving tension that has built up in muscles. Once the muscles have had a chance to release their tension, the body’s systems become much more efficient in helping the body function efficiently, increasing your sense of vitality. As a result, energy is no longer being wasted fighting the effects of muscle tension. This has the added benefit of improving sleep, as your body returns to a normal sense of rhythm and the pain and discomfort associated with the tension eases.
- Inflammation – most joint pain is caused by inflammation. When the body is misaligned, undue stress can be placed on key joint areas like the shoulder and knees. Once adjusted, the chronic inflammation in these joints may subside, offering the patient much-needed relief from inflammatory effects of diseases like arthritis. This has the added benefit of reducing reliance on opioid pain relievers because the adjustment deals with the direct cause of the pain.
- Posture and body performance – one key to overall health is posture – by aligning the spine, we can address multiple health issues stemming from poor postures, such as circulatory problems, headaches, and neck and back pain. Additionally, the body’s overall performance is improved once aligned, with noticeable gains in physical strength, flexibility, and agility.
- Injury prevention – many simple injuries result from the body not functioning the way it is supposed to. For example, back and neck pain, as well as joint pain, are often caused by misalignment and the resulting muscle tension. If you have an active lifestyle or a physically demanding occupation, repetitive stress can lead to lasting injuries. A chiropractic alignment can restore the natural function of the musculoskeletal system and help prevent these types of injuries.
If you would like learn more about how chiropractic adjustments can help your overall health, contact our office for a free consultation.