The Chiropractic Approach to Health and Wellness

Chiropractic is a natural science devoted to overall health and wellness through a holistic and integrated approach. Its focus is on the function and biomechanics of the body, particularly the neuromusculoskeletal system which includes nerves, muscles, bones, and joints.

Spinal health and well-being play a major role in the overall health of the body. The body's systems are all interconnected, thus proper spinal mechanics including alignment of vertebrae and the health of corresponding nerves and soft tissue provide a foundation for health and wellness.

Doctors of Chiropractic (DC) are trained to diagnose and treat disorders of the body as well as provide proactive care to help prevent injuries and ailments. Chiropractic is an all natural healthcare practice that integrates many approaches to help rehabilitate patients and provide a path for optimum wellness. Chiropractors are most commonly known for the chiropractic adjustment, a specific hands-on technique to correct joint dysfunction. An adjustment realigns the misaligned joint and causes a neurological response, resolving pain and inflammation and restoring function and mobility. Misalignments do not have to occur from a sudden injury or accident; they can appear over time due to repetitive stresses, postural habits, or work factors. When misalignments do occur, they can begin to cause a myriad of pain and dysfunction throughout the body. Chiropractic, though manual adjustments and other modalities including but not limited to therapeutic exercises, heat and ice therapy, ultrasound, electrical muscle stimulation, disc decompression therapy, acupuncture, and more, help restore health and bring the body back into a state of well-being.

The benefits of chiropractic treatment are invaluable and the conditions chiropractic can help are numerous. Some of the most popular conditions treated by chiropractic are sports related injuries, work injuries, injuries from auto accidents, back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, joint pain, headaches, migraines, allergies, asthma, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia disorder, pregnancy related care, and more. Approximately 21 million Americans regularly benefit from chiropractic care.

Chiropractic puts the body on a healthy track. When everything is in alignment, the body's systems can function freely and effectively. People who use chiropractic often find they have more energy, less tension, sleep better, and feel more focused. The chiropractic approach to health and wellness greatly improves the quality of their lives and allows them to focus on a positive lifestyle.

A consultation with a chiropractor can help you join the millions of Americans who are already reaping the health benefits of chiropractic care.

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Chiropractic Effective And Natural For Back Pain

Several people seek chiropractic as a natural and safe method for the treatment of back pain. About 22 million Americans visit the chiropractor each year and thirty five percent of these are seeking the chiropractor for the treatment of back pain. Other common complaints that people visit them for are neck pain, headaches and arm and leg pain.

Chiropractors go through several years of schooling including both undergraduate and post graduate studies. Chiropractic school is a four year program. Students are trained on theory and knowledge in the classroom and then receive hands on training in the clinic. In the United States, chiropractors are required to have a license in the state they reside in order to practice. They are also required to take continuing education courses regularly to stay current in their education and techniques.

Chiropractic treatments involve hands-on methods to manipulate the spine in order to correct problem areas in the spine and other joints in the pelvis, arms or legs. The theory behind these adjustments is to remove nerve interference and restore normal function in the body. By removing this interference, the body is then able to do what it knows best, heal itself. Chiropractic adjustments are beneficial for injuries such as from car accidents, sporting injuries, falls, slips and chronic stress such as from slouching at the desk or sitting without proper back support.

Chiropractic is also helpful for injured muscles and connective tissue such as ligaments, tendons and cartilage. These are often injured in conjunction with misaligned spinal bones. Restoring motion of the vertebra often heals and relieves these surrounding structures. When visiting the chiropractor, they will perform a medical history, perform an evaluation and may also use diagnostic imaging to diagnose the problem and help determine the treatment that is most effective. Chiropractic is often used with conventional medicine. Chiropractors also refer to other healthcare providers when necessary.

Chiropractic treatment involves specific hands on adjustment to one or more problems areas of the spine to improve range of motion and alignment. The goal of the adjustment is not only to provide relief of symptoms, but to also restore normal function and prevent future problems.

Chiropractic is well known to be a safe and effective method of treatment for back pain and other musculoskeletal problems. Research also demonstrates its effectiveness for other conditions such as headaches, neck pain, arthritis and fibromyalgia. Chiropractors also incorporate other healthcare services such as nutrition and physical therapy to provide a multi-disciplinary approach.

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Sciatica and Low Back Pain Relief

Dr. Pazdel shows how the spine and associated nerve network can be the cause of chronic low back pain. This condition can be relieved and changed without drugs through chiropractic care. Living with chronic pain is no fun at all. Chiropractic care changes lives!

See more at http://www.pazdelchiropractic.com

Back Pain Meets Relief With Chiropractic Services

All too often people suffer from back pain. It seems that a large majority of people the world over have experienced some sort of back pain at least once in their lives. For some, this seems to be an inherited problem. For others, it develops over time due to poor posture, bone loss, exercise injury, working, or an accident. Some, still, develop problems in their back with no good explanation. However, no matter what the case, chiropractic services can help to ease back pain.

Chiropractors offer a wide range of services for those who experience back pain. They realize that the health of the back can affect the entire body. It the back is out of alignment, it can offset the hips, legs, shoulders, and neck. That is why chiropractors focus on healing the back as part of the whole. Since back pain is located in the core of the body, seeking help from chiropractic services can help to alleviate the need for other special treatments.

Chiropractors provide a wide range of skills in order to help determine the cause of back pain, correct it, and then ensure that the problem will not occur again. These are the three main phases of chiropractic services. Since they use methods that do not involve drugs and rarely surgeries, the goal of the chiropractor is to find the underlying cause of the pain. Their techniques seek to cure the pain at its source instead of merely masking it with prescriptions. Chiropractic services use gentle and natural methods in order to help back pain. These methods range in technique from massage to electric stimuli. Surgery may be required from time to time, but is largely avoided with chiropractic services.

There are numerous benefits that are offered by chiropractic services in order to help those who suffer with back pain. One of those benefits is the price. Since chiropractors prefer to avoid the use of prescription drugs, the cost is greatly decreased. The cost of an office visit is also usually much less than the typical cost of a traditional doctor's visit. However, some insurance plans do not cover the cost of chiropractic services. Due to this, many offices have lower costs and even payment plans that make affording these services more affordable.

Many people who receive chiropractic services to help with back pain find that the treatments are far more successful than with traditional medicine. The treatments help to alleviate their pain in a way that is comfortable and lasting. Since the techniques are gentle, patients can look forward to progressively more relaxing treatments and time goes on. Once the original problem that was causing pain is taken care of, the number of office visits can be decreased over time. This means that ultimately, a person who suffers from pain can discontinue visits. This option is not nearly as common with traditional medicine.

Chiropractic services cater to those who suffer from back pain, although their skills allow them to help those with other problems as well. Since the back is such a pivotal part of the body, chiropractic services may help to determine if something in the back is causing problems elsewhere in the body as well.

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How Your Muscular System Works - Emma Bryce

Each time you take a step, 200 muscles work in unison to lift your foot, propel it forward, and set it down. It’s just one of the many thousands of tasks performed by the muscular system: this network of over 650 muscles covers the body and is the reason we can blink, smile, run, jump, and stand upright. So how does it work? Emma Bryce takes you into the body to find out.

Lesson by Emma Bryce, directed by Viviane Leezer.

What Exactly Is Chiropractic Care?

Chiropractic care centers on disorders of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, and the effects of these conditions on the overall health of the individual involved. Chiropractic care focuses on the diagnosis, intervention, and prevention of mechanical ailments of the musculoskeletal system, and in particular the spinal column, pursuant to the speculation that these disorders influence normal health through the neurological system. Chiropractic relies on a process of diagnosis and care using the approach where the nervous system coordinates all of the operations of the body, and also that malady results from a lack of optimal neurological operation. Chiropractic care aims to restore the body's natural neurological function and therefore allow the body to correct these ailments through it's innate ability to heal itself.

Chiropractic is generally used to take care of back and neck discomfort, and yet chiropractic care may also be used for treatment of other neuromusculoskeletal problems, for example painfulness of the joints within the arms or legs, and even headaches. The main chiropractic treatment method involves manual therapy, consisting of an adjustment of the spine, other joints of the body, and soft tissues. The treatment plan can also include exercises as well as health and lifestyle guidance. Doctors of chiropractic do not recommend prescription drugs or perform surgeries, although they do refer individuals for such treatments if they are clinically indicated.

One of the founding concepts of chiropractic is that true health originates from within. In other words, we are generally born with everything that we need to live full, healthy lives. The word "chiropractic" blends the Greek words cheir, indicating hand, and praxis, indicating practice, to explain a treatment done by hand. Chiropractic health care professionals usually employ hands-on treatments, including a spinal or extremity adjustment, however, they might also make use of different treatment procedures as needed. Chiropractic care is based upon the idea that the connection between the body's structure, principally that of the spinal column, and its performance, as synchronised by means of the nervous system, affects health.

The spinal manipulation, also known as the chiropractic adjustment, is the most typical treatment procedure executed by chiropractors. The purpose of adjusting should be to re-establish joint mobility by means of manually implementing a controlled force into articulations that have become hypomobile, or restricted in their movement, resulting from a tissue injury. Muscular injury may be triggered through an individual traumatic event, along the lines of incorrect lifting of a large item, or perhaps by means of recurring stresses, such as sitting in an awkward position with bad spinal posture for an extended period of time. In any case, injured tissues experience physical and chemical modifications that can cause swelling, discomfort, and decreased performance for the patient. Manipulation of the impacted joint and tissues, restores movement, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, in addition to enabling tissues to recover.

Chiropractors may assess patients by way of clinical examination, laboratory testing, diagnostic imaging and additional diagnostic interventions to ascertain if chiropractic treatment is suitable or if it is not applicable. In some instances, chiropractic might be the predominant and most effective method of treatment. With conditions such as chronic neck or lumbar discomfort, this is frequently the case. If additional health concerns exist, chiropractic care can complement or support medical treatment by relieving the musculoskeletal symptoms linked to the ailment. Chiropractors will commonly refer patients to the appropriate health care specialist when chiropractic care is not suitable for the patient's ailment, or the condition merits co-management in combination with other members of the medical team.

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Understanding Chiropractic Care Through Frequently Asked Questions

Millions of people turn to chiropractors each year for alleviation of pain and other health related problems. Even though the field of chiropractic care has been around for more than a century, there are many people who have never been to a chiropractor or do not understand what a chiropractor can do for them.

Here are some answers to the most commonly asked questions on the subject:

What is chiropractic care?

The chiropractic field was founded on the idea that manipulations of the spine can cure and prevent many aches, pains, and disorders. Chiropractors find joint and vertebrae that are out of place or "subluxated" and adjust the spine so that everything is once again in its proper alignment.

Is it safe to be adjusted by a chiropractor?

The good news is that yes, it is safe to be adjusted by a chiropractor. This field has prided itself on using natural and alternative health treatments, especially those that are noninvasive and do not involve medications. It is also interesting to note that chiropractors pay only a fraction of what medical doctors pay for malpractice insurance.

Is the method of adjustment the same for all patients?

No. The doctor will typically take some x-rays of the spine to look for displaced vertebrae in the spine as well as several other possible spinal issues. Taking the results of the x-rays and the symptoms described by the patient, the doctor will tailor the treatment plan to the needs of each individual case.

There are even unique treatment plans for children. Those in the chiropractic field believe that birth can be a major cause for spinal trauma in infants, warranting a quick check. Older children can also benefit from spinal manipulations when they are complaining of a myriad of other health concerns.

Is chiropractic care safe for pregnancy?

It is generally considered safe for pregnant women. Lower back pain is a very common complaint for expectant mothers regular chiropractic care can help ease that pain and even put the body into a better position for labor. Pregnant women should get permission from their physicians before trying any new treatments or adjustments.

Can back surgery patients benefit from chiropractic care?

Yes, and in fact, regular spinal manipulations after back surgery can help avoid future back surgeries. As it is today, almost 50 percent of back surgery patients who do not undergo any other treatments will experience a repeat of former pain and symptoms in the following years, requiring more surgery. Chiropractic care can reduce this possibility and may even help people with back pain to find relief without any surgery at all.

Can chiropractic care cure all health problems?

No. Not all health conditions are directly related to the spine and its alignment, like cancer and diabetes for example. Yet chiropractic care can be surprisingly effective for so much more than just back pain.

It can reduce and cure many conditions associated with the nerve system function such as neck and back pain, headaches, stress reduction and conditions such as sciatica. If you, or your family, suffer from any of these conditions, its time you tried out this alternative medical therapy.

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