With a word like Chiropractic, it’s easy to wonder what it has to do with health care. So, it’s best that we start with the meaning in order to understand how Chiropractic can have such a huge impact on one’s health let alone the controversy which surrounds it.
In Greek, Chiro means “hand” and Practic “done by”… therefore, done by hand.
Although chiropractors are best known for treating patients with spinal pain, which yes, includes the neck, mid and low back/pelvic pain, qualified Doctors of Chiropractic also diagnose and treat numerous other conditions.
Please keep in mind that just because Chiropractors can diagnose numerous ailments like fractures, infection or detecting a tumor, it doesn’t mean that Chiropractic treatment is the first line of treatment; patients in these categories must be referred to medical doctors in an appropriate medical environment in order to treat accordingly.
Now back to (pardon the pun) what Chiropractors treat besides the spine; every week I get cases which range from:
- Headaches including Migraine Headaches resulting from postural alterations/dysbalance, usually cervicogenic in nature (the neck is the source of the headache), likely due to moderate/extreme head forward posture, frequently resulting from hours in front of the computer, head down while texting, playing games on your mobile phone or reading/writing for hours a day at school or work with your head bent down and forward.The other reason why many patients get headaches is simply they’re not drinking enough water, and while living in the desert you can understand why headaches may occur so quickly. Other common conditions I treat regularly:
- Neck Pain
- Mid-back Pain
- Low Back Pain
- Pelvic Pain
- Menstruation Pain
- Radiating pain from the neck to either or both arms
- Numbness or tingling in the upper or lower extremities
- Sharp, stabbing pain while deep breathing or coughing or sneezing
- Scoliosis
- Asymmetry of the body including head tilt, shoulder tilt, hip tilt, leg length variance, knocked knees, over curved mid-back (hyperkyphosis), under curved low back (hypo lordosis), etc.
- Feeling low energy levels (90% of the energy your brain uses is to maintain posture alone, so if you have abnormal posture your brain is spending way too much energy trying to compensate for poor structure.Having said that, it’s worth mentioning that structure determines function…Good structure equals Good function equals Good Health
- Dizziness
- Biomechanical diseases like Disc Bulges/Protrusions, Facet Arthrosis, Muscle Dysbalance, Desiccated or Dehydrated Cartilage.
The list goes on, but these are the most common cases I regularly treat in the clinic.
Always consider a Chiropractor first before succumbing to pain medication which usually masks the pain while not addressing the cause.
If you consider surgery first keep in mind that most surgeries, statistically speaking end up being failed back surgeries; a study in the United States determined that most back surgeries end up with up to 90% failure rate!
Just because the surgery went as planned for the surgeon, it doesn’t mean that the surgery is going to end up as you planned or hoped; 90% of the time it won’t.
Although Chiropractors may not be the first profession that comes to mind when your body experiences any of the previously mentioned ailments, it certainly should be!
And if more people knew or were educated in what Chiropractors/Chiropractic could do for them, then perhaps they would see a Chiropractor before they fall into the vicious cycle of Pain…Drugs/Surgery… Not addressing the CAUSE…Pain again…Drugs…
Next time your body isn’t feeling right, do yourself a favor and consider Chiropractic First.