Alternative Medicine: Chiropractic Care
Another approach to pain management and overall health
Have you tried everything to relieve pain in your neck or stiffness in your back? Do you suffer from chronic pain, disease or other medical conditions?
Besides conventional therapies, some alternative options, like chiropractic care, may provide you with relief. Not only may this help manage your pain, it can improve your overall health and well-being.
Purpose
Chiropractic is a drug-free, hands-on approach to eliminating pain and improving overall health. Chiropractic health care includes examination, diagnosis and treatment from a licensed health care professional called a chiropractor.
Chiropractors have broad diagnostic skills and are trained to recommend therapeutic and rehabilitative exercise and nutritional, dietary and lifestyle counseling. Chiropractic health care focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, and the effects these disorders have on your general health. Most important is the proper alignment of your spine. When your spinal vertebrae are properly aligned, impulses from the brain are able to travel freely to your organs. This process is vital in maintaining healthy functioning throughout your body. If a misalignment of the spine occurs, this normal flow is disrupted, resulting in pain and other physical disorders. Treatment, such as spinal manipulation, aims to return the spine’s alignment to its normal, healthy state so your nervous system can regain its normal function. This way the body can heal itself, eliminating pain.
Treatments & Therapies
Spinal adjustments, or adjustment therapy, are the most common types of treatment provided by chiropractors. This kind of treatment is especially helpful following an injury or illness and as a preventive health measure. Occasional visits to a chiropractor aim to ensure proper alignment of the spine and promote a basis for good health.
Spinal adjustments involve touch—active motion, bends and stretches, passive movement and vertebrae manipulation. Adjustment therapy is often supported with the application of hot and cold compresses, electrical stimulation, nutrition and other natural therapies. Surgery or drugs other than herbal or natural remedies are not used in chiropractic practices.
Providers
After physicians and dentists, chiropractors are the third largest group of health care professionals in the United States—they are also the most widely used practitioners in the alternative health care field. Chiropractors are licensed professionals, and most health insurance plans cover the treatment they provide.
Did You Know…?
Chiropractors provide therapy for wellness and prevention, not just treatment of pain symptoms. If you are looking for a holistic healthcare experience designed to reduce stress, improve body function and promote balance, consider seeing a chiropractor.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. For further information, please consult a medical professional.
Links
Tips for better spine health: http://www.spine-health.com/blog/national-chiropractic-health-month
Find a chiropractor in your area: http://www.acatoday.org/search/memsearch/
General information about chiropractic care: http://www.chirohealthy.com/
Find out how to avoid injuries from mobile devices and other technology: http://www.technohealthy.com/