CHIROPRACTIC CARE

What and why a Chiropractic adjustment works.

Chiropractic Adjustment (aka Spinal Manipulation) is a well known treatment option by many people in the world today.  A treatment that started in 1895 and has been flourishing since.  

Yes there are some downfalls, just like any other medical treatment, but in the relationship of effectiveness and safety, it is top notch, very effective and very safe.  The American College of Physicians recommend this type of treatment to be the first line of defense for lower back pain before pain medication.  

So what is a Chiropractic Spinal Manipulation?  It is a manual therapy used to reduce pain and increase range of motion to the targeted joint or region.  More research has come out that this treatment doesn’t actually “realign” the spine, but rather it does three things.

1. Reduce nerve sensitivity and reduce pain.
   1. When there is pain to a joint or to a body part, it is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong or doesn’t feel right.  Your nerves in that part of the region will send signals to your brain.  By Adjusting the spine, we can change the sensitivity to the nerve and reduce pain. This is a great analogy to “re-booting” the system, or turning your computer off and on again. 
2. Increase Range of motion to targeted joints or regions.
   1. All joints move in 6 directions. Forwards, backwards, bending right and left, and rotating right and left. But all joints have different ranges of motion in all 6 directions. Some move more and some move less.  If a joint loses part of it’s range of motion in one of those directions (we call this a joint restriction) then Chiropractic Spinal Manipulation is a great treatment method to increase that range of motion once again.
3. Reduce Muscle Tension.
   1. A group of small muscles next to the joint can become tight causing joint restrictions and some pain.  A Chiropractic adjustment can  cause the stretch reflex to happen with the golgi tendon organs. The response to those muscles is that they will loosen up.

Here is area also the benefits that chiropractic treatment has shown to help with. Such as reduce stiffness, decrease headaches and increase function.

There are a few more effects that can happen, but they are less researched and more anecdotal. These effects could increase function of the digestive gastrointestinal tract.

I’m not in the boat thinking that the adjustment will cure everything, but it does have its place and works well when applied properly.  

So where can an adjustment be done? This is a great treatment targeting joints.  So almost any joint you have, can be adjusted.  Adjusting the spine is the obvious one, but we can also adjust feet, ankles, hips, wrist, elbows and jaws.  The knee and the shoulder can also be adjusted, but in my experience, these are best treated with other treatment methods, such as dry needling and therapeutic exercise. 

An adjustment is just a short term treatment if you only get adjusted once.   Your body responds to the demands that you put on it.  If your joints are stiff, an adjustment may feel good for a while, but it is common that if not continually treated, the joint tends to return to how it was before.  

What I don’t like is that some Chiropractors take this too far and say you need to get adjusted 3x/week for 6 months or even a year.  This is relying on this treatment way too much. But also one treatment isn’t good because it’s just a short term treatment. 

Now some regular adjustments early on, paired with other treatments, have a much longer effect on your pain. Other treatments like fascial manipulation and therapeutic exercise. 

How often should you get adjusted?  Here are the treatment guidelines.  If you are in acute pain, getting treated 2-3x/week for 1-2 weeks is needed. When pain goes down and function increases that frequency decreases.  If you are doing well with no pain, maintenance is still a good thing. Research has shown that maintenance care is a great way to stave off pain and injury in the future.  Here is a research paper that states that regular adjustments can reduce the amount of pain you feel in a year by 2 weeks. What is regular? It depends on the person.  That could be 1x/month or 1x/quarter. 

If you have been in pain or want to prevent pain, schedule a time for an evaluation and get treated to help yourself.

We are located in Orem/Vineyard, Utah at the Sleepy Ridge Golf Course and we strive to keep you as active as you want. Call (385)453-0009 Today.