Chiropractic Doesn’t Heal, You Do – Here’s How
With all the claims about chiropractic being a magical healing remedy across the internet, it’s easy to dismiss the actual viability and legitimacy of chiropractic’s healing power. So many people claim that chiropractic is a panacea, which can make it difficult to discern the facts from biased plugs. Let’s take a deep dive into the truth about chiropractic care, and understand that chiropractic care doesn’t heal, you do. Here’s how!
Chiropractic isn’t a panacea.
It may be surprising to be told that chiropractic care isn’t a panacea from a chiropractic expert, but it’s the truth. To peddle chiropractic care as a panacea is doing a disservice to the true nature of the profession, and the very valuable benefits that chiropractic care does provide. Chiropractic care isn’t a cure-all, and it shouldn’t be looked at as one. That being said, chiropractic care has the power to rejuvenate and revitalize many of the body’s most important systems, and when this happens, it can create a noticeable difference in the body’s wellness.
What are the body systems that chiropractic mainly treats?
Chiropractic treats three main body systems: the nervous system, the muscular system, and the skeletal system. It treats these systems directly through a multitude of different modalities. These modalities include spinal decompression therapy, laser therapy, manual manipulation, spinal adjustments, Chiropractic BioPhysics®, massage, Advanced Muscle Integration Technique, and many more.
One of the standout benefits of chiropractic care is that it is non-invasive. It treats the neuro-musculoskeletal system (nerves, muscles, and bones) from the outside, while stimulating the body’s natural ability to repair itself on the inside. This can have many positive effects on the entire body, not just the systems that chiropractic treats directly.
What are the healing effects of chiropractic care on the body?
Bones & Joints
The bones and joints benefit immensely from chiropractic care. One of the main functions of chiropractic care is to help align the joints properly in the spine. This contributes to improved bone and joint health, as well as regulates the function of the entire body. Chiropractic care can be very therapeutic for individuals suffering from arthritis, osteoporosis, or other bone ailments. Treatments can be carefully calibrated to whatever level of gentleness is required for the condition of the bones and joints, or to take into consideration any injuries that may exist.
Muscles
Muscles are another target area of the body that can benefit greatly from chiropractic care. Muscles are often under-treated and overstrained. While some people are diligent about receiving regular massages (weekly or biweekly) to keep their muscles relaxed and stretched, most aren’t. Unfortunately, this can cause great strain on the body. When the muscles of the body are not working properly, other parts of the body suffer significantly.
Nervous System
The nervous system is another part of the body that can receive transformational benefits from chiropractic care. Chiropractic can help regulate the function of the nervous system because adjustments and treatments are typically on the major hub of the central nervous system—the spinal cord. When chiropractic treatments are delivered to the spinal cord, the joints are restored to better alignment, and pressure is taken off of the nerves. This means that electrical impulses can travel through the spine more effectively and inflammation can decrease. This often results in reductions in headaches, migraines, pain, numbness, and other nervous-system related symptoms.
Digestion
The digestive system has a separate branch of the nervous system devoted just to it, called the enteric nervous system. Because of the effect of chiropractic treatment on the nervous system, this also in turn affects the digestive system. The enteric nervous system is responsible for signaling the release of important digestive enzymes and other chemicals, and allowing the digestive process to run smoothly. When it’s balanced, it can make an enormous difference in rate of digestion and common conditions like acid reflux, GERD, nausea, and more.
Pain
Pain is often caused by the nervous system. When nerves become inflamed, this can inhibit nerve impulses from traveling. Nerves often become inflamed when muscles are tight, when joints are out of place, or when an injury has occurred to the body. Pain that starts in the neuro-musculoskeletal system often becomes chronic. This is because these three systems, the nervous system, the muscular system, and the skeletal system, are all very intertwined. When there is an imbalance in one system, unless all systems are treated holistically, it can be very difficult to correct. Sciatica is a great example of chronic pain in the neuro-musculoskeletal system that requires treatment of the entire system.
Attempts are often made to treat sciatica with heat packs, pain medication, and getting off of your feet. Unfortunately, this never treats the root cause of the issues, which is usually misalignment in the lower part of the spine. Once this is treated, which can be done with the help of chiropractic care, the pain can finally be resolved.
Immunity
Chiropractic care can be a wonderful boon for immunity, and these benefits are often the result of improved circulation. Chiropractic treatment can help to improve the circulation of three major components of the human body: electrical energy, lymphatic fluid, and blood. (Bonus fourth: cerebrospinal fluid, which resides between the spine and the around the brain).
When electrical energy is circulating through the nerves of the body efficiently, this can decrease stress in the body and improve communication and connectivity as a whole. Migraines and headaches can decrease, overall energy levels can improve, and thinking can become clearer and faster. When lymphatic fluid is circulating throughout the body efficiently, toxins are removed easily from the body, infections are quickly quelled, and the body’s defenses are up and ready to defeat any bacterial or viral intruders. When blood is circulating through the body efficiently, nutrients and oxygens are delivered to tissues and organs with ease, cell waste is broken down and removed, and the body can operate at its peak performance.
Can chiropractic care heal everything?
As a reminder, chiropractic care doesn’t heal the body—it helps the body to heal itself. Chiropractic is a very valuable and effective tool for helping your body to heal, yet it isn’t doing all of the work on its own. The benefits of chiropractic can be attributed to its ability to help support your body in recovering, rebalancing, and realigning. As we’ve explored, the benefits of chiropractic aren’t limited to the bones and joints, as is often assumed. Instead, the benefits of chiropractic are global, which means that improvements in some areas translate to improvements in other areas, eventually affecting the entire body.
Chiropractic care isn’t intended to be a “cure-all,” and yet it can help a vast number of symptoms and conditions. Chiropractic care can be helpful even for symptoms and conditions that don’t seem to be related to the neuro-musculoskeletal system. This is because the benefits of chiropractic are both direct and indirect. While it helps the neuro-musculoskeletal system directly, the resulting benefits of treatment can ripple into the circulatory system, the immune system, the digestive system, and the respiratory system.
Symptoms That Chiropractic Can Help
Chiropractic can help with a wide range of symptoms. Many of the symptoms that chiropractic can ameliorate seem unrelated to the bones and joints, but nevertheless, chiropractic can be very effective in reducing or eliminating them. Here is a short list of some of the symptoms that chiropractic can help with:
Back Pain
One of the most common reasons that people seek out chiropractic care, chiropractic can help with back pain by realigning the bones and joints of the spine, soothing tense muscles, and helping improve the body’s own healing process.
Neck Pain
By realigning the joints of the cervical spine, neck pain can be resolved at the root. Neck pain is especially common from poor posture, cell phone use, and frequent sitting without proper back support, which forces tension into the neck.
Digestive Dysfunction
An often surprising benefit of chiropractic care, digestive issues often improve as a result of chiropractic care. This can be for a multitude of reasons, but because the enteric nervous system, which runs the digestive tract, is directly connected to the central nervous system, which is treated by chiropractic care, there is often a therapeutic effect on digestion as a result of chiro care.
Headaches & Migraines
Headaches and migraines are a common result of spinal misalignment, especially in the cervical spine, where a multitude of nerves connect from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. Realigning these joints can alleviate painful headaches and migraines without the need for pain medications.
Lethargy/Exhaustion
Lethargy and exhaustion can occur when nerve energy is being impeded by spinal misalignment. By realigning the spine, nerve energy can flow freely, revitalizing the entire body and helping to relieve sluggishness.
Muscle Tension
Muscle tension is a very common condition that happens to people from all walks of life—whether you’re an athlete, live a sedentary lifestyle, or have been injured. Muscle tension can become debilitating. It can reduce flexibility, mobility, and severely impair comfort in one’s body. Chiropractic can help to reduce muscle tension and improve the muscles ability to function properly.
Chiropractic Care in Oakland and Alameda, CA
At Symmetry Health Center, we prioritize addressing symptoms from the source by analyzing your overall well-being, lifestyle, and hobbies. Regardless if you are a regular runner or jogger suffering from chronic pain or discomfort; expert chiropractor Dr. Cynthia Boyd will assess your health objectives to recognize where changes need to be implemented before customizing a treatment plan that is tailored just for you!
Here at our office, we strive to give you the best care tailored to your individual needs, so that together we can attain results with maximum efficiency. It is worth noting that while Chiropractic BioPhysics® usually takes about 90 days to begin seeing transformational results in x-rays, our patients typically begin to feel the restorative effects of their treatment plans much sooner. Don’t wait any longer – contact us now to book an appointment!