While some patients regularly visit the chiropractor after they hurt themselves, a growing number of people are discovering how chiropractic treatments can actually help prevent medical issues.
This is because a body that is properly aligned is better able to withstand injury than a body without proper alignment. Those patients who regularly see a chiropractor before an injury can happen often avoid the injury, or have quicker recovery times.
However, not everyone needs the same kind of chiropractic preventative visits. Those who exercise, or are more physically active may need more visits to a chiropractor than those who are less active, and sustain less wear and tear on their bodies.
It's best to contact your chiropractor when questioning the frequency of chiropractic care you believe will be beneficial to you. Consulting a chiropractor is also obviously the right choice when trying determine the different types of chiropractic preventative care that can benefit your specific issues. It may be that acupuncture, traction, or chiropractic-oriented physical therapy is the answer for you. It's important to understand if these types of treatment will work best in the long term or short term.
A doctor of chiropractic is the best choice for helping you plan your wellness and health goals. A doctor may advise you that it’s important to use physical therapy in conjunction with chiropractic care. This is because the number of chiropractors who specialize in sports injury therapy is continually increasing. These professionals work at keeping the joints and bones adjusted while their partners in physical therapy offices work with muscular control and training.
Quite simply, people whose bodies are working at full capacity and at their healthiest potential can better protect themselves from injury. Various factors including injury, stress, and constant wear can keep your body from working at its best. That’s why patients who seek chiropractic care may gain an increased ability to escape injury and self heal.
It's also important to remember that spinal adjustments performed by a chiropractor can enable your body to activate and increase its own natural healing abilities. For example, while some people might focus on eliminating pain, a doctor of chiropractic also helps to treat and fix the underlying problems that caused the pain.
Think of your body like a well-oiled machine that needs continual maintenance. It’s likely that you’ll need an oil change, spare part replacement, and a tune-up several times throughout your life. Think of chiropractic care as the tune-up that keeps you running strong.
Similarly, the physical activity you perform along with the food and rest you get keeps your muscles healthy. When you combine exercise, fuel, rest and preventative chiropractic care to keep your body in tune, you have reached a very desirable health plateau.
That’s not to say Injuries won’t happen to those who take advantage of preventative chiropractic care. However, those who do take advantage of this care often have a much better reaction to the injury with less time spent in pain, less problematic complications, and a better chance at recovery.
Can normal chiropractic adjustments prevent issues later in life?
Many people report great success in the treatment of pain, injury, and disorders including scoliosis through the use of chiropractic treatment. Why? Because the same way a patient visits the dentist, many people regularly see a chiropractor. This is because no matter how well you take care of your body, there’s still an element of human life (wear and tear) that takes its toll throughout your years.
However, once pain is eliminated, many chiropractors recommend that a patient maintain a schedule of periodic checkups of the spine. Like many medical experts, the majority of doctors of chiropractic recognize that prevention is very helpful and may be one the most important steps to reducing and eliminating pain and recurring injuries throughout the life.
Many athletes also rely on chiropractic medicine to help them stay healthy and competitive in sports.
Records kept by the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians show that chiropractic is increasingly becoming a treatment of choice by both professional and amateur athletes. This type of treatment is currently utilized by collegiate, Olympic, and professional athletes. Did you know that Olympic teams typically travel with medical doctors and one or more doctors of chiropractic?
What’s more, the NCAA’s confidence has been instilled in chiropractic medicine too.
On October 31, 2006, the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) gave accreditation to the Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician/Practitioner (CCSP) and the Diplomate American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians (DACBSP) certification programs for demonstrating compliance with the NCCA Standards for the Accreditation of
Certification Programs.
In summary, chiropractic medicine may be the right choice for those looking to prevent medical issues later in life, whether young, older, athlete, or just a regular person looking for spinal alignment and a way to decrease pain.
Dr. Travis Cunningham is a Boise chiropractor and owner of Spinal Dynamics Chiropractic in Idaho.