What Symptoms Should Prompt You to Seek Chiropractic Care?

Many people often think that they only need to see a chiropractor when they have a back or neck pain, but regular visits to a chiropractor help to preserve sound health and fitness. Everyday events such as improperly lifting of an object, sleeping in the wrong position, or poor posture can put strain on the spine and cause pain. Regular visits to a chiropractor can help to keep your spine aligned and healthy.

One of the main causes of pain and disease in the human body can be traced to improper alignment of the vertebrae in your spinal column. This is called a subluxation. Through carefully applied pressure, massage, and manual manipulation of the vertebrae and joints, pressure and irritation on the nerves is relieved and joint mobility is restored, allowing your body to return to its natural state of balance, called homeostasis.

Chiropractic or osteopathic manipulations can be helpful in relieving pain for facet joint injuries, osteoarthritis, and sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Patients with chronic headaches, sinus problems, high blood pressure, ear infections, leg pain, arthritis, and many other illnesses have reported significant relief after chiropractic therapy.

Increasingly over the past few decades, the medical community has come to accept and recognize chiropractic care as a valid form of treatment for a variety of neuro-musculoskeletal conditions, and as a conservative treatment option for patients with lower back pain. Moreover, many medical doctors recognize a chiropractic diagnosis and accept it as the first line of treatment for functional disorders of the entire musculoskeletal system.

There are other times when visiting a chiropractor may be a good idea. Pregnant women should plan to visit a chiropractor during the pregnancy period to relieve stress on the framework of the body from the additional weight of the maturing baby. These visits can help to lower the incidences of pain in the lower back and between the shoulder blades that pregnant women often experience. Additionally, the headaches and nausea that often accompany the pregnancy period can be minimized or even eliminated with regular visits to the chiropractor.

Following birth, the infant should be checked by a chiropractor to detect any spinal problems that might have occurred during birth. If problems to the spine or neck are left uncorrected after birth, vertebral subluxation may negatively affect the delicate spinal cord and nerves that control the muscles and organs. In some cases, deformity to the spinal column can occur.

You may benefit from chiropractic care and treatment if:

• You have developed any kind of pain in your joints or skeletal structures such as your neck, back, shoulder blades, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, or ankles.
• You have developed problems walking, such as erratic movement, loss of rhythm or difficulty with your balance;
• You have developed sensory problems such as numbness, tingling, burning, or localized pain. Sciatica pain usually radiates down one leg or another. These types of sensory symptoms are not normal and may indicate a problem with the nerves in your spine.
• Your reflexes are diminished or absent. This could be a sign that you have incurred some kind of damage to your spinal cord, nerve root, peripheral nerve, or muscle.

Here are some common symptoms that may indicate that you have a subluxation or other spinal-related disorder:

• Blurred vision
• Bowel or bladder problems
• Dizziness (also vertigo)
• Earaches or ringing
• Fatigue
• Headaches;
• Irritability
• Leg cramps
• Muscle twitching
• Nausea
• Numbness and/or tingling
• Stiffness
• Swallowing difficulty
• Walking or gait problems
• Weakness in your arms or legs
• Pain
  • Low back pain and/or stiffness
  • Neck pain and/or stiffness
  • Pain between the shoulder blades
  • Pain in the arms or legs, feet and hands
  • Pain in the jaw or face
  • Shoulder pain