Did you know pain is the last symptom your body uses to alert you of dysfunction? For example, if you sit with poor posture, the muscles in your back (supporting your spine) are strengthened incorrectly. After years of sitting with poor posture, the disks in your spine begin to compress.
At the same time, the muscles in your back either atrophy or overdevelop. When your muscles are out of balance, your spine gets out of alignment and you feel tension and tightness. Compressed disks and tight back muscles apply pressure to nerves-causing pain and a number of other side effects to appear throughout your body.
The human body will compensate when you use it incorrectly. It will do so until it cannot compensate any longer. As a last resort, pain is your body's way of telling you, "Enough! This isn't working, here is some pain-please fix me."
How do you know when it's time to see a chiropractor? The key is to act before pain alerts you of a problem. Seeing a chiropractor is like getting massage-a healthy preventative measure to ensure you avoid developing injuries later. Here are 4 reasons everyone should see a chiropractor:
You Are In Pain
You feel pain, so you take a pill and the pain magically disappears, right? Wrong. Pain relievers just mask the signal of pain being sent to your brain. They don't solve the underlying issue causing your pain-tight muscles and compressed disks.
It is natural for our bodies to become imbalanced. It happens to us all at one point or another, usually from actions we don't realize we're doing.
Take your posture, for example. Even if you sit perfectly your entire life, you could lift weights incorrectly, always carry your purse on one side of your body, or walk in high-heels. Good posture is more than just how you sit. All actions done with poor posture lead to being out of alignment. It's more likely people are out of balance than are in perfect alignment. Think about it . . . is your right arm stronger than your left?
When your body is out of alignment, it begins to rely solely on your strongest muscles. The more this happens, the more imbalanced you become. Seeing a chiropractor re-aligns your body, preventing further damage and symptoms related to misalignment. Restoring your natural posture and balance improves your overall nerve function, which helps your entire body function correctly.
Chiropractors will typically provide feedback on your muscles. Ask your chiropractor for ways to strengthen weak areas of your body and restore proper balance. Seeing a chiropractor while strengthening weak muscles will significantly decrease any chronic pain you have.
You Are an Athlete
What do Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Michael Phelps all have in common? Yes, they are all professional athletes.
What do Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Michael Phelps all have in common? Yes, they are all professional athletes. They are also all patients of chiropractors. Athletes prefer to see chiropractors because chiropractors are movement specialists. They understand how the human body functions as a whole.
Athletes from all sports (no matter what level) consult with chiropractors for many different reasons. Some athletes want regular adjustments and counselling to avoid future injuries. Others need physical therapy to heal current or old injuries.
Most athletes consult with chiropractors for holistic treatment. As movement specialists, they are able to help athletes excel in their performance by improving their range of motion. They also teach athletes ways to adequately train their unique bodies.
Athletes also prefer the advice of chiropractors because chiropractors understand the full spectrum of human health-including nutrition. Chiropractors understand the many inner workings of the human anatomy. This holistic approach gives athletes one source of information to help them plan the perfect regimen to reach their goals.
You Get Sick Frequently
Believe it or not, there is a direct link between immune function and your spinal cord. This shouldn't be too hard to believe, considering your spine houses all of the nerves your body uses to function.
But how does it work? How can a chiropractor help you get sick less?
When your spine is out of alignment, your body releases pro-inflammatory mediators to heal inflammation throughout your body. These pro-inflammatory mediators suppress inflammation, but unfortunately also suppress the body's immune function. Reducing these pro-inflammatory mediators bolsters immunity and improves your ability to fight infection and disease.
You Feel Fine
People who are out of alignment don't typically notice a sudden onset of symptoms or increase in pain. Even victims of whiplash do not immediately feel muscle tension or body aches after having a fender bender. In many cases, symptoms related to nerve damage develop slowly. They can take months or years to appear.
When you have an adjustment, you can catch minor issues before they become a debilitating problem. Chiropractic adjustments are applied to targeted problem areas of the body. People who get adjustments report they feel lighter and able move with ease.
Whether any of these apply to you or not, seeing a chiropractor is good for your health-if nothing else, it makes you feel good.