From whiplash treatment to sports chiropractic care, there are plenty of reasons why people schedule appointments with a chiropractor. Portland, OR and many other urban areas are home to many weekend warriors and weekday desk jockeys; both athletes and those who are sedentary for long periods of time can find chiropractic adjustments helpful.
Still, as with most forms of treatment, not everyone should visit a chiropractor. Those who are wondering whether it’s time to contact a local chiropractor should read on to learn which conditions do and do not benefit from chiropractic adjustments.
Good Candidates for Chiropractic Adjustments
Those who experience chronic pain. Has your doctor told you there is no cure for your chronic joint or muscle pain? Chiropractic care can provide the relief you seek. Chiropractic adjustments realign your spine, which is the body’s main highway for all messages running in and out of the nervous system. The bones of the spine may become misaligned due to a car accident, poor posture, a sedentary lifestyle, or injuries from sports. Chiropractic adjustments aim to relieve the pressure these misaligned bones may exert on nearby nerves. You might be surprised how quickly your pain dissipates with regular chiropractic adjustments.
Here are a few specific chronic pain conditions that chiropractic treatment can alleviate:
- Neck and shoulder pain
- Whiplash (treatment for those who have been in a car accident)
- Arm and leg pain or numbness
- Back pain
- Hip pain
Those who suffer from migraines or chronic headaches. If you suffer from migraines, there’s a good chance you’ll benefit from a trip to the chiropractor. Several studies have found that chiropractic treatment can be effective for migraines as well as whiplash treatment. For example, research from Northwestern College of Chiropractic in Bloomington, Minnesota, found chiropractic manipulation was as effective as amitriplyine, an anti-depressant that doctors often prescribe for those who experience migraines and chronic headaches.
Those who have specific medical conditions such as fibromyalgia, sciatica and plantar fasciitis. As Deborah Mitchell explains in The Complete Guide to Healing Fibromyalgia, people who suffer from this disease often experience tenderness and pain throughout the entire body, including the back, neck and extremities. Chiropractic adjustments at the spine can quickly reduce pain in all of these areas. Sciatica and plantar fasciitis are two other conditions that usually see pain reduction with regular trips to the chiropractor.
Those who are (still) nursing a sports injury. For those who are passionate about their participation in sports, chiropractic adjustments can make all the difference in the world. Chiropractic adjustments can be especially effective for treating long-term sports injuries. Furthermore, because chiropractic treatments return the body to its natural balance, many professional sports teams now retain a full-time chiropractor. Avid athletes report that regular chiropractic adjustments keep them at their peak performance levels.
Those who sit still or engage in repetitive motions at work. Sitting at a desk all day can wreak havoc on one’s spine. Repetitive motions can also cause pain. Chiropractic treatment is an effective pain relief method for those who sit or engage in repetitive movements at work.
Who Should Not Receive Chiropractic Treatments
Those who suffer from certain musculo-skeletal problems. If you suffer from one of the following musculo-skeletal conditions, you should not receive chiropractic care:
- Bone cancer
- Bone or joint infections
- Acute rheumatoid arthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Diseases of the spinal cord or bone marrow
Those who have had a surgery or major injury in the spinal area. If you have had spinal surgery, such as spinal fusion, or acute spinal fractures or dislocations, it is not wise to get chiropractic adjustments. Dislocations with signs of ligament damage should not be treated with chiropractic care.
Those who suffer from idiopathic scoliosis. Idiopathic scoliosis is an irregular sideways curvature of the spine that usually develops in adolescence. There is not yet enough data showing that chiropractic adjustments are safe for this form of scoliosis.
To conclude, we will address whiplash treatment. Although there is mild support in medical research that whiplash sufferers can benefit from a visit to the chiropractor, patients often report that their neck pain symptoms lessen after a chiropractic adjustment. Because whiplash can lead to depression and a major lifestyle change if a patient’s pain persists, chiropractic adjustments for whiplash should be done if they help reduce pain.
