Whether your pain is moderate or severe, chronic pain can take a toll on your emotional and mental health. If left untreated, chronic pain can impact your social relationships and your overall quality of life. Stress and other negative emotions can only aggravate your condition.
We understand that this may seem like an endless cycle of pain and emotional downturns. However, you are not alone and no matter what it is, your condition can be managed with chiropractic care.
What Are the Downsides of Painkillers?
While most may turn to pain relief medication, more often than not, these only serve to mask symptoms instead of treating them. In addition, long-term use of painkillers poses adverse health effects and can take a financial toll. One of the many unwanted side-effects of taking painkillers for an extended period of time is dependency and addiction.
Chiropractic care, however, offers patients a non-invasive and non-addictive option for pain relief. A chiropractic adjustment, done by a trained and licensed professional, is a safe and natural approach that treats various types of chronic pain conditions. You may experience some discomfort immediately after treatment, but this will subside within a day.
What Is Chiropractic Care?
Chiropractic care involves the diagnosis and treatment of various neuromuscular disorders through manual adjustment and spinal manipulation, and without the use of pain medications. It focuses on the connection between the nervous system and pain.
Back pain, for example, occurs when the vertebral column becomes misaligned. Misalignment in the spine causes tension to build and results in a stiff, painful back. A chiropractor can adjust the position of the affected area to release tension and relieve pain.
A chiropractor is a healthcare professional trained to correct vertebral misalignment to relieve pain and reduce the risk of reoccurrence of pain. Using their hands, chiropractors can skillfully adjust the spinal vertebrae until they are back in their correct position. It releases tension buildup and leaves the body in less pain. The popping sound rarely causes pain and often provides almost immediate relief.
Unlike pain medications, which simply mask the chronic pain symptoms, chiropractic care treats the underlying cause.
Is Chiropractic Care Right for You?
If you are planning to go to a chiropractic care centre for the first time, you may wonder if it is the right treatment option for your condition.
Here are the most common types of chronic pain conditions that respond well to chiropractic care:
- Degenerative disc disease
- Slipped discs
- Migraines
- Bulging disc
- Auto accident injuries
- Fibromyalgia
- Neck and back pain
- Spinal subluxation
- Sciatica
- Scoliosis
- Sports-related injuries
What Are the Benefits of Chiropractic Care?
For some, chiropractic care means relief from debilitating pain while for others, it means an improvement in mobility and range of motion following an accident or injury. However, there is more to chiropractic care than just cracking your back and relieving the symptoms of chronic pain:
Let us explore the different benefits of chiropractic care for chronic pain patients:
- Addressing Pain at the Source
Getting chiropractic care helps reverse the cause of the pain by addressing the body’s nervous system. The nervous system acts as a control centre of just about every function in the body, from the reflexes, breathing, and even the smallest movements. Since there are millions of nerves connected to the spine and radiating throughout the body, chiropractic care helps ensure that your spine, as well as your overall well-being, is in optimal condition.
Instead of merely masking the pain, chiropractic treatment provides relief and treats various health and body issues, including sciatica, scoliosis, back and neck pain, headache, and frozen shoulder syndrome.
- A Complement to Other Treatment Procedures
What makes chronic pain management challenging is it involves never-ending relief and treatment procedures, such as nerve blockers and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). Since it does not involve the use of pain medications, chiropractic treatment simply complements various forms of therapeutic care.
However, make sure to consult your healthcare provider or medical practitioner before getting different therapeutic and treatment procedures.
- Personalized Treatment
Chiropractic care is not a one-size-fits-all type of treatment. Depending on the patient’s current state of health, the licensed chiropractor will design a unique treatment plan that suits your specific needs.
Also, a chiropractor uses various techniques and tools for different types of ailments. Using their skills and knowledge, the chiropractor will work around the problem by developing a personalized treatment solution along with other relief and treatment process prescribed by your medical practitioner.
- Low Risk
Those planning to sign up for chiropractic care may wonder about any potential side-effects. Soreness in the area of the adjustment is the most reported adverse effect associated with the treatment. Others have reported headaches or fatigue after the procedure. Luckily, these side-effects are only minimal and temporary. The body experiences soreness because of the realigning and readjusting.
There is a risk of disk herniation and nerve compression, but these are extremely rare. Overall, chiropractic treatment, when performed by a trained and licensed specialist, is a safe low-risk treatment.
- Not Just for the Back
Many think that chiropractic care is simply for patients with back pain and nothing else. Although it benefits the back and neck the most, chiropractic care can also be used to treat painful knee, hips, shoulders, and soft tissues. It can also address issues resulting from injuries due to sports or accidents.
- Relief for Cancer Patients
Many cancer patients need to undergo chemotherapy to treat their illness. While chemotherapy can effectively deal with cancer, the treatment itself can cause additional stress on the musculoskeletal system. Patients may experience muscle tension, back and neck pain, peripheral neuropathy, headaches, and limited mobility.Getting chiropractic care in addition to cancer treatment helps boost mobility, strength, flexibility, and function.
- Prevention of Joint Dysfunction
If you have painful joints, you may have trouble walking, standing up, sitting down, or doing even the most menial tasks, like grabbing a glass of water.
Because joint discomfort can be generally traced back to the spine, chiropractic care is a feasible option. It can help improve the function and mobility of your joints while reducing pain.
As effective as chiropractic care may be, you also have to do your part. To ensure the success of your pain management efforts, you also need to make healthy lifestyle changes. Be more proactive with your health and make positive choices so you can keep your body in optimal condition and prevent the risk of health problems.
If you are looking for a trusted chronic pain clinic with years of services, Fairway Chiropractic Centre provides the Kitchener-Waterloo area with quality chiropractic care to help improve the health and wellness of each chronic pain patient. Call us at (519) 748-5535 to request an appointment.
