A Guide to Chiropractic Care and Wellness

For most of us, chiropractic care is synonymous with back pain. You rarely hear someone say "Why don't you see the chiropractor?" when you complain of a sore wrist or an aching calf muscle. Chiropractic, however, is a form of holistic healing that focuses on the entire body's well-being-not just the back. Chiropractic treats a wide range of health concerns by focusing on the relationship between your spinal cord and brain and your nervous system.

Chiropractic care is a method of holistic healing based on the idea that our nervous system regulates body functions and decreased function in the nerves themselves can result in discomfort, pain or disease. When the spine is misaligned or nerves are under abnormal pressure, these issues show up at the site of the problem as well as other related areas of the body.

For example, if one of your nerves is compromised by a herniated disc, you may experience pain or discomfort in your hips or knees as a result of compensating for the disc. By maintaining proper spinal misalignment and optimal nerve function, you're maintaining chiropractic health.

If You're in Pain, Don't Wait to see a Practitioner
The most important thing you can do to maintain your chiropractic health is to see a practitioner at the first sign of pain, but it doesn't have to be a chiropractor specifically. The word chiropractic is derived from the Greek chir- (hand) and prassein (to do) and means simply, "to do with the hands" and many traditional as well as holistic healing professionals are trained in chiropractic health.

How quickly you're able to see your chiropractic health practitioner is critical. Many of us wait weeks or months, or even years, to seek relief from or a diagnosis for pain, while the underlying problem continues to worsen gradually over time. The sooner you're able to see your chiropractic health practitioner, the more likely that any damage to your spine, muscles and bones, or organs can be rectified fairly quickly.

Find a Practitioner You Trust
Like choosing any health care practitioner, it's imperative that you find a chiropractic health practitioner whom you trust and respect. Choosing the first chiropractic health provider listed in the yellow pages or with your health insurance plan, won't guarantee he or she is the right practitioner for you. If you visit a chiropractic health practitioner and you don't like them or his or her methods, you may avoid treatment in the future.

Ask friends, family or co-workers for recommendations and don't be afraid to try several chiropractic health practitioners before you decide on one to visit regularly. Whether you choose an actual chiropractor, a holistic healing professional or a general practitioner who's trained in chiropractic health, you should feel confident in his or her abilities, methods and counsel.

Reduce Stress
Stress is something that all of us deal with at varying levels on a daily basis. Even positive events can be stressful, especially if they involve change. Work, family, traffic, childcare-all of these obligations produce stress that our bodies endure. A main tenet of chiropractic health is stress management.

Reducing your stress levels is a preventative measure you can take to maintain your chiropractic health on your own. Start by surveying your life to identify the sources of your stress. Do you always feel achy when you wake up in the morning? Does your lower back hurt more at work or at home? Are you hunching your shoulders and gripping the steering wheel hard when you're stuck in traffic?

Defining the primary sources of your stress can help you identify ways to relieve them and support your chiropractic health. If you're that achy person in the morning, you may sleep with too many pillows or need a new mattress. Low-back pain at the office may indicate that you'd benefit from an ergonomic chair, while playing soothing music in the car might cue you to move your shoulders away from your ears during rush hour.

Knowing what your key stress areas are and how they affect your body will help you and your chiropractic health practitioner find ways to prevent or limit spinal misalignment or nerve damage before they occur.

Regular Exercise
The role of exercise in maintaining chiropractic health may seem like a no-brainer: exercise has been proven to reduce the risk of heart disease, maintain bone mass and release toxins from our bodies. When it comes to chiropractic health, the stronger your bones and muscles are, the less prone they are to breaking, tearing or sustaining other injury whether you're training for a marathon or slip on a patch of ice in winter.

Your age, body type and natural tolerance for strenuous motion will determine which type of exercise is best for you to maintain your chiropractic health. People who have, or are at risk for osteoporosis for example, will benefit from weight-bearing exercise that strengthens bones and slows the rate at which we lose bone mass density as we age.

Consult a chiropractic health practitioner or your general physician to create an exercise program designed to support and benefit your body so that you target any areas that are weak or vulnerable.