What do Chiropractors treat?

So what kind of conditions do Chiropractors treat anyway? And is it the muscle, or the bone, or the nerve? To learn more read on!

This month’s newsletter deals with the conditions that chiropractor’s treat and the tissues that are affected.

What do chiropractors treat? There still seems to be so much confusion on what it is that chiropractors treat. My practice focuses on neuro-musculoskeletal pain. These are conditions that involve the muscles, the nerves and the joints. This could be of the neck, the back, the shoulder, the elbow, the hip, the knee, the ankle, or any joint of the body. Often people are led to believe that chiropractors treat bones and that we don’t treat muscles. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a chiropractor I treat the structural and functional relationship between the muscles, the nerves and the joints. If you have a bone problem you need to go to an orthopedic doctor. They are the doctors that specialize in that type of problem. That would include a fracture, dislocation, infection or another type of pathology to the bone or joint. I am including joints in this because joints can experience all of the problems that I just listed for bones. I treat the functional problems that joints go through with injury as well as repetitive stress from work, play or just life.

These symptoms include pain, stiffness and limited function. If you have a muscle problem, including a strain, spasm, or pulled muscle, then you have a chiropractic problem because these types of muscle problems always involve the functional aspect of the joint and therefore chiropractic treatment would be beneficial. Not only is that but the therapy that we use is designed specifically for muscle problems. Now if you have muscle pathology, like an infection, a tumor, or a complete tear, then again you need to seek a medical doctor. Fortunately those types of conditions are very rare. Regarding the nerve, it is involved in any pain syndrome. If you feel pain the nerve is involved. It could be pinched, or irritated by the muscle, the joint tissues or even the disc. Again chiropractic care is the treatment of choice for nerve pain because you have to remove the functional joint and muscle irritation to remove the nerve irritation. Both the adjustment and the therapy treat the nerve problem.

Your nervous system controls your entire body and is why chiropractic has any affect at all on any condition. When you get adjusted you are getting a systemic nerve tune up that affects your entire nervous system. If you have nerve pain down your arm or leg with or without numbness or tingling then this could be due to a disc related problem and this is also a chiropractic type of problem. If you have a severe disc herniation, then you need a surgical consult to determine if surgery is an option for you. But I would never have surgery without first trying our decompression table. Back surgery is the number one failed surgery. So please contact me and try the decompression treatment before you ever have surgery.

Chiropractic is anatomy and physiology. It is structure and function. If you are experiencing pain, spasm, stiffness, decreased range of motion, headache, numbness, tingling or any combination of these symptoms then you most likely have a chiropractic problem and you need to call the office for an appointment. If you are alive you are going to experience pain. If you practice good habits on a regular basis you will minimize the pain. But those good habits can’t completely eliminate the need for chiropractic treatment. You can live with the pain, try to cover up the pain with medication, exercise or any number of different things, or realize the need and benefit of chiropractic and get adjusted. The benefits are so powerful you don’t even realize. Not only does it help you feel better now without the harmful effects of drugs, but it helps your whole body regain balance and also helps fight the effects of long term degeneration. Just know that when you receive chiropractic care you are doing so much good for yourself that it can’t even be measured.

GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY,

DR. MARK