Chiropractic therapy is an effective way to improve your body’s alignment. It involves treatments like spinal manipulation that move vertebrae into improved alignment.

Chiropractic therapy might be classified as alternative care, but it is backed by science. This article will dive into why chiropractic treatment works and its many benefits.

Improving body alignment with chiropractic care

Chiropractic adjustments involve applying quick, short forces to a patient’s joints to release pressure on nerves, increase their range of motion, and correct misalignment. Chiropractors have different techniques that they use to perform these adjustments: using hands, stretching out joints, or using an activator. The goal of these treatments is to restore the proper alignment of the patient’s joints, enabling their bodies to heal on their own.

A person is said to have joint misalignment when their joints are out of their proper alignments. This leads to issues all over the body and limits mobility. The body is made up of interconnected systems, including the digestive, nervous, muscular, and skeletal systems. An issue developing in one of these systems typically causes problems in the others.

There is also the unique relationship between the central nervous system and the spine. The central nervous system comprises two things: the spinal cord and the brain. The spinal cord runs from the brain into the spine, where it connects with the peripheral nervous system that branches throughout the body.

Any misalignment in the spine puts pressure on the nerves. A pinched nerve typically leads to symptoms like weakness, tingling, numbness, and pain. It also causes symptoms felt in other parts of the body, like headaches.

The pain caused by joint misalignment typically radiates to different body parts. For example, sciatica is caused by a pinched nerve in the lower back, but its effects are often felt in the legs and feet.

Ligaments and muscles are designed to keep joints in their proper position, but the discs between joints are designed to be flexible. The flexibility helps with movements, but it also enables the joints to move out of their correct positions. This can happen due to:

• Outside forces caused by a slip, fall, or vehicle accident
• Muscle contractions that pull joints out of alignment
• Forces created by poor posture
• Genetic deformities
• Repetitive movements

The process

Chiropractic therapy works by simply pushing the patient’s joints into their correct alignment. The treatment is unique for each patient based on the symptoms that they report. Multiple treatments are recommended because the patient’s joint might attempt to return to the misaligned position if they have been misaligned for a while. Multiple treatments teach the patient’s body to accept the correct alignment of the joints.