Why YOU Need a Chiropractor!

The importance of your spine:

Your spine is a unique and very complex set of bones that allow you movement and flexibility, while housing and protecting your spinal cord. The bones themselves provide the basic structure that muscles and other parts of your body – your shoulders and pelvis – are attached to. The spinal muscles both hold the spine upright and move it though its range of motion. Your spine also supports the weight of your head, which can be roughly the weight of a bowling ball! Your spinal bones – the vertebrae – are specially constructed to shelter your spinal cord, which at any given time carries millions of vital messages from your brain to your body and back. The spinal cord branches off into nerves that exit between the vertebrae in order to communicate with the organs, muscles, and joints of your entire body. Having good spinal health is critical for this reason alone! The nervous system is our body’s communication highway – it controls virtually every aspect of our lives, our entire mind and body! Just as a highway can get backed up with traffic, the daily stresses in our lives can cause congestion of our nervous system and, over time, can build up and cause deterioration of the joints and discs of the spine, which have a direct impact on your nervous system. Chiropractors work to eliminate the “traffic” that is clogging your nervous system, allowing you, and your entire mind and body, to function optimally.

Chiropractors – an integral part of your Health Care Team:

You probably have a GP and a dentist, maybe even an optometrist. You don’t see them all the time – maybe a couple times a year for a check-up or a dental cleaning. You have them on your roster – you never know when you may have an emergency, and isn’t it comforting to know that you have someone there who knows you and who you already trust with your care?

Now that you understand how critical your spine is to your health, it’s time to add a chiropractor to your health care team. Research has shown that 80% of people will have back pain in their life, and of those people, 80% will have chronic, long-lasting pain. Back pain is the most common reason stated for why people miss days at work. When we know something may be coming, we prepare for it! Since chiropractors all practice differently, it is important that you find one with a similar philosophy to you. Most will offer free consultations – take advantage of this and discuss your health care concerns with them. All chiropractors have different philosophies and treatment protocols – find one that you like and trust and get an examination when you are feeling well! When most people hurt themselves, they lose their normal range of motion and an examination at this time can be difficult and painful. It can also be tricky to find a chiropractor you like, trust, AND is available when you need them, if you are not already a patient.

Regular examinations by your chiropractor are a MUST to keep your spine and other joints working properly. Schedule these exams for twice a year if you are healthy and free of pain. By no means does this mean you need to be treated – an examination for a well-patient is often enough to ensure that you are growing or aging normally. Often, your chiropractor will send you off with some suggestions and exercises so that you can care for yourself. You may find that, following some of these examinations, your chiropractor may want to see you a few times to sort out any issues that they may find during the examination. This is normal and preventative in nature. Spinal issues can take weeks to months to manifest as symptoms, but your chiropractor can discover them before this point. It is our job as your doctor to help you prevent problems before they become debilitating. This is why it is so important to find a roster of health care professionals that you trust with your care.

Once you find the right doctor, bring your family for examinations as well. Many disorders, especially of the spine, are hereditary and show up later in life. Start your kids out on the right foot – many of these problems can be prevented before they become a problem!

Now that you know a little bit more about us, how many of you will be finding yourself and your family a chiropractor?