Spinal Health Matters – Understanding the Role of Chiropractic Adjustments

A healthy spine has an essential role in your overall health. Your spine supports your body, provides flexibility/mobility and is a major player in the central nervous system. A healthy spinal cord and nerves ensure that the brain can send clear signals to the body to coordinate movement and response to injury/illness.

A chiropractor’s job is to locate and treat vertebral misalignments, called subluxations. These are not only painful and limiting, but they can also interfere with the proper function of other organs and systems in the body, including your immune system. This is why it is important to visit a licensed chiropractor in Atlanta on a regular basis to help maintain your spinal health, as well as the overall health of the rest of your body.

Chiropractors don’t view the body as a collection of individual parts, rather they see it as an integrated whole. Unlike medical doctors who may only focus on symptoms and prescribe drugs to mask them, chiropractors take a holistic approach, helping the body to work at its best through spinal manipulation, joint mobilization/traction, stretching, exercise and posture training, in order to get it back into better balance and alignement.

Many people are surprised to learn that chiropractic care is not only effective for back and neck problems, but also for headaches, migraines, digestive issues, arthritis, fibromyalgia, muscle spasms, and even depression. These conditions can all be caused by spinal misalignments, which can also be present in the ribs, hips, shoulders and knees. Correcting these spinal abnormalities can restore proper articular (joint) motion, turn off muscle spasms, relieve tenderness and improve the function of the nervous system.

Spinal manipulation, which is a mainstay of chiropractic care, is the manual application of controlled force to a joint with the hand or a tool to improve its joint mobility and reduce pain. It is typically done in the form of a high-velocity, low-amplitude thrust that produces an audible “pop.” However, depending on a patient’s age, condition or preference, a gentler technique, known as spinal mobilization, may be used.

Aside from the spinal adjustment, other forms of chiropractic care include exercises and stretches that promote good posture and alignment, ergonomic modification of your home and workplace, and education on ergonomically sound activities. These modifications will reduce the mechanical stresses placed on the spinal tissues and muscles, and will help to prevent future injuries. By helping the body to work at its optimal performance, chiropractic is a great choice for anyone looking to live life to the fullest!