Chiropractic Treatment Guide 2021

 

How Are Chiropractic Adjustments Made?

In our day-to-day lifestyle, we all get so engrossed in our routines that we often fail to take care of our body postures while we work, walk and stand.

This often leads to several body issues like chronic back, neck, or shoulder pain. 

Consulting an orthopedic is what we do at first. But when medications don’t make a difference in our pain, that’s when chiropractic adjustments come to our rescue. 

In this blog let us see what chiropractic adjustments mean, how they are made, their benefits and how often we should do them. 

What is Chiropractic Adjustments? 

Chiropractic adjustments are procedures done by trained professionals or chiropractors who use hands or small instruments to apply controlled pressure on spinal joints. 

This is also called spinal manipulation and is done to enhance the spine’s functionality and range of motion. This, in turn, reduces the pain. 

Generally, these chiropractic adjustments are done to address issues like lower back pain, headaches, neck pain, muscle pains, and other pains in the joints of the body.  

How do Chiropractic Adjustments work? 

Chiropractic Treatments are body-specific. So at your initial visit, the chiropractor will examine your body and discover the origin of your problem. Some scans like X-ray and MRI would also be needed. 

Once the source of pain is diagnosed the doctor will decide which chiropractic treatments and adjustments to use and then will design a chiropractic treatment plan.  

A chiropractor does the chiropractic adjustments on joints or those portions of the spine which are not functioning normally and that needs restoring of motion. 

Below is a list of a few chiropractic adjustments along with their description of how they are done: 

1. Gonstead Technique: 

This technique is used to realign the joints in their original position, reduce stiffness, relieve pain and increase the mobility of the area. 

In this technique, the chiropractor makes adjustments to the lower back or pelvis while the patient lies on their side. 

2. Activator Technique: 

In this method, a chiropractic instrument is used to apply a gentle impulse to the vertebral segments of the spine. 

This technique is especially used to alleviate back & neck pain and pain in the extremities. This procedure helps the chiropractor to target a specific location and apply less intense impulses. 

It prevents the body from tensing up, unlike other manipulation techniques. 

3. Spinal Manipulation: 

Spinal Manipulation aims to restore the functionality of the spine and improve its joint function. 

During Spinal Manipulation, the chiropractor uses a sudden motion to align the joint that often gives out a popping sound. 

4. The Cervical Drop Technique:

During this procedure, you need to lie down on your stomach and the chiropractor moves your neck. Eventually, the headrest will dropdown.

Once you are in the position, the chiropractor will touch a few points, release the headrest and turn your neck. All this takes place within seconds.  

This chiropractic adjustment is useful as it reduces the tension in the spine which could have spread into the neck and also improves spinal flexibility. 

5. Cervical Manual Traction: 

Unlike other chiropractic adjustments, here the patient is supposed to sit on a chair and the chiropractor moves the head from side to side. 

Doing this helps the doctor find the best angle to fix the area like the neck moves in various angles. 

Also, the force required to be applied to fix the pain is understood with cervical manual traction. 

Benefits of Chiropractic Adjustments: 

• Multiple Problems, One Solution: 

Chiropractic Treatment can cure multiple issues like back pain, neck pain, scoliosis, arthritis, headaches, ear infection, blood pressure, etc. 

• Right Posture:

Many muscle imbalances and pains are caused due to poor posture. 

Chiropractic treatments are specifically designed to improve your posture and prevent you from pain.

• Improved Health of Organs:

As chiropractic therapies improve your posture, they eventually improve the strength of your spinal cord too. 

Since the brain and the spinal cord is connected, it helps enhance your organs' overall performance. 

• Uninterrupted Sleep: 

Pain is a major cause of sleep disruption at night. Back and neck pain at night can ruin your sleep and thus lead to other health issues. 

Chiropractic adjustments manage the pain and allow you to sleep peacefully. 

• Painless and Easy: 

Painful surgeries are not the solution to the pain that can be treated with chiropractic adjustments. 

These treatments eliminate the need for surgeries and help you heal your pain with minimum effort. 

How Often Should You Do Chiropractic Adjustments?

Chiropractic Treatment plans are designed by the chiropractor taking into consideration the patient’s extent of pain and the cause. 

So the frequency of chiropractic adjustments depends on the progress that you make in every chiropractic session. 

The ideal number of chiropractic sessions are something that the chiropractor and the patient will decide based on the patient’s condition. 

In the initial stage, it is common to have weekly sessions as your body needs time to adapt to the therapies. 

The number of sessions will reduce as your pain starts subsiding.

But even if the pain subsides, you need to continue the sessions monthly/yearly to prevent the risk of reinjury. 

You don’t need to be in severe pain to visit a chiropractor. A slight pain today might turn into a much more complicated issue tomorrow. 

So it’s important to get yourself checked to keep your body running at optimal function.  

 

Book an appointment today at CRM Wellness and get yourself treated by the expert chiropractors in Los Angeles! 

Start your journey towards healing your pain! Reach us at (213)984-4575.  

How Chiropractors Crack Your Back?

 

Chiropractic treatments include a wide range of therapies that are used to relieve back, neck, shoulder, and other muscle-related pains.

These all treatments have proved to be effective and their use has been rising day by day.

This non-surgical way of relieving pain has been questioned because chiropractors generally crack your back which produces a popping sound from our bodies.

Indeed, these popping sounds are alarming since they are sudden and loud. But should you worry about them? Are these popping sounds normal?

In today’s blog, we will reveal the science behind these cracking of backs and how chiropractors do it.

Why do Chiropractors crack your back?

The reason to crack your back may be multiple. But essentially the chiropractor cracks your back to move your spine beyond its regular motion so that it creates more movement and free motion.

This helps to relieve the discomfort that you previously have been feeling.

Okay, but what is that popping sound of?

There are multiple theories as to why the popping or the cracking sound is produced when pressure is applied to our joints.

But research says that there exists a fluid surrounding each of our facet joints, called the synovial fluid. This fluid acts as a lubricator to the joints and allows smooth movements between them.

A theory on crepitus suggests that when pressure is applied to the joints, the air pressure present in the joints is suddenly altered.

This results in a sudden collapse of an air cavity in the synovial fluid, leading to a popping sound.

How do chiropractors crack your back?

Before starting any treatment or considering cracking your back or other joints, the chiropractor first diagnoses your condition and figures out the origin of the pain.

After that based on the severity of the pain and the condition of the affected area, the chiropractor determines whether or not cracking would be the right option to do it.

During the back cracking, the chiropractor asks the patient to lie on their side and curl the upper leg inward. Then the chiropractor’s one hand supports the shoulder and the other is placed below the lower back.

Once the ideal position is maintained the patient is asked to relax their body and then the chiropractor applies sudden pressure which leads to the loosening of the tension between the joints.

Crack! Crack! That’s exactly when the joint is popped and you hear a popping sound. Once the joint is popped, the synovial fluid flows in to refill the gap.

This eventually leads to a feeling of relief and increased motion.

What happens after back cracking?

While cracking the back releases pressure, it also causes a release of endorphins in the area that was treated.

Endorphins are the chemicals that manage the pain of our body. These are released by the pituitary glands.

The release of these endorphins gives out a satisfying and relieving feeling when a joint is cracked.

So is it okay to crack your back?

Yes, it is absolutely fine to crack your back until it is carried out by skilled chiropractors. And no! Cracking back won’t hurt you.

It will improve your motion and functionality, thus relieving your pain.

Can back-cracking be done at home?

Some people carry out the back cracking procedure at home on their own. But this is pretty unsafe. Skilled chiropractors themselves don’t recommend self back cracking and they take the help of their colleagues to crack their own backs. So why would you do it alone?

Moreover, there are certain body conditions when back cracking is not allowed. Also, an incorrect form of self back cracking can cause disc herniations.

So consulting a chiropractor is the first step to understanding which chiropractic adjustments are suitable for you.

Visit today and get the best chiropractor service in Los Angeles