Chiropractic Care: All You Need to Know

Chiropractor Giving Therapy to patient

While the word “chiropractic” often conjures up images of someone doing spinal manipulation, chiropractic care isn’t just about spinal alignment. Chiropractic care encompasses the diagnosis and treatment of various mechanical issues that affect the neuromusculoskeletal system (nerves and soft tissues). The healthcare discipline is geared toward restoring and promoting optimal health with an emphasis on spinal manipulation, which is often used in conjunction with other non-pharmacologic and non-surgical treatment modalities.

Here’s what you need to know about chiropractic care, particularly the specific conditions it treats, its benefits, the treatment methods chiropractors use, and the services that fall within its scope.

CONDITIONS CHIROPRACTORS TREAT

The following are some of the specific conditions treated by a chiropractor:

  • Neck, shoulder, and back pain
  • Migraine headaches
  • Muscular soreness
  • Sciatica
  • Arthritis pain and stiffness
  • Sports injuries, such as muscular strains and sprains
  • Postural problems
  • Scoliosis (curvature of the spine)
  • Numbness and tingling due to nerve impingement
  • Whiplash

BENEFITS OF CHIROPRACTIC CARE

When your chiropractor works on addressing your body’s mechanical dysfunctions, you start to experience a number of unexpected benefits, such as the following:

Improved Immune Function

When your spine is misaligned, toxins gather in bubbles inside the capsules that surround your spinal joints. Toxin buildup in your body can wreak havoc on your immune system.

Chiropractic alignment promotes healthy blood circulation and can help in releasing these bubbles. The toxins in the bubbles are then released back into the bloodstream and eventually eliminated from the body.

Better Breathing

Even your lungs rely on nerve function to operate optimally. Breathing problems can develop when there is a misalignment in your cervical or thoracic spinal regions. Correcting these misalignment issues through chiropractic care can help promote easier breathing.

Easier Delivery

If you’re pregnant and your baby is in a breech position (buttocks or feet first), your chiropractor may use the Webster technique, which consists of chiropractic evaluation of the sacrum (the bony structure located at the base of your spine) and its alignment within the pelvis.

The Webster technique is essentially aimed at relieving the musculoskeletal cause of intrauterine constraint, with the goal of changing the baby’s position, from breech to cephalic presentation. This ultimately translates into an uncomplicated delivery.

CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT MODALITIES

Besides spinal adjustments, chiropractors use heat and cold therapy, massage therapy, TENS (electrical stimulation), acupuncture, traction (spinal decompression), nutritional supplements, therapeutic ultrasound, and exercise, among other non-pharmacological treatment approaches.

These interventions are designed to relieve pain, increase range of motion, and relieve undue pressure and muscular spasms.

RANGE OF SERVICES

You should know that you don’t have to feel sick or be in pain to visit your chiropractor. They would rather see you before you have an injury or suffer chronic pain.  In fact, patient education is one of the many services your chiropractic provides.

Your chiropractor may educate you on various strategies that help you ensure your overall health. These include the following:

  • Nutritional counseling to maintain a healthy body weight
  • Proper ergonomics on the job
  • Controlling pain without medications
  • Promoting relaxation techniques to reduce stress
  • Reducing risk of injury during exercise and athletic training
  • Preventing falls and other injuries in the elderly

LICENSED CHIROPRACTOR IN WOOSTER, OH

At Wooster Community Hospital’s outpatient facility at HealthPoint, we have a licensed chiropractor—Dr. Katie Dossi—who has established an excellent reputation for providing leading-edge chiropractic services to the patients in Wooster and its neighboring communities. Dr. Dossi specializes in pediatric and prenatal spinal adjustments and treatments for sports injuries and mechanical issues of the spine.

If you’re in need of high-quality chiropractic care, contact us at (330) 202-2225 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Dossi. You may also fill out our appointment request form. We look forward to serving your chiropractic needs now and in the future!