Chiropractic Care Even Without Pain?

  So a few weekends ago I was at a seminar for chiropractors and the speaker asked all the attendees if they would want to get adjusted if they were pain free. Every chiropractor immediately responded YES! I was not surprised by this one bit. The speaker went on to say that most people in the general population would be shocked and confused on why chiropractors would want care in the absence of pain. So I thought I would explain why I want an adjustment even if I am not in pain. What’s going on here? First, we need to understand why any joint should be adjusted even if it is pain-free. With routine daily activities, (driving, sitting at a computer, house chores, etc) in time, the soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, discs, tendons, fascia) slowly begin to fatigue and fail. What happens?

1. Muscles go into a contractile state with acute or chronic overuse, pain or not.
2. Acute and/or chronic inflammatory chemicals get trapped in your muscles and other soft tissues, and they do not always cause pain but they begin to build-up.
3. Soft tissue adhesions begin to form (starting in 4 days of lack of proper motion) and tighten the tissues.
4. All of these led to a decrease in proper joint motion, whether it is your low back, neck, shoulder, ankle etc.the same mechanism is occurring.

Then the adjustment!!! The benefits of the adjustment

1. Restores motion – both symmetry and range of motion
2. Normalize biomechanics and load distribution of the joints
3. Pumps out waste products and edematous fluid that had been trapped
4. Improves blood flow, thus nutrition to the discs and articular cartilage
5. Relaxes tight muscles
6. Normalizes proprioception – position sense and kinesthesia
7. Stimulates sensory-motor reflexes which improve dynamic muscular stabilization of joints
8. Accelerates healing – as a movement: A. increases the metabolic rate of injured tissues. B.increases collagen and protein production as the damaged tissue repairs
9. Improves the alignment of new connective tissue to strengthen the soft tissue.
10. Thoracic spine adjustments aid in improving your ability to breath.
11. Oh yeah, and you feel amazing!!