One of the main causes of pain and disease in the human body can be traced to improper alignment of the vertebrae in your spinal column. This is called a subluxation. Through carefully applied pressure, massage, and manual manipulation of the vertebrae and joints, pressure and irritation on the nerves is relieved and joint mobility is restored, allowing your body to return to its natural state of balance, called homeostasis. Put another way, when the bones in your spine are allowed to go back to their proper positions, the nerve energy can resume its normal flow and your body's natural healing processes can function properly.
In general, proper chiropractic treatment of your body's lumbar, or lower back, region, involves very little risk, and the rewards can be significant.
Chiropractic manipulations can be especially helpful in relieving pain for facet joint injuries, osteoarthritis, and sacroiliac joint dysfunction, because such conditions respond well to mobilization. Moreover, scores of patients with chronic headaches, sinus problems, high blood pressure, ear infections, leg pain, arthritis, and many other illnesses have reported significant relief after chiropractic therapy.
Increasingly over the past few decades, the medical community has come to accept and recognize chiropractic care as a valid form of treatment for a variety of neuro-musculoskeletal conditions, and as a conservative treatment option for patients with lower back pain. Moreover, many medical doctors recognize a chiropractic diagnosis and accept it as the first line of treatment for functional disorders of the entire musculoskeletal system.
Studies by leading medical journals in recent years have confirmed the benefits of chiropractic care:
Before the early 1970s, seat belts and shoulder restraints were not standard equipment in automobiles. And it wasn't until 1985 that the first airbags began appearing in cars.
The positive impact those two innovations have had on the reduction of spinal cord injuries cannot be underestimated. In fact, motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of spinal cord injury. Motor vehicle accidents have accounted for more than a third of all reported cases of spinal cord injury, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Database. In addition, motor vehicle accidents also account for other spinal-related injuries, such as whiplash, fractures, and herniated discs.
A respected eight-year-long university study, for example, confirmed without a doubt that the combination of airbags and seat belts effectively reduced spinal injuries from automobile accidents.
Larger vehicles, such as trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), have statistically trailed the safety requirements for passenger vehicles, as well as such innovations as padded dashboards, collapsible steering columns, anti-lock brakes and side airbags.
Airbags have been controversial over the years because some people have been severely injured or killed from their deployment. Significant advancements have been made to airbags in recent years, resulting in greater safety. The important lesson is this: Always wear your seat belt and allow 10 inches between your breastbone and the steering wheel to prevent injury from airbag deployment. Children age 12 and under should ride in the back seat properly restrained. Children riding in the front passenger seat should sit as far back from the airbag as possible.
Dr. Robert Pinto
Dr. Anne Pinto
5408 Discovery Park Blvd., Suite 200
Williamsburg, VA 23188
757-645-9300