Benefits of Chiropractic Care
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:
- A 1993 report by the Ontario Ministry of Health concluded that chiropractic care was the most effective treatment for lower back pain. The agency also recommended that chiropractic care be fully integrated in the Canadian government's health care system.
- In 1994, the federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research published its Clinical Practice Guidelines, which asserted that spinal manipulation was effective in reducing pain and speeding recovery among patients with acute low back symptoms without radiculopathy.
- A 1996 New England Journal of Medicine study of outcomes and costs for acute low back pain found that patients treated by chiropractors were significantly more satisfied than those who saw primary care, orthopedic or managed care practitioners.
- A 1996 study in the journal Spine echoed that study, and found that patients who sought chiropractic care were more likely to feel that treatment was helpful, more likely to be satisfied with their care, and less likely to seek care from another provider for the same condition, compared to those who sought care from medical doctors.
- In 2001, the Center for Clinical Health Policy Research at Duke University concluded in a study that spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate improvement for cervicogenic headaches, or those that originate in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects and longer-lasting relief of tension-type headache than a commonly prescribed medication.
Walking is one of the most elegant, simple, and affordable means of providing your body with a host of fitness benefits. Because it calls into play so many different muscles groups as well as kinds of exercise, it's one of the best things you can do to help ensure good spinal health, an efficient metabolism, and strong immunity.
Surprisingly, walking burns about as many calories as running or jogging, yet carries less risk of cardiac overexertion or risk of injuries, such as shin splints. A brisk 15-minute walking mile can do wonders for you.
Simple tips on walking
- Allow your arms to move naturally; don't keep them rigid. The key is to relax while you are walking.
- Avoid carrying weight equipment, such as small dumbbells.
- Be mindful of the kind of surface on which you walk. The most ideal kind of surface is cushioned or rubberized, although it is hard to find anywhere except an indoor track or fitness facility. Grass is another semi-ideal surface because it "gives" to your weight. Concrete, tile, stone or linoleum floors are among the worst kinds of surfaces on which to walk.
- Experts generally agree that you should start out walking about 20 minutes several days a week, gradually increasing that to 30, 40, 50 minutes, and so on.
- In colder months, layer your clothing. This will allow your body to trap heat that it needs and shed heat that it doesn't need.
- Invest in a good quality pair of walking or running shoes that give you plenty of support in the heel, ball, and arch. Uppers should be composed of breathable materials, such as nylon or leather. Keep your head and chin up at all times. This not only ensures a neutral spine, but also keeps you alert to dangers, such as cars or other hazards.
- Walk briskly.