Who Can Benefit From Chiropractic?

Athletes
Spinal injuries can restrict range of motion, reduce strength, slow reflexes, shorten endurance, and decrease performance. Chiropractic care for these types of injuries has become increasingly popular.

Professional sports teams, Olympic trainers, and competetive athletes are employing chiropratic doctors -- because they demand results. In addition, sports injuries among youngsters are often ignored as "growing pains". Regular chiropractic checkups can avoid problems seen later in adults.

Chiropractic care helps restore function to spinal joints that are fixated and not moving properly. Besides helping to relieve pain, chiropractic care can also help reduce inflammation. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments depend on proper joint movement and nerve supply for peak performance. Injuries to these tissues can reduce range of motion, affect delicate nerves, decrease blood supply, and take you out of the game. Normalizing spinal function helps speed up the healing of these soft tissues and reduce the deconditioning effect of being on the sidelines. Proper spinal function is essential for peak performance at work or play.

An aerobics exercise program or a plan of brisk walking can improve muscle tone and help you avoid strains, sprains and other activity restricting health problems. Whether you golf, play tennis, or walk the best treatment for sports injuries is prevention!

Children
Children can benefit from chiropractic care before they are born, by having a mother who receives prenatal chiropractic checkups. A healthy diet, proper exercise, a stress-free environment, and a chiropractic lifestyle help prepare for a happy, healthy baby. Even so, the birth process may be one of the most traumatic events of our lives. Even "natural" birthing methods can stress a still developing spine. The resulting irritation to the nervous system can be the cause of many newborn health complaints.

Colic, unexplained crying, poor appetite, breathing problems, and allergic reactions can often be traced to nervous system dysfunction caused by a malfunctioning spine. Head support, followed by crawling, and a baby's first few steps should be followed by Chiropractic checkups. If neglected, the bumps and falls during this period of rapid growth may lead to serious spinal deformities later in life, this can set the stage for scoliosis, "growing pains", and weakened immune system response. Chiropractic adjusting techniques are modified to fit a child's size, weight, and unique spinal problem. Children are adjusted gently and safely. Happy parents often report that their children seem healthier than other children their age.

Pregnant Women
Women who exercise moderately, quit smoking, eat healthy foods, and avoid alcohol during their pregnancies are to be congratulated. Those receiving prenatal chiropractic checkups can increase their nervous system capacity to function at its very best.

This is an important element in creating a healthy foundation for developing babies. Constant structural changes, physical and emotional stresses provide the opportunity for beneficial chiropractic care during all stages of pregnancy.

This period of rapid development, hormonal changes, the laxity of connective ligaments, and shifting of weight-bearing structures, may cause many pregnant women to experience low back pain. Chiropractic care can be quite helpful. Besides helping to relieve the discomfort many expectant mothers experience, chiropractic care helps normalize nervous system function. This is an important component of overall good health.

The benefits of chiropractic care may also be noticed during delivery. Many chiropractic patients report that their deliveries were faster and more comfortable than their deliveries prior to chiropractic care!

Your Doctor of Chiropractic will take special precautions with you during your pregnancy. Modifications to the table or adjusting techniques are made during each stage of pregnancy. Your chiropractor is a specialist in the location, reduction and stabilization of the vertebral subluxation complex, which can be related to many of the uncomfortable symptoms associated with pregnancy and labor. Pamper yourself and your baby with regular chiropractic checkups.

The Elderly
Chiropractic care is extremely important for the maturing and elderly adult because of the dramatic changes that occur in the spine with increasing age. As we age, spinal discs, facet joints, ligaments, muscles and other spinal tissues become weaker, less hydrated, more fibrotic, and less able to withstand normal stresses.

As a result, spinal pain from spinal degene-
ration (arthritis) becomes more prominent, tissue injury from relatively benign events occurs, and the time to heal from injuries increases. Chiropractic is a safe and healthy way to maintain your mobility and help take away some of the pain of arthritis, muscle aches, back pain, and joint pain.

Chiropractic procedures take into consideration the nature of the aging spine and the many abnormalities present to provide a strategically effective, safe and noninvasive treatment plan. Through the use of gentle adjustive and mobilization techniques, physical therapies, and incorporation of stretching and exercise programs spinal pain is reduced, spinal stresses are decreased, flexibility and mobility are improved, and degeneration is minimized.

By restoring better alignment to the spine and its joints, there can be a significant reduction in joint stiffness and immobility, pain, and swelling. Even spines that have severe deformity and significant arthritic change can benefit from chiropractic care, especially when combined with therapy. Every patient's health concern is unique, therefore the treatment must also be unique.