The term ‘chiropractic adjustment’ is not new in the world of alternative medicine. So, what exactly is it and what does it treat?
Chiropractic Adjustment is the physical manipulation of the spine and connected components such as the bones and muscles to restore calmness and functionality. It’s mostly done by hand but some chiropractic doctors may use assisted-devices.
The adjustments are done to treat pain-related health issues like migraines, back, and hip pain, fibromyalgia, sciatica, arthritis, and neck pain. To understand the pros and cons of the treatment we have share the main info below.
Pros
- Therapeutic: Pain killers and other prescriptions mostly focus on relieving the symptoms and not the principal cause. Chiropractic adjustments, however, focus on the root cause of the problem. By adjusting the spine, the pressure is taken away from the affected part. As a result, the symptoms are treated and the probability of a recurrence is almost nullified.
- Preventive: You don’t need to experience pain or discomfort to see a chiropractic doctor. These specialists also do a preventive treatment. They can adjust the spine, the bones, and muscles to prevent a major issue from manifesting in the future. This is quite common when looking to prevent back pain, migraines, and digestive problems.
- Drug-Free: There are so many issues attributed to taking therapeutic drugs. For some people, their stomach gets easily upset. Other people have to deal with side effects like headaches, drowsiness, and high blood pressure. Fortunately, there are no such concerns with chiropractic adjustments.
- Non-Invasive: Not many people can go to a medical doctor willingly. If they are not afraid of the injection, they are afraid of going through a surgical procedure as it’ll leave them with a scar. Luckily with chiropractic adjustments, there are no such worries. The treatment is generally non-invasive.
- Relatively Safe: We’ve already mentioned that drugs are associated with negative effects. Surgery, on the other hand, can be accompanied by risks like kidney damage, blood clotting, infection, and pain. These are some of the concerns that may raise questions about the safety of the two approaches. The issues, however, do not exist in chiropractic adjustments as it’s relatively safe.
- Relatively Cheap: Over time, chiropractic adjustments are cheaper if compared to traditional medicine. You don’t have to pay for drugs, surgery or hospitalization. This means reduced expenses on your treatment bill.
Cons
- Muscle Soreness May Occur: Sometimes, multiple spinal adjustments expose the muscles to varying forms of soreness. It can happen at one point or everywhere along the spinal column. Because of the concerns, some people fail to realize the therapeutic effects of the adjustments. So, they end up being disappointed by the entire treatment program.
- May Result to Bone Damage: Unlike muscle soreness, bone damage is mostly associated with poor bone manipulation. It’s an issue that happens when you go to a less experienced chiropractor or when the diagnosis is wrongly done. From the body manipulation, the bone may be improperly manipulated resulting in fractures and other damages.
- Inadequately Covered by Insurance: For an average person, going for multiple chiropractic sessions may not be economical unless insurance comes to the rescue. Unfortunately, most health insurance policies don’t cover the treatment. If they do, chances are that it won’t be enough and so you’ll end up getting into your pocket.
- Effects Take Time to Manifest: When you take pain relievers, you expect the pain to clear almost immediately. Sadly, this is not the case with chiropractic adjustments. It’s an overnight thing, so you are expected to attend a few sessions before the effects can manifest. This is understandable considering that the treatment focus on the root cause of your problem and not just the current symptoms.
There is no doubt that chiropractic adjustments are quite effective not only as a healing approach but also as a preventive solution. But still, this doesn’t negate the risks that exist.
The positive, however, is that a majority of the risks are avoidable if you go to a licensed and experienced Chiropractic specialist. Put simply, consulting a qualified chiropractic specialist is critical to getting the most out of the treatment.
