CHIROPRACTIC & PHYSIOTHERAPY

Three more reasons to get treatment Recurring headaches? Can’t touch your toes? It may be time to make that call to your chiropractor or physiotherapist.

It’s common knowledge that chiropractors and physiotherapists can remedy injuries and backaches, as well as neck and joint pains. But you wouldn’t necessarily consider visiting a chiropractor or physiotherapist for a headache. Think again! In addition to headaches, these forms of treatment can ease a number of health conditions such as loss of flexibility and painful symptoms of the chronic condition, fibromyalgia.

#1 HEADACHES: IT’S NOT JUST IN YOUR HEAD

If you’ve been suffering from persistent headaches, you might want to have your spine looked at.

According to DR TRAVIS FISHER at Genesis Chiropractic, headaches are the body’s way of signalling that there’s a problem that needs to be addressed. Most often they are an indication of a hidden condition called vertebral subluxation, caused by displaced vertebrae, which result in pressure on the nerves that carry information from the brain to the rest of the body. This communication is vital to the proper functioning of your entire body and, if the cause of the headaches is left untreated, it can lead to disrupted communication between the brain and the body, and significant degeneration of correlating body parts.

Unfortunately, given our hectic lifestyles, most people seek to remedy the symptom (the headache) rather than the cause by reaching for quick fixes like painkillers and other short-term solutions like massages.

“In this day and age, you cannot ignore your body biomechanics and expect to live to your potential,” says Dr Fisher. “Abnormal spinal health will deteriorate your body from the inside out. This is not even controversial, yet arguably chiropractors are the only predominant health professionals doing anything about it for the health of the public.”

How chiropractic care can help Chiropractic care is a drug-free and surgery-free path to natural healing, and doctors of chiropractic are the only doctors trained to specialise in the detection and correction of the aforementioned vertebrae displacements. Studies have found that chiropractic care is not only the most effective treatment for neck pain and headaches, but also had no unwanted side effects. In 2001, researchers at the Us-based Duke University found that spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate improvement for those headaches that originate in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects and longer-lasting relief from tension-type headaches than commonly prescribed medication.

Chiropractors can assess the causes of headaches and provide appropriate treatments including chiropractic adjustments and advice on nutrition, posture, ergonomics, exercises and lifestyle as remedies for many kinds of headaches. They are trained to determine and diagnose the cause of your headache and, if that cause happens to fall outside their scope of practice, they can refer you to the appropriate healthcare provider.

#2 FLEXIBILITY: USE IT OR LOSE IT

How a visit to a physiotherapist can help with movement and mobility It’s natural to lose some of your flexibility as you grow older. In the absence of regular exercise, muscles and joints stiffen, and range of mobility is reduced. Over time, daily wear and tear, injuries, and a variety of health conditions can lead to loss of flexibility – so that even the simple act of touching your toes or tying your shoelaces turns into a challenge, and you may begin to experience stiffness or even joint pain.

Spending long hours sitting – whether it be at the office, on the bus, in the car or at home – can adversely affect the body, and contribute to loss of flexibility. Human bodies were designed to move, and regular activity helps keep our bodies healthy. Movement ensures that the joints and bones are strong, the muscles are supple and flexible, and the nervous system is stimulated. Sore shoulders, poor spinal mobility, limited range of motion (due to shortened hip flexors), herniated discs, hardened collagen around tendons and ligaments, and unaligned posture while walking, running or jumping (due to weak gluteal muscles) are just some of the painful conditions that signal the loss of flexibility creeping in. How physiotherapy can help Flexibility is an important feature of general health and wellbeing. Being flexible plays a big part in staying active and ensuring increased mobility – both of which are important to staying healthy and pain-free. It’s imperative to take short walks during the day, use the stairs and stretch to maximise movement and stay mobile. In advanced cases of loss of flexibility, visiting a physiotherapist can also help.

Taking into account your physical characteristics and expectations in terms of activity levels, the specialist team at Urbanrehab helps realign bones and joints with spinal adjustments, and suggests ways to modify your lifestyle. These lifestyle changes could include ergonomic strategies for your workstation, exercises that stretch the muscles and improve mobility, ways to introduce more movement into your daily routine and appropriate sports activities that can help. Ultimately, the aim is to ensure increased flexibility through more movement and mobility.

#3 FIBROMYALGIA: HOW CHIROPRACTIC CAN HELP

DR WILLIAM CHOI of the Academy of Chiropractic Clinic explains how spinal manipulation can ease the pain.

Why is chiropractic care essential for those suffering from fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a medical condition characterised by the misalignment of the spine and joints that lead to nerve irritation and pain. Chiropractic care is essential for fibromyalgia as it reduces pain levels, and increases cervical and lumbar ranges of motion.

How can spinal manipulation help relieve symptoms related to fibromyalgia?

Spinal adjustments increase the mobility between spinal vertebrae, which have become tight, restricted or misaligned. Using gentle pressure, stretching, multiple gentle movements of one area or specific high-velocity thrusts, the adjustments aim to realign the bones to their normal position or motion. All these help to relieve pain in the joints, which translates to better sleep and increased mobility.

Is adjustment of the spine sufficient in these cases?

In general, the spine will be the first point of treatment. However, it is a case-by-case basis, depending on the severity. If need be, a full body alignment will be more appropriate in extreme cases. Otherwise, treatment of a specific area will suffice.

Along with chiropractic care, how can lifestyle changes reduce symptoms of fibromyalgia?

The patient should look into these three aspects:

Cultivate healthy sleeping habits by getting at least eight hours of sleep, and remembering to go to bed early. It helps to have a sleep schedule – go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, and avoid napping. If you don’t sleep well the night before, plan your day accordingly – with fewer activities – to avoid aggravating the spine further.

Exercise is essential, even if it’s only for a minute or two at a time. Regular, gentle exercise like walking, swimming and stretching can help ease pain, stress and other fibromyalgia symptoms.

A patient has to make a conscious effort to watch his or her dietary intake. Avoid foods with additives like MSG and aspartame that can increase sensitivity to pain. Increase intake of fruits and vegetables, as most of these are packed with important antioxidants and vitamins A, C, and E, which fight free radicals to keep the body normalised.