If you’re looking for a more natural way to treat your pain, try chiropractic care. Doctors of chiropractic use specific hands-on manipulations to realign your joints and help relieve your pain.
Chiropractors often work in teams with other health care professionals to manage your pain, such as physicians, nurse practitioners, physiotherapists, and registered massage therapists. Depending on your situation, chiropractors may also recommend other treatment approaches such as exercise and stretches.
1. Herbal Medicine
Herbal medicine involves the use of plants for health and wellness. Its roots can be traced back more than 5,000 years, with written records demonstrating its widespread use throughout history. It is based on the idea that people can maintain good health by maintaining an equilibrium of mind, body and environment.
Herbs are often used to relieve pain and other symptoms. They can be found in different forms, such as teas, syrups, oils, liquid extracts and tinctures.
These preparations can be taken on their own or paired with prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications. However, herbal medicines should always be taken with care as they can interact with certain drugs and may cause side effects if combined with other drugs.
For example, St John’s Wort can increase the effectiveness of antidepressants, but it can also cause nausea and vomiting. It can also affect blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and it may cause skin irritation.
This is why herbal medicines should always be taken with a health professional. They can help prevent unwanted side effects and make herbal preparations safer for long-term use.
Many people use herbs to treat a wide range of conditions and illnesses, such as allergies, arthritis, migraines, fatigue, skin infections, wounds, burns, gastrointestinal issues and cancer. These remedies are often less expensive than pharmaceutical medications and can be safer for long-term use.
Herbal medicines can be taken in the form of tinctures, which are liquid preparations that contain a concentrated amount of an herb. They can be diluted in water or alcohol and taken as a mouth rinse, inhalation or as a capsule or tablet. They can also be dissolved in oil and applied as a rub or massage.
2. Massage
Massage has long been used to improve pain, stress, and other symptoms associated with a variety of conditions. It can be especially helpful in alleviating chronic back pain.
Massage may also be beneficial for people with fibromyalgia and other conditions that affect the nervous system. It can help re-train the brain to perceive pain differently.
Besides reducing chronic pain, it can promote overall health and reduce the need for pain medication. It also helps to increase your sense of well-being and relaxation.
Research shows that the autonomic nervous system is stimulated during a massage, which increases the production of feel good hormones. These include endorphins, serotonin and dopamine that relieve stress, depression and anxiety.
Additionally, a massage for chronic pain increases the removal of waste products from muscles that can build up over time and cause fatigue and muscle weakness which further aggravates chronic pain. This occurs through the lymphatic system, which is made up of tiny vessels that transport lymph fluid around the body to glands and nodes where the waste products are removed.
The heat that is produced during a massage also contributes to the relief of muscle tightness and tension, as well as increasing relaxation and reducing stress. The increased temperature is caused by friction, which causes an increase in blood flow to the treatment area.
It is important to note that some types of massage may be uncomfortable or even painful, so make sure to tell your therapist what pain threshold you have. You can also ask them for suggestions for a type of massage that is safe for you to receive.
Whether you have arthritis or not, massage is a great natural alternative to chiropractic care. It is a safe, inexpensive and effective way to ease pain and promote your overall health.
3. Exercise
Regular exercise is a proven way to decrease pain, boost self-esteem, and promote overall health. Depending on your pain condition, you may want to incorporate aerobic exercises, strength training, or stretching into your routine.
Walking is a low-impact form of cardiovascular exercise that can help prevent joint stiffness and reduce overall pain. Swimming is another option that minimizes stress and weight on joints.
Yoga, tai chi, and other forms of exercise can also improve balance and posture and ease tenseness. They can also improve blood circulation and decrease overall pain.
If you have back or neck pain, stretching and yoga are a great way to improve mobility, prevent further injuries, and alleviate pain. You can even use visualization to relax your mind and body.
Stress is a common cause of pain and can affect almost every part of your body, including your spine. Chronic stress can lead to hormonal imbalances, adrenal fatigue, and vertebral subluxations that interfere with the function of your nervous system.
A chiropractor can give you lifestyle change recommendations and help you manage stress with a regular regimen of adjustments. Massage therapy can also be a valuable addition to your chiropractic care.
The benefits of exercise are many, but you must be willing to exercise regularly and sensibly. It can be hard at first, but it can be worth the effort.
It is also important to be patient with yourself during the beginning stages of exercise, as you may experience a pain flare at times. If this happens, you can try a short course of analgesics like paracetamol or anti-inflammatories to keep your activity level up. You can also seek out support from family, friends, and a healthcare professional.
4. Nutritional Supplements
When you see a chiropractor, they will typically recommend nutritional supplements to help you manage your pain. They also incorporate a healthy diet, exercise and stress management into their treatment plans.
The use of dietary supplements has been shown to reduce inflammation and ease pain. They are often recommended to patients with inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and autoimmune diseases, which can cause chronic pain.
Inflammation can affect the body’s organs and muscles, and it’s important to keep your levels of inflammatory cytokines in check. Several dietary supplements are effective for this purpose, including boswellia, turmeric and omega-3 fatty acids.
These products can be absorbed into the bloodstream, which allows them to enter your cells and deliver their benefits. They also improve your overall health and reduce the risk of disease.
Nutritional supplements are also helpful for detoxification and immune system function. They are a good alternative to prescription drugs that can have adverse effects on your body.
It is important to understand that dietary supplements can interact with medications you take, so it’s vital to tell your doctor about any herbs or nutritional supplements you are taking. This will help your doctor avoid any potential drug interactions or negative side effects.
According to a study, over 1 in 3 chiropractic patients are taking a dietary supplement or herb on their own. This is especially concerning because many of these supplements can mimic, magnify or oppose the effects of medications. This is why chiropractors should regularly inquire whether their patients are taking herbs or dietary supplements as a form of self-medication.
5. Chiropractic Care
If you are suffering from back or neck pain, chiropractic care is a great alternative to medication. Chiropractors use their hands to manipulate joints and muscles, bringing them back into place and restoring mobility and function.
Although most patients see chiropractors for relief from musculoskeletal pain, they are also used to help treat issues in the nervous system and the immune system. Often, these types of problems can cause a lot of stress and other physical symptoms that are hard to deal with, especially when you have been injured.
Unlike some other forms of treatment, chiropractic therapy is a safe and natural option for treating pain, and can offer you long-term results. Using spinal manipulation, heat and ice, relaxation techniques, and exercise, chiropractors can help you recover from injury and prevent pain.
Chiropractic treatment is effective in the short term and may decrease your need for prescriptions for opioid pain relievers, which can cause negative side effects like nausea, fatigue, and anxiety. It is also a cost-effective and holistic treatment option.
Another benefit of chiropractic treatment is that it can help reduce your risk of developing a number of health conditions, including arthritis and osteoporosis. This is because a healthy spine can help the body fight off diseases and injuries. Chirocare Centre is a multi-disciplinary clinic which offers excellent chiropractic care services which you can pair alongside other alternative therapies.
Maintenance Care is a common approach among chiropractors to keep patients with chronic or recurring symptoms at a certain level of treatment. While this therapeutic strategy appears to be useful, it was not clearly defined, and the evidence behind it was not strong.
