If you find yourself dealing with back, neck, or muscle pain issues, you should consider seeing a chiropractor. A good chiropractor will have the ability to employ certain kinds of chiropractic adjustment and massage techniques that can give you pain relief you need.

What you need to know before seeing a chiropractor is there are two general approaches to chiropractic care. One is traditional chiropractic care and the second is structural chiropractic care.

At this point, it would seem prudent to discuss the difference between these two approaches to chiropractic care.

Traditional Chiropractic versus Structural Chiropractic

If a chiropractor uses a traditional approach to chiropractic care, they are going to place most of their treatment focus on the issue at hand. That would typically involve dealing with a patient’s pain symptoms or issues. They do this by employing chiropractic adjustment and massage techniques that help relieve issues like pinched nerves or muscle strains.

While structural chiropractors will also be focusing on pain issues, they take things a little deeper. Structural chiropractors work under the premise that patients are experiencing pain issues because of a structural problem in their spines.

As part of this approach, structural chiropractors spend more time with their patients. They talk to them about their medical history and spend extra time with investigation and diagnosis before they go to work making adjustments.

Based on the above comparison, it’s fair to say that the traditional chiropractor tends to focus on the symptoms of pain (secondary conditions) while the structural chiropractor focuses on the root causes (primary conditions). They do this by employing diagnostic tools such as a Thermoscan (Thermography), Surface Electromyography, and imagery options such as X-Rays.

The Many Benefits of Structural Chiropractic Care

It’s hard to argue against the value patients get when a chiropractor makes the decision to go beyond simply relieving pain. Pain relief is a good thing but getting at the root causes of the pain is even better. It often results in the permanent resolution of pain as opposed to temporary solutions.

By offering a structural chiropractic care approach, chiropractors create the possibility of the following benefits.

Long-lasting pain relief

Yes, pain relief is the primary reason people go to see chiropractors in the first place. Initially, patients just want to feel better. It’s only after they get initial treatments and start feeling better that they will start thinking about the depth of their recovery. This is especially true when pain issues become recurring pain issues.

Structural chiropractic care is a process that aims to make sure pain relief is as permanent as possible. It does that as the structural chiropractor addresses the true spinal or muscular structural issue or issues that are causing the secondary condition or conditions.

As a point of reference about secondary conditions, here are a few common ones:

  • Low back and neck pain
  • Headaches – including Migraines
  • Sciatica
  • Numbness, tingling, and weakness of the arms and legs
  • Pinched nerves
  • Herniated discs and spinal stenosis

Improved mobility, flexibility, and range of motion

Nothing restricts body movement more than when body movement causes pain. People learn what their bodies can do and avoid doing the things that cause them pain.

By directly addressing spine structural issues with proper spinal adjustments, chiropractors can eliminate the pain issues that tend to restrict a patient’s mobility, flexibility, and range of motion.

Improved Posture

When the skeletal system is out of alignment, the body does not operate as it should. A person with poor spine structure and posture will find it difficult to sit, stand, and walk properly. What’s worse is improper sitting, standing, and walking will only serve to make spine structural and posture issues even worse. By employing the proper structural chiropractic adjustments, a structural chiropractor can effectively put an end to this madness and improve a patient’s overall posture.

Improved immune response

One of the positive consequences of spine structural improvement is like improvement in the patient’s overall immune response. It’s important to remember that the effectiveness of a person’s immune response is directly tied to the ability of the person’s body to create the flow of healthy blood. Both chiropractic adjustments and massage techniques can serve to clear issues that block the flow of blood. Hence, structural chiropractic care offers to improve blood flow for longer periods.

Better quality of life

When someone doesn’t feel well, it stands to reason it’s going to affect the overall quality of their life. That’s certainly true as it pertains to spine structural issues. If there are structural issues, it can interfere with someone’s ability to sleep, exercise, move freely, and their appetite. It’s a good thing that structural adjustments can bring improvements in all of these areas.

At this point, you should be able to see the potential benefits you can derive by seeing a structural chiropractor. If you just want pain relief, any chiropractor can help you meet that goal. If you are looking for a more permanent solution to any secondary conditions that your body might be displaying, going to see a structural chiropractor would be the right call.

If you are dealing with pain issues in your neck or back and would like a lasting solution, please contact us.