The Road to Wellness and Efficient Pain Relief: How Do You Know When You Need a Chiropractor?

Not all aches and pains need a trip to the chiropractor. So, the question is, how do you know when you need a chiropractor? There are physical symptoms to be aware of, and that signal that it’s time to see your nearest chiropractor.

Many individuals live with daily aches and pains that can be relieved with chiropractic care. These pains might result from a prior injury, a chronic health condition, or day-to-day life. No matter the cause, you do not have to live with your pain. We’re here to help you recognize signs you need to see a chiropractor.

Seeing a chiropractor can yield numerous benefits that dramatically improve emotional and physical well-being. Yet a lot of people think to see a chiropractor only once something has gone wrong or once they can’t tolerate their pain symptoms anymore. A chiropractor can assist you in preventing something from going wrong in the first place.

While most people know it’s time to see a chiropractor if they’re experiencing back pain, there are other clues to remember. Here are the signs you should see a chiropractor:

How Do You Know When You Need a Chiropractor?

Headaches

Many factors, including dehydration, oxygen deprivation, malnutrition, or a misalignment in your spine or neck, can cause headaches. A chiropractor can help us improve blood flow and relieve headaches, increasing the amount of oxygen supplied to the brain.

Your chiropractor might also recommend changing your diet to help you improve your overall health.

Muscle or Joint Pain

If you’re experiencing pain in your muscles and joints, your first reaction shouldn’t be to pull out the aspirin from your medicine cabinet. Problems with musculoskeletal alignment could cause your pain.

A chiropractor is trained to ensure your body functions optimally by using spinal manipulations to relieve joint and muscle pain. These spinal adjustments will increase nerve conductivity and blood flow to the joints and muscles experiencing pain.

Your Job Expects You to Sit for Long Periods

If your job requires you to sit for long periods, especially hunched over a keyboard, it isn’t uncommon to wind up with relatively poor posture. This poor posture puts unwanted pressure on the neck, upper back, and shoulders. The pressure can make the bones and discs shift enough to cause problems like a slipped or herniated disc.

A chiropractor can guarantee that the spine is aligned correctly so you do not have any future issues.

Chronic Back Pain

Chronic back pain is one of the most obvious indications that a chiropractic visit is needed. Multiple factors can contribute to back pain, like posture, how long you are on your feet each day and your work.

A chiropractic doctor can offer pain relief without needing narcotics or invasive surgery.

Your Shoes’ Soles Wear Out Differently

If you notice that your shoes’ soles wear out differently, it’s a sign that your body is out of alignment and has to be adjusted. Uneven wear on your shoes indicates you are experiencing a subluxation in the spine. It would help if you had chiropractic spinal manipulation to realign the spine to ensure the problem doesn’t continue and becomes a chronic issue.

Limited Range of Motion

If your legs and arms are not as flexible as before or if your neck won’t turn as far in one direction, it’s a good indication that you have to see your chiropractor.

Chiropractic adjustments realign joints and bones, increase the range of motion, and relieve pain. A normal range of motion helps our body function optimally.

You Were Involved in an Accident Recently

Being involved in an accident, like a car or motorcycle collision, can lead to serious injuries that only a seasoned chiropractor can help heal. Numerous chiropractors specialize in car accident injuries and can diagnose and treat many different injuries.

After an accident, seeing a chiropractor should be a main priority.

Sharp, Shooting Pain in The Legs

If you feel a sharp, shooting pain in the legs or weakness and tingling, this could be a sign of suffering from a slipped disc and pinched nerve.

A trained chiropractor can know the cause of the leg pain and perform a spinal adjustment to alleviate the unwanted pressure on the nerve causing the pain.

You are an Active Person

If you are active and spend time playing sports or working out, your body undergoes additional strain and pressure. This additional stress can cause the spine to get misaligned. After engaging in these activities, the body can get prone to slipped discs, pinched nerves, or other alignment problems.

Regular visits to a chiropractic doctor help keep the body functioning at its peak, allowing you to continue living the active lifestyle you love.

You Want to Live a More Health-Conscious Life

If you want to live a more health-conscious life or become more aware of how to best care for your body, your chiropractor is an excellent source of information. Your chiropractor can provide exercise routines, nutritional guidance, and specific techniques to help relieve stress. All this and spinal adjustments will help improve your physical and emotional well-being.

You Are Pregnant

Numerous pregnant women visit their nearest chiropractor when they start to have back pain, but this isn’t the only reason to see a chiropractor when you are pregnant. Even if you’re not feeling pain, a chiropractor can help make you feel more comfy by gently adjusting your spine to realign any misaligned areas.

Moreover, the baby’s position is affected by the posture. If the bones of the pelvis become used to being in a poor position, it can make it hard for the baby to move down your birth canal. Chiropractic adjustments can’t only help manage pain during pregnancy, but they can also help lessen time spent in labor.

You Need Stress Relief

Some stress is common, but chronic stress can result in other issues, like anxiety, lack of sleep, depression, and illness. The nearest chiropractor can gently adjust the spine to improve nerve function and reduce muscle tension, helping you get more relaxed and less stressed. This deals with internal imbalances that could be causing an overreactive stress response.

You Have Chronic Inflammation

Inflammation is our body’s normal response to injury, infection, or irritation. Chronic inflammation is different. Your body may have a stronger-than-needed response that causes inflammation for too long. By adjusting your spine, a chiropractor can remove the underlying cause of inflammation. Realigning the vertebrae within your spine helps return your biomechanics to normal and lessens inflammation.

You Suffer from High Blood Pressure

You may be surprised that chiropractic care can help regulate high blood pressure. Spinal misalignment can result in poor nerve signals that can result in an over-activation of the autonomic nervous system. Once the spine is realigned, your autonomic nervous system functions better and boosts blood flow, which can help normalize blood pressure.

You Have Insomnia or Trouble Sleeping

Lack of sleep, sleeplessness, and anxiety are often locked in a vicious cycle. Anxiety and depression can influence your ability to get sufficient sleep, while not getting enough sleep can worsen your anxiety and depression. Chiropractic manipulation can improve sleeping patterns; after a visit to the nearest chiropractor, you might find it easier to get to sleep.

You Feel Tired and Run Down

We normally get used to minor pain and discomfort and decide to ignore it or deal with it until it goes away. Nevertheless, this can drain your energy without you noticing it. If you feel tired and run down, it might not be due to age, stress, or just being busy. It could be because of unresolved pain that a chiropractor can help relieve. When a chiropractor addresses the root cause, you’ll return to your usual, energetic self.

What Does A Chiropractor Do On The First Visit?

Many people feel stress regarding medical appointments, which a new experience can amplify. If you’ve been to an orthopedic doctor but not a chiropractor, you may wonder how similar or different the chiropractor may be to that experience. If you search the internet, you may find accounts that range from wonderful to awful, and it may be hard to know who to believe. We want you to come to your first appointment comfortable and ready to feel healthier, so we’ve compiled a guide to help you know what to expect.

Consult

Before you undergo any adjustments or procedures, a chiropractor will discuss your concerns and goals. If you have come in to address pain, they’ll want to understand that pain- where is it? How long has it been happening? Where is it on a scale of 1-10? Are there other symptoms? These discussions can help your chiropractor understand what may be going on and the best course of action. If you are seeking general care, you’ll want to discuss your goals for your health and how those can be achieved. This conversation will be a roadmap for anything else you do moving forward.

Adjustment

Your initial visit will likely involve an adjustment. It’s a quick and painless process most of the time. You’ll lie on a table, and your chiropractor can push, pull, or twist sections of the body to identify and repair any misalignments in the spine. There may be some “popping” or “cracking” sounds as the adjustment is performed, but this is expected and nothing to worry about. For some, an adjustment brings instant relief; for others, it may take multiple sessions to begin feeling the effects.

Adjustments may be holistic or focused on a specific area like the back, neck, or shoulders, depending on your reasons for seeking care. Each type of adjustment will be slightly different and tailored to your needs and body.

Will It Hurt?

Many people worry that their first visit to the chiropractor will be painful. In most cases, adjustments are not painful, though they may be awkward or uncomfortable if you are not used to your body being manipulated that way.

If you come to the chiropractor with back or other pain, the adjustments may hurt or intensify the pain if the area is sensitive. This will be brief, and you will typically feel relief quickly.

Chiropractic Care at Heart of Texas Chiropractic

When you seek care here at Heart of Texas Chiropractic, you are choosing not just a chiropractor but our multidisciplinary team of experts. Our experience and techniques allow us to heal patients and work towards desired outcomes. Chiropractors at our practice work alongside physical therapists, pain management specialists, and orthopedic doctors to ensure holistic and comprehensive care.