“Why do I need to come to the chiropractor when I’m not in pain?”
“Why should I continue going to the chiropractor after I’m pain free?”
I hear those questions a lot in my office.
You may associate pain as the only reason to go to the chiropractor. While chiropractors can help with pain relief, there is more involved than just that.
How does a chiropractic adjustment work?
An adjustment is about restoring proper function to your central nervous system. Your nervous system is made up of your brain and spinal cord. Your brain is the central control station of our bodies. It sends a signal down the spinal cord to the nerves that go to every organ, muscle, structure in the body.
Our spine is made up of 24 individually movable bones called vertebrae. At each level, there are nerves that exit and send sensory and motor signals to our organs, arms, legs, and even our skin. If one of those vertebrae isn’t moving as much as it should, it’s not going to allow the nerve to send the appropriate signal to its full capacity.
Think of your nerves as a wire in your car, when that wire is pinched or shorted out the car won’t operate correctly. The nerves work the same way in your body! If the vertebrae are not moving the way they are supposed to then they can cause pressure on the nerves exiting between them and causing pain or problems down the line. Restrictions in the lower neck vertebrae (cervical vertebrae) can cause pain and numbness down the arm and into your fingers. If that nerve is in your lower back (lumbar vertebrae), it could cause low back pain or can cause pain down the leg, which is known as sciatica.
Chiropractors find out where those restricted vertebrae are not moving correctly. Then, we apply a gentle force to help restore proper motion to that restricted segment or segments. This fixes the “pinched nerve.” Many times, when we do this, you experience pain relief because that nerve is now functioning correctly. So when the nerve is working better, you feel better.
So why is getting a maintenance adjustment important?
Often you can have vertebrae that aren’t moving like they are supposed to, but you may not be experiencing pain symptoms. That’s why it is essential to get checked on a maintenance schedule! A maintenance adjustment keeps the vertebrae moving like they are supposed to. If a vertebra is not moving for some time, the body starts to see that level as unstable. In response, your body subconsciously tries to “fix it.”
Again, think about maintenance on your car. Why do you perform regular maintenance on your car? Why do you regularly have the fluids changed, rotate the tires, and have inspections? You do this to prevent a problem down the road, or to catch a small problem before it becomes a much bigger and worse problem!
Chiropractic maintenance adjustments are just like regular maintenance on your car. At first a small vertebral restriction might not cause any noticeable pain or problem, but the body knows it’s there and will try to correct it! A simple restriction in the low back may not cause any pain or just minimal discomfort, but as the body tries to correct or compensate for the restriction muscles can become tighter, bone spurs can start to form, and vertebral disk can deform and flatten! Eventually these changes will cause the pain and worse problems that typically make people seek chiropractic care! Just like if you don’t rotate the tires on your car they will start to wear unevenly and force you to buy tires sooner than you would have if you had performed the regular maintenance.
Who should get a maintenance adjustment?
A maintenance adjustment is a good idea for everyone- women, men, and children. We can all benefit from a regular chiropractic maintenance adjustment. Even though you are not in pain, your body may still need an alignment.
How often do I need a maintenance adjustment?
This answer is going to be different for everyone, as we all have varying ages, level of mobility, etc. The current research states you should get a maintenance adjustment once every 3-6 weeks. I tell my patients once a month on average. I also encourage my patients to get massages. So, I suggest they get adjusted once a month and get a massage once a month.
Massages have numerous benefits, including helping to remove trigger points, relax muscles, and help restore the proper flow of your lymphatic system.
Your body’s lymphatic system is like a recycling plant for all the toxins that build up in your body. So, it’s essential to flush those toxins out of your body. Many times, the patient will opt to get both a massage and adjustment on the same day as they work hand in hand (pun intended).
Do you have questions about whether you should go to a chiropractor for a maintenance adjustment? Let us know in the comments!