The Top 4 Benefits of Chiropractic Care During a Pandemic
Many people depend on regular chiropractic care in order to maintain their mobility and to alleviate muscular and joint pain, especially those suffering from debilitating musculoskeletal conditions. The current COVID-19 pandemic has made it challenging for many people to receive the chiropractic care they desperately need, thanks to many of the restrictions imposed by countries around the world. Thankfully, restrictions are beginning to be eased in many places, allowing chiropractic care to resume. Other chiropractors are using telemedicine (technology that allows doctor/patient communication without being in the same room) to help provide chiropractic care to those that desperately need it.
Thanks to gyms being closed in many areas and many of us living a more sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle during the pandemic, chiropractic care has become even more important. Chiropractors can help reverse many of the negative physical and mental side effects caused by the pandemic. Chiropractic care has been shown to alleviate stress and tension as well as prevent future injuries. It also encourages a healthy lifestyle and may potentially improve your immune system which is important during times like these.
Let’s look at a few of the top benefits that chiropractic care can offer during this pandemic. Chiropractors have become the third largest group of health care providers, and when chiropractic care is used in combination with traditional medicine, it can greatly help you battle pain, illness, and disease.
Prevents Injury
Chiropractic care helps treat musculoskeletal disorders that affect the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones. It improves joint mobility and function which can prevent future injuries. When injuries do occur, reducing pain and shortening recovery time are other ways how chiropractic care helps you.
Many injuries, especially sports related ones, are due to spinal misalignment and having poor balance. Chiropractic care can help align and strengthen the spine while also reducing tension in the spine. Adjustments and soft tissue manipulation can help release pinched nerves while also increasing flexibility and strength of muscles to make them less prone to injury when engaging in sports, exercise, or simple daily physical tasks.
Many chiropractic care patients will also notice a reduction in tight muscles and less degeneration of joint and connective tissues which is important in later years. A large number of professional sports and Olympic teams provide chiropractors for their athletes in order to keep them performing at their best and to treat them when they do suffer injuries.
Reduces Stress
In addition to the pandemic affecting the physical health of those contracting the virus, it has also affected the mental health of nearly everyone at least in some way. COVID has contributed to many people experiencing stress whether it be from having to self isolate, the loss of employment, not getting to visit family, or losing loved ones.
While chiropractic care can’t get rid of these stresses, it can put you in a better position to manage your stress and relieve the symptoms. When we get stressed or anxious, many of us experience high blood pressure, muscle tension, and insomnia. Chiropractic care has been shown to reduce blood pressure, reduce muscle tension, and promote better sleep patterns.
Having a properly aligned spine also helps with blood circulation which can help you better manage your fight or flight response which if not functioning properly can contribute to a high level of stress. Chiropractic care involves a mind-body approach because it understands that two are closely linked. If physical pain, whether it be in our back or neck, is affecting our job performance or ability to perform simply daily tasks, this can lead to stress from not being able to do things. Alleviating the physical pain will in turn reduce the mental stress associated with it. Likewise, reducing your mental stress will help alleviate your physical pain and make you less prone to injury.
May Help Improve Your Immune System
There have been studies which show that chiropractic care may boost your immune system, some patients in specific studies receiving the treatment having shown a 200% greater immune competence than those not receiving chiropractic care. Many traditional chiropractors truly believe in the ability of chiropractic care to treat the nervous system which is thought to be closely linked with the immune system.
There may not yet be a great deal of credible and unbiased scientific evidence that chiropractic care can actually prevent viral infections or enhance recovery, but indirectly, chiropractic care may allow you to live a healthier lifestyle both physically and mentally which could help improve your immune system.
Our immune system is what helps us fight infection and disease, and it very well may be greatly affected by the nervous system through neuro-endocrine and autonomic nerve channels. Chiropractic care and its spinal manipulative therapy may help improve the function of these channels to help our nervous and immune systems communicate more effectively with each other.
Chiropractic care alone may not be able to fully prevent and treat illnesses but it is another tool which may be used in combination with conventional modern medicine to help give our body and mind the best fighting chance against many illnesses.
Leads to a Healthier Lifestyle
While chiropractic care is often associated with relieving aching muscles and joints, chiropractors can also help guide you on how to live a healthier lifestyle as well. The pandemic has caused many of us to neglect healthy habits such as getting proper exercise, getting adequate sleep, and choosing nutritious meals. Whether you simply need the motivation to get back into a healthy lifestyle or need to alleviate physical pain that will allow you to get back into living a healthy lifestyle, a chiropractor can often help you do so.
Chiropractic care has been shown to improve digestion for many, helping to relieve things like heartburn and acid reflux. Healthier digestion, along with proper nutrition which your chiropractor can offer advice on, can have a positive impact on your daily mood and energy levels.
Chiropractic care that helps alleviates pain in muscles and joints you may be experiencing will help get you back to exercising and being more active. Relief from pain may also allow you to get more sleep which will in turn provide you with more physical and mental energy each day. When you start to lead a more active life fueled by proper nutrition, you will most likely also see a reduction in stress and anxiety. All of this will allow you to enjoy a more well-balanced healthy lifestyle.
