Doctors of Chiropractic Can Help with Painful Conditions

Staff Writer

Any condition resulting in pain certainly affects your day-to-day life and happiness. There are ways to counteract pain, and your doctor of chiropractic can help you find the methods that are best for you.

Understanding the Physiology of Pain

It’s helpful to know there are two types of pain – acute and chronic. Acute pain alerts the body there is an injury; the body’s inherent ability to heal itself often makes that pain go away within a week or two. Chronic pain, however, can last weeks, months, or even years.

Chronic pain can result from an accident (car wreck or fall, for example), or may be due to an underlying medical condition (arthritis or cancer). Sometimes, pain may occur with no obvious cause.

After an injury, a nerve sends a message to your brain, saying, “Ouch!” As your body heals from, say, a burn or torn muscle, the nerve stops sending a pain signal. When someone experiences chronic pain, the nerve signal continues to send an alert message to your brain after the body has healed.

Good Options for Reducing Pain

Because of the increased awareness of the dangers of opioid pain medications – addiction and the possibility of overuse – non-pharmaceutical solutions to pain are good starting points. Your doctor of chiropractic can offer you many helpful tips on managing chronic pain without the use of medications.

Here’s a starter list:

• Continue to socialize and perform your daily tasks.
  Chronic pain may prevent you from performing some tasks, but continuing to do the simple things you enjoy can help ease your frustration. Socializing with your friends can boost your mood. Getting out of the house can prevent you from becoming isolated and depressed.
• Join a support group.
  Talking to close friends or people experiencing the same thing can offer comfort when you need it the most.
• Treat your body right.
  Eat a balanced diet, and get plenty of sleep. Get moving in ways that you can. Exercise increases the release of endorphins in the body, which activate the body’s opiate receptors, causing an analgesic effect that helps override pain.
• Try yoga and meditation.
  Yoga and meditation can improve your mood and well-being. The relaxation offered through meditation can put your mind and body at ease while turning off the “fight or flight” stress response. This can allow the body to rest and repair.
• See a doctor of chiropractic.
  Chiropractic care helps the body function optimally to improve health and restore motion.

See Your Doctor of Chiropractic Before Pain is…too Painful

Chiropractors specialize in disorders within the musculoskeletal system – bones, muscles, nerves, and joints. Chiropractors can evaluate and manage the musculoskeletal condition that may be causing your chronic pain. In fact, chiropractic care may help you discover any underlying causes of chronic pain.

According to a study in 2012, chiropractic manipulation was shown to be more effective in treating patients with chronic neck pain than pain medications. A misalignment in the spine puts pressure on the nervous system and affects communication between the brain and the rest of the body.

If a physical assessment shows the need, a chiropractic adjustment can correct the misalignment, allowing the nerves the function optimally. Proper alignment increases joint mobility, and ultimately, reduces pain.

Your chiropractor may also recommend stretches and exercises to strengthen your core and stabilize your spine to prevent future injuries. Evidence-based research continues to show how non-invasive chiropractic care is safe, gentle, and a good first option for health and well-being.

Your doctor of chiropractic wants to get you out of pain as quickly as possible so you can enjoy optimal health!

CUKC Chiropractic Health Center

Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC), founded in 1922, is a private, nonprofit, chiropractic and health science-focused university in Overland Park, Kansas. The CUKC on-campus Chiropractic Health Center is open to the public and treats patients from Kansas City’s 15-county metro area. Our goal is to provide care and solutions for a better, more productive life for our patients.