What to Do When Chiropractics Don’t Work
Lacey What to Do When Chiropractics Don’t Work
If you’re one of the roughly 80 percent of Americans who suffer from back pain, you may have been referred to a chiropractor for medical help. Yet despite how common back pain is, many medical doctors still point patients to chiropractors while these practices are severely outdated. Chiropractors have adapted to a marketplace that’s demanding more than just pain management. They tell you how to manage stress, nutritional advice, and detoxing. Though many patients rely on chiropractors to manage chronic back or neck pain, others delegate overall health maintenance to chiropractic care.
History of Chiropractic Treatment
The first chiropractic adjustment happened in 1896 in an Iowa office building. D.D. Palmer, a fan of magnetic healing and anti-vaxxer, ran into the building’s janitor, who was suffering from back pain. The janitor also happened to be deaf. It’s not quite clear exactly how Palmer adjusted the janitor’s misalignment since there were no ways to verify the subluxation (a term used by chiropractic that implies an undetectable spinal misalignment) Ultimately the adjustment Palmer did on the janitor cured him of deafness. Crazy.
Palmer claimed chiropractic is based on the idea that energy flows block the “innate,” which manifests in things like back pain. He also claimed chiropractic was like a religion too. While Palmer’s main focus on the nervous system was an early contribution to an important physiological discourse that doctors are still uncovering today, chiropractic is still considered pseudoscience. Regardless of that stature, as of today, there are over 70,000 certified chiropractors established in the United States.
Do Chiropractors Really Help?
If your chiropractor is only fixated on adjusting your spine and not including the part like tense muscles with muscle treatment and management — then they probably won’t help you much. A good chiropractor in most cases will combine manipulating the spine with addressing the involved muscles along with a self-management plan. These plans could include strengthening exercises, stretches or lifestyle modifications to improve the long term outlook of your present condition. Yes, everyone will have that instant gratification of the adjustment “pop”, but it does not cure everything.
Chiropractors can provide temporary relief without ever pointing to the cause of the pain. They can actually work though many tend to see it as a band-aid method for chronic pain relief.
What Is An Alternative To Chiropractors?
Muscle Activation Technique is a great alternative to chiropractors, especially if they haven’t been working for you. Since there are many causes for back pain or chronic pain, the best treatment for most low back pain is unknown due to the lack of knowledge from the root cause. For these reasons, doctors’ recommendations tend to vary.
At Muscle Activation San Jose, we believe in finding the root cause of the pain and rehabilitation while strengthening the weak areas to ultimately eliminate the pain completely.