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Family Chiropractors – Facts vs. Myths
Family chiropractic care can be difficult to understand, as there are many myths and rumors that confuse its patients and those seeking treatment. As a popular and beneficial medical practice, it’s important to understand the facts of chiropractic care. Let’s start with the two biggest myths surrounding chiropractors and chiropractic medicine.
Myth #1: Family Chiropractic care isn’t real medicine and chiropractors aren’t real doctors.
Just like any medical student, chiropractors study challenging courses and earn their degrees from accredited institutions. When they finish their program, they are equipped with the knowledge that allows them to practice medicine as primary care doctors, if they wish. Of course, many opt to work in chiropractic care, combining their work with extensive medical knowledge of the entire body. And just as other doctors, chiropractors must complete a residency program and pass exams.
Myth #2: If you go to the chiropractor once, you’ll have to continue care for the rest of your life.
Family chiropractic care is meant to be healing, which means you and your chiropractor will create a treatment plan that has an end goal. No treatment is meant to last forever, although chiropractic care can involve regular adjustments to keep your body functioning at its best. Just like with any doctor, you’ll still want to return from time-to-time for check-ups.
Now that you better understand the two biggest myths of family chiropractic care, let’s look at some other misconceptions that tend to confuse patients.
Myth #3: Chiropractic care is only for back and neck pain.
In today’s modern chiropractic office, you’ll find a variety of doctors and specialists. This is because chiropractic care focuses on the entire health of the body. While your treatment plan will most likely include regular adjustments to correct issues with the back and neck, you may also see a personal trainer, a massage therapist, and a nutritionist, amongst others.
Myth #4: Chiropractic care is dangerous and can damage your body.
See Myth #1. Your chiropractor is a well-educated, trained doctor who will never intentionally try to hurt you. With extensive knowledge of the spine, bones, and muscles, your doctor knows how to move and adjust your body for the best results. Nothing is ever forced or dangerous.
Myth #5: Only adults should visit the chiropractor.
Family chiropractic care is exactly as it sounds: for the family. After consulting X-rays and symptoms, doctors make individualized treatment plans that are specific to the patient, regardless of age or body type. Many chiropractic techniques are modified to support patients of a younger age.
Myth #6: If I go to the chiropractor, I’ll be in pain.
Chiropractic care is meant to be healing and many patients feel pain relief after their first adjustment. In fact, one of the most commonly used descriptions of post-treatment is a feeling of “lightness”. Those suffering from extreme cases may take longer to feel this sense of relief, but it eventually comes for all patients who follow their treatment plans.
What is Massage Therapy
Have you ever had a massage? If not, we recommend you schedule a “self-care Sunday” in your near future. Massages are great for stress reduction and relaxation. However, they can be more than that when massage therapy is brought into the mix.
What is a Massage?
In general, a message is a trained professional who puts degrees of pressure on the soft tissues in your body—things like your muscles, connective tissues, tendons, ligaments, and skin. There are dozens of types of massages, including the famous Swedish massage or even a deep tissue massage. Each has a goal; for example, the deep tissue will put higher levels of pressure and movement to reach the muscles and tissues deep in your body.
What is Massage Therapy?
Massage therapy is a type of massage. In this massage technique, a massage therapist will use therapeutic massage techniques to reduce or eliminate chronic low back pain, stress, and other issues.
The effectiveness of massage therapy is strange and not wholly understood – even if accepted. Massage therapy falls into the alternative part of complementary and alternative medicine. It’s not what people usually think of when they think of medicine, but it works nonetheless.
How Does Massage Therapy Help?
Our bodies are amazing machines – completely stopped in their tracks by stress and pain. However, what may surprise you is the effect stress has on healing and the body. While a massage will never cure a cancer patient, it can help them to reduce their stress and pain.
Go back to a regular massage for a moment. When you get any type of massage, the goal is to relax and stretch your muscles. This process often makes people fall asleep – the first sign they are distressing.
Now, massage therapy is done by trained doctors who understand various health conditions and risks. Variations like the sports massage can focus on getting your relaxed and recuperate before a big game. At the same time, other types can heal, reduce the stress and pain of cancer, heart disease, and stomach problems.
Is It an Effective Treatment?
That depends on what you plan to achieve from the treatment. If you want to mend broken bones or heal health issues, no. However, if you’re going to reduce stress, increase flexibility, and – in some cases – reduce pain, then the answer is yes.
Modern health care is more than accepting of the benefits of massage therapy. In addition, it’s got plenty of good with minimal side effects that usually pass, revealing overall increases in health and wellness.
Similar to Chiropractic Care
In many ways, getting a massage is a lot like going to the chiropractor (after all, you’re reading this blog!) Massage therapists and chiropractors understand the body and how each muscle is connected to the bones and tissues around it. Using this understanding, we can manipulate your skeleton and help you feel better.
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Sports Chiropractors – Facts vs. Myths
If you’re a professional sports player or athletic trainer, chances are you’ve heard of – if not been to – a sports chiropractor. If you’re not one of those two groups (like the rest of us), you might have never heard of this type of chiropractic physician before. As such, we wanted to get you in the know one of the best ways we know how – busting myths and telling facts.
Are Sports Chiropractors Doctors?
Yes! Just like all other types of doctors, a certified chiropractic sports physician is required to go to chiropractic college and obtain a graduate-level degree. This enables them to practice and ensures that they can do everything in their power to heal their patients while keeping them safe.
Are Chiropractors Legitimate?
This (annoying) myth claims that chiropractic care is nothing but a scam. In reality, these doctors are real and helpful without a doubt. Trusted by NFL teams, world-class athletes, and many Olympians – these doctors know how to help your body stay in top shape. They don’t “crack bones.” They help to manipulate your spine to heal you without medicine – something everyone should love.
Do they really boost athletic performance?
In some cases, yes! While a chiropractic sports medicine doctor’s real goal is to treat and prevent injury, a byproduct can be a boost in the performance of the athlete that’s getting treated. In fact, that’s why so many professional athletes choose to go to a doctor regularly.
Is Pain Relief Real?
Along the lines of “scam” myths, many think that the benefits of chiropractic care are fake. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Sports-trained chiropractic doctors have a deep understanding of the musculoskeletal system as it related to a sports-related injury. As such, they understand what’s wrong with the body and can help heal it and reduce pain.
Are They Covered by Insurance?
In the United States, insurance is expensive. It’s no surprise and talked about almost daily on the news. That usually brings this myth to the forefront of many new patient’s minds. While it varies by insurance, chiropractors specializing in sports injury and family (like us) are part of the specialist coverage section of your insurance. However, you should always talk to your provider and call ahead to make sure you’ll be covered.
What Can They Help With?
If you think nothing is the answer, you’re not alone – but you are wrong! The truth of the matter is chiropractic doctors can help to relieve lower back pain, relieve neck pain, improve range of motion, and so much more. If you have a bodily pain and don’t know what can be done, get a consultation with us to see how it can be improved today!
Introduction to Massage
Massage and bodywork have been used, in one form or another, for thousands of years to promote health and well being. The Chinese culture has practiced ‘Amma’ techniques since around 3000 B.C., as the Cong Fou of Tao-Tse attests. In the Indian medicinal practice of Ayurveda, Tshanpau has been used since about 1800 B.C.
In the West, we find them integrated into rehabilitation programs, but also (and often) these practices are helpful in a large variety of other situations, such as comforting prenatal mothers-to-be, as palliative care for hospice patients, or for general relaxation and decrease in stress levels, as examples. I think massage therapy should be a vital and useful part of every individual’s overall health routine.
Practicing as a massage therapist for 15 years, I have had the privilege to be a part of thousands of clients individual health protocols. In one such case, I was working with a client who had some range of motion restriction and pain when raising their right arm overhead. This client had seen a few other bodyworkers, but the cause of the issue was elusive. As it turns out, after a functional assessment of that shoulder, as well as palpation of the muscles connected to it, we discovered that the client had a range of motion restrictions in the right pectoralis minor, as well as the latissimus dorsi, anterior deltoid, and biceps brachii. In this case, the patient’s history showed an old exercise injury, with muscular and fascial scar tissue present.
We decided to proceed with a protocol that involved contrast (hot/cold) therapy, a daily stretching routine, functional exercises, as well as some deep scar tissue massage work. This type of massage is more goal-oriented, and tends to not be the most comfortable modality. The client understood this and stayed faithful to the protocol, knowing that the results would follow. After 1 month, the client showed an increase in range of motion of more than +50% compared to the initial assessment, and by month two, had improved that to +80%. When we reassessed the client at the 3 month mark, they had nearly ALL of the range of motion restored, and were substantially stronger in the previously weaker/restricted muscles.
This was certainly a situation where immediate pain was present, but this is not always the case. In my practice, I also use massage and bodywork to help athlete’s muscular and nervous systems prepare for competition, to recuperate afterwards, to facilitate lymph movement in the reduction of swelling, to improve overall blood and interstitial fluid flow, etc.
Keep in mind, not all benefits of massage or bodywork are physical. Psychological and neurological benefits have also been reported in many studies. One of the more famous studies on the need for massage therapy and it’s emotional ramifications was conducted by a pediatrician named Dr. Fritz Talbot. He concluded that human beings are creatures that NEED human contact and touch to thrive.
There are times where I have found that massage is needed in a more short-term, symptomatic situation, such as in the case of a calf cramp or minor headache. In other cases, clients may require long-term treatment, such as athletes who need to keep fluid and flexible, or those gaining in years who just want to keep as mobile and ambulatory as possible.
From the very first session, massage can (and should be) customizable to YOUR individual needs. I have seen many clients who simply needed to “walk out feeling better than when they walked in”. In my practice, I strive to be flexible enough to suit as many needs as I may. I look forward to seeing you in the near future!