It's Tme For A Spinal Tune Up!

I bet most of you drive automobiles to help you accomplish running errands during a typical day.  Whether you are driving to and from work, toting children to school or even going somewhere for a long weekend, our cars tend to be important in our lives. In an effort to make sure our cars run well, most of us try to take our vehicles in for regular “tune-ups.” When the car goes to the auto shop, the car is seen by an expert who knows exactly how to keep all of the parts in working order. Thus we can try to avoid any inconvenient breakdowns and we can keep up with the demands of our busy lives. We all know what happens when our cars break down: it can leave us feeling helpless!

Now that I have you thinking about your car, I want you to realize there is another type of machine that works tirelessly every day to make sure you accomplish all of your tasks and duties – your body. Perhaps the most complicated machine on earth is the human body. On a daily basis, you demand a lot from your body and it must respond to our wishes sometimes within seconds. As chiropractors, we are very well trained to help keep your body running as smoothly as your vehicles do.

One of the most interesting comments I hear from time to time is, “I don’t need to go to the chiropractor because I feel fine.” This is an interesting statement and can be compared to, “I don’t need my car tuned up because it runs fine.” Have you ever noticed that your car may run, but when it won’t start when you leave the shopping mall or it breaks down on the side of the road, perhaps “running fine” isn’t what we should be shooting for.

Regardless of your current age, if you look in the mirror and really observe your standing posture, you will likely notice changes that have occurred slowly over time. It is very common that people notice a bit of a hump in their upper back, their shoulders are unlevel, their necks are tilted a bit to one side or one hip appears to be higher than the other. You may even notice that the way you walk or run is different than in your younger days.

These changes and many others can happen slowly over time, but that does not mean they should be normal or acceptable. They are silent indicators that down the road, you could have problems with your spine or other joints of the body. Think of these like the instrument panel of your car. When the “check engine” light comes on, unplugging the wire that lights it up won’t help you address the problem; you are just ignoring the symptoms.

Like a car, much of the work of the human body happens without us even realizing what’s going on. In short, our brain sends signals down the spinal cord to all parts of our body. So if we want to move our arm or legs, the brain tells these parts to move. To be more specific, when the body wants to move any of its parts, it contracts muscles, then those muscles pull on the bones and movement happens. There cannot be muscular contraction without the bones moving in some way.

When you take your car in for a tune-up with the mechanics, they analyze the inner workings of the engine and other aspects that make the car function well. The same happens when you bring your body into the chiropractor for a tune-up. Chiropractors are trained to be experts in the way that the bones, muscles and nerves function together. We can analyze almost every single joint in your body and determine if they are working well.

We use our hands and place them on the different areas of the spine and extremities and find out how the muscles and bones are doing. Sometimes, the patient may feel pain or the chiropractor may feel tightness or swelling. Our hands – along with our exam procedures – tell us a lot of information about the state of your body. From there we can administer care that may include the use of heat, ice, massage, and gentle movements of the bones back into their correct position. This movement of bones is called an adjustment. Areas like the feet, knees, hips, shoulders, wrists (we call these extremities), the spine and the jaw are some examples of the territory we, as chiropractors, can cover for you.

When your bones are in proper alignment, the joints function at 100 percent so you can have and maintain full movement. Good movement for joints also serves to lubricate – or “oil” – them so they keep moving well.

Chiropractic tune-ups can serve three purposes:

1.    Evaluate the state of your body even if you have no pain.

It’s amazing how many people come into our offices “feeling fine.” I guarantee you that even people who feel fine have areas of their spine or extremities that we find out of normal alignment. When we adjust those bones back into place, they feel better in some way. Please do not be fooled by thinking, “if I am not in pain, then I must be fine.” If we all thought that way, then we would wait until we needed root canals or crowns before going to the dentist!

2.    Address major or minor pains that you currently have but haven’t been too worried about.

Have you had any nagging discomforts or pains coming from your spine or extremities? Do these discomforts prevent you from doing the activities you enjoy? Instead of wondering if the pain will continue to get worse or stay that way for the rest of your life, give chiropractic a try. You don’t have to live with pain.
I once asked a patient of mine if she experienced headaches to which she replied, “just the normal ones.” There is no “normal” pain; it is usually just a symptom of another problem.

3.    Preventing future problems that can and likely will arise from your joints being out of alignment and not functioning at 100 percent.

Our society is moving toward preventative healthcare. Chiropractic has been at the forefront of this concept since our profession was founded in 1895. Having your spine and extremities aligned can help you reduce or avoid some major problems. Arthritis, over-use injuries (like carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow); rotator cuff injuries, and knee problems are just some examples of conditions that can be somewhat prevented with chiropractic care.

Do you follow these common recommendations?
•    Regular dental check ups every 6-12 months to keep your teeth healthy
•    Annual physical exams with your doctor to make sure you stay healthy and diagnose diseases or other conditions early
•    Regular scheduled services for your car to keep it running longer

Scheduling your chiropractic tune-ups are equally as important. They allow you to take care of your body so that your machine functions as well as it possibly can. Please remember to make time to care for yourself, you are worth every penny.