Most chiropractors take a natural approach to promoting health through changes in lifestyle, nutrition, and exercise. If medication or surgery is a better treatment for your condition, your chiropractor should let you know. I remember that when I was in high school and college, chiropractic care helped me significantly with several sports injuries, but it had been several years since I last consulted a chiropractor. Depending on the type of arthritis, the chiropractor may perform gentle manipulation to increase range of motion and reduce muscle spasms.
Sometimes, to alleviate pain, chiropractors will go the extra mile by using massages, ultrasound, braces, and shoe inserts. With the exception of certain degenerative vertebral fractures, bone fractures are one of the few neuromuscular problems that chiropractors probably can't fix, Hayden says. For example, if you sprain your ankle, a chiropractor can realign the foot bones with an adjustment and use adhesive tape to stabilize it and keep it there. The chiropractor will encourage you to learn new ways to position your body on your desk, when you are standing and moving and when you are in bed.
Another piece of equipment that your chiropractor may use is known as an activator, a small device that can be used for gentle manipulation. During a chiropractic adjustment, the chiropractor will most often place you in certain positions to treat the affected areas. The goal of a chiropractor's treatment is to correct the body's structural alignment and improve its functioning. Your chiropractor may refer you to an occupational therapist, physical therapist, or acupuncturist.
After a weekend in which the pain increased significantly, I immediately decided that I needed to look for a chiropractor. Chiropractors are trained to recommend exercises to treat and rehabilitate conditions related to bones, muscles and joints, as well as to provide nutritional, dietary and lifestyle advice. The chiropractor can place you on a folding table, designed with sections that unfold downward when pressure is applied to your back. Chiropractors don't treat patients for any condition, but they do care for people who have those conditions.
