What is Chiropractic and why it can help you stay in the gym
what is chiropractic
We’ve all heard the stories from friends or family about how they went to the Chiropractor and never came back. Those who went only to be sold a treatment plan that was cookie cutter, time consuming, and didn’t really get them the results they were looking for. Well, I’m here to tell you that modern Chiropractic is going to change your mind on why you need to have a Chiropractor on speed dial.
Chiropractors are now recognized as highly trained physicians in the anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics of the human body. For comparison, medical doctors spend about 4,400 hours in school, and about half of that time is studying drugs. Doctors of Chiropractic spend 4,200 hours in school of which all is related to the human body. Medical doctors, orthopedics, surgeons, and the American Medical Association all support Chiropractic as a first line of defense for musculoskeletal injuries, specifically back and neck pain.
As we see a major shift in the medical landscape and the growth of holistic, conservative medicine, Chiropractors are now leaders in managing people’s overall health. Chiropractors are no longer looked at as spine only doctors, as our education and training are more focused on a whole-body approach allowing us to treat all types of injuries and ailments.
SOME COMMON INJURIES THAT CHIROPRACTORS TREAT
Low back pain
Neck pain
Postural issues
Shoulder or rotator cuff pain
Sciatica
Foot and ankle injuries
Muscle pulls or tears
Sports injuries
Headaches and Migraines
10 FACTS ABOUT BACK PAIN THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Here are some astounding numbers to emphasize why you need to have a Chiropractor on speed dial.
According to decades of research, low back pain is about as common as the flu. Nearly 80% of people will experience low back pain in their life, with about half of those people experiencing the pain as a chronic condition.
Medications DON’T WORK. Even though prescription drugs are almost always prescribed for back and neck pain, the research shows that they don’t work. Period.
Women have it worse. If women didn’t have enough to deal with already, why not pile on the back pain. The biomechanical and hormonal changes around pregnancy, dysmenorrhea, endometriosis, and menopause are all major contributing factors to back pain.
Treating back pain is very expensive in the traditional approach (medical doctor, drugs, x-rays). The average cost of back pain in nearly 5x more expensive when you see a medical doctor first compared to a Chiropractor.
If you ignore the pain, it’s going to come back. Nearly 60% of the time the pain will return within 3 months if you don’t seek treatment. And it’s likely to return 80% of the time within two years.
6. Back pain has been shown to “severely” affect how you live your life. Research has shown that nearly 40% of people living with chronic back pain do not exercise due to their condition.
7. Desk work is a major contributor to back pain. 54% of back pain suffers have a job that requires them to sit for most of the workday. This is because sitting puts 40% more pressure on the spinal structures that standing.
8. Rest is not recommended for back pain anymore. Long gone are the recommendations to “take a few days off”, and now we focus on what movement can we use as therapy to help you heal faster. Movement is medicine, as we like to say now.
9. Seek treatment early and get a proper evaluation. Dealing with your back pain, neck pain, or lifting injury has a significantly higher rate of success if you treat it in the early phase. This is because less tissue breakdown occurs compared to chronic conditions.
10. Getting along with your doctor leads to better outcomes. Okay this isn’t a researched fact, but we all know going to a medical doctor is not a pleasant experience while Chiropractors have extremely high satisfaction rates from their patients.
Keeping you active in the gym
Every NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL team, along with many other professional sports organizations have a Chiropractor on staff to help their athletes perform at their best. Strength and conditioning programs at almost all major universities have a Chiropractor on staff to help design and modify programs for all their athletes.
Strength training is one of the best things you can do to help improve your body, mind, and overall well-being. Plus, there is growing research out there that shows being strong leads to a better quality of life in the later decades. Chiropractors are experts in treating muscles, joints, postural issues, and all the aches and pains that come along with a good strength training program.
Being able to reduce injury risk and mitigate pain allows you to spend more time in the gym and seeing those results you work so hard for. A lot of Chiropractors have post-doctoral education in therapies and techniques designed around active individuals.
FAQs
Here are some of the top questions I get in my office when seeing patients for the first time.
Is this serious and am I going to get better?
For a vast majority of my patients their back pain is not serious. Almost all of us will experience back pain, especially if we are active in the gym. Getting the proper treatment is important, but we don’t ever want to scare people related to their pain.
Do I have to keep coming to your office forever?
Absolutely not. Most of my patients spend about 8-10 visits over just a few weeks healing their situation and getting back to their lives. Then you can just call me in the future if you ever need anything.
Is Chiropractic safe?
Of course it is. Our treatments are based in science and have tons of research validating their safety. The chances of anything negative happening are extremely slim, and we discuss all of that prior to administering treatment.
SO, WHAT NOW?
If you are having any kind of back or neck pain, or any other injury that is making it difficult to stay consistent with your strength training program, we highly encourage you to schedule a consultation today. You might be surprised how fast we can get you back in the game.
phone: 847.871.3583
email: drgrisius@midtownchiropractors.com
schedule: https://midtownchiropractic.janeapp.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Kyle Grisius
Chiropractic Physician, Owner of Midtown Chiropractic and Natural Medicine
Dr. Kyle Grisius is a Chicago native who spent the early years of his career on the west coast learning from some of the brightest minds in manual therapy and Chiropractic. He is now practicing back in his home city focusing on active individuals. He has post-doctoral education in Active Release Therapy, McKenzie Method Physical Therapy, Sports Orthopedics, and Sports biomechanics. In his spare time Dr. Grisius is often golfing or traveling.
